More than 600 new cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed within the Murrumbidgee Local Health District (MLHD) as a number of previously unreported deaths linked to the virus have been discovered.
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On Thursday NSW Health reported 647 new cases of COVID within the MLHD, made up of 518 positive rapid antigen tests and 129 positive PCR results.
Today's numbers are down slightly compared to yesterday's local tally of 744 new cases.
There are currently 11 people within the MLHD in hospital with the virus, down from 16 yesterday, and zero people in the ICU - the same as yesterday.
Meanwhile NSW Health reported 17 deaths linked to the virus across NSW, none of which involved Riverina residents.
However, new data has revealed an additional 331 COVID-related deaths that were previously unreported across the state since the beginning of the pandemic.
In a statement a NSW Health spokesperson said the department has been cross-checking the 2,044 COVID-related deaths reported from January 1, 2020 with all those identified in death certificates by the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages (RBDM) during this time.
"Analysis of this data has found an additional 331 COVID-19 related deaths from January 2020 to March 2022, which showed that the certifying doctor identified COVID-19 as a contributing factor or cause of death," the spokesperson said.
Around 82 per cent of the deaths identified in the RBDM data occurred since the start of 2022 during the peak of the first Omicron wave.
Fifty-eight deaths occurred during 2021, largely coinciding with the peak of the Delta wave, and three deaths occurred in 2020 when the original strain of the virus was circulating.
Data shows that of the 331 newly-reported deaths, six were from the MLHD - or 1.8 per cent.
This is along with the 47 deaths already reported in the district since the start of the pandemic - 2.3 per cent of total deaths.
The total number of COVID related deaths across NSW since the beginning of the pandemic is now 2431.
Across the state 22,107 new COVID cases were reported in the 24 hours to 4pm yesterday, along with the 17 new deaths.
There are 1,326 patients in NSW hospitals with the virus, with 39 in the ICU.
Hospitalisation numbers are up on yesterday, when 1,301 patients were being cared for. ICU numbers are down compared to yesterday, however, when 46 were reported in intensive care.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The increasing hospitalisations come as NSW nurses and midwives across NSW hold a second, statewide strike on Thursday.
Nurses are calling for shift by shift, nurse to patient ratios and calling attention to staffing issues across the state.
The Thursday strike follows industrial action by members of the Australian Paramedics Association (APA) of NSW on Tuesday, who refused to transfer stations from where they started their shift to fill roster gaps, as well as rejecting non-urgent patient transfers.
APA NSW wrote online that Monday night was "one of the worst in memory", posting photos of bed blocks at hospitals across the state, including in Wagga and Griffith.
For assistance accessing a test or vaccination, call the Murrumbidgee COVID-19 Hotline on 1800 831 099.
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