Australia reaches record COVID-19 deaths

Australia reported a record number of COVID-19-related deaths on Tuesday as the country battles the omicron variant. 

The country reported 78 deaths, up from its high of 57 deaths on Jan. 13, according to Australia's COVID-19 data. This comes as the nation's daily COVID-19 case report, 72,860 on Tuesday, has slowed down from its high of 175,271 on Jan. 12.

Australia is facing its worst wave of the coronavirus pandemic in terms of daily reported deaths and daily reported cases. Hospitalizations are also experiencing pandemic highs. On Tuesday, the country reported having 5,237 people in the hospital with COVID-19, 419 in intensive care units, and 131 on ventilators, according to the country's COVID-19 data. 

The nation has taken aggressive measures to combat the pandemic. Several states and cities in the country engaged in monthslong lockdowns to combat the virus. For example, Melbourne locked down for 262 days between March 2020 and October 2021, according to Axios. In December, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the country should not return to lockdowns despite the onset of omicron.