Hospital and ICU patients with Covid have dropped in NSW and Victoria as the Omicron wave peaks across Australia's east coast.
NSW recorded 20,324 new Covid-19 cases, 2,712 hospitalisations and 34 deaths,
Deaths in NSW comprised 26 men and eight women - including one person in their 40s, five people were aged in their 50s, five people were aged in their 60s, nine people in the 70s, 10 people were aged in their 80s, and four people in their 90s. Two people had received three doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. 23 had received two doses.
NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant on Friday said the 'underlying health conditions' that are most likely to account for the deaths of young and middle-aged people with Covid.
Dr Chant said the state coroner reviewed the deaths of 28 people - all of them younger than 65 - who died while infected with the virus between January 15 and 21.
Twenty four of them had health issues that ranged from asthma and obesity to life-threatening illnesses including heart disease and diabetes.
Ten had significant heart or valvular disease, six had chronic lung disease, six had kidney disease, two had significant rheumatological diseases and three had autoimmune diseases.
