South Australia today reported 4053 new COVID cases – up from 3358 yesterday – with the number of infectious patients in hospital also increasing to 306, including 11 in intensive care. 

Two people who tested positive for COVID have died over the past 24 hours, including a man in his 70s and a man in his 80s.

Health Minister Chris Picton told reporters a short time ago that the current hospitalisation rate was “the highest that we’ve had”.

The previous record of COVID cases in hospital was 294 in January.

Modelling by the University of Adelaide estimated the current COVID-19 wave would peak tomorrow with around 5000 cases as the more contagious BA.4 and BA.5 Omicron subvariants take hold in the community.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told FIVEaa radio this morning that advice from the country’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly was that “now is certainly not the time for (the isolation period) to be reconsidered”, following calls from New South Wales for a review.

The matter was discussed at Saturday’s national cabinet meeting, with NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet urging leaders to balance mental health issues, education needs and workforce requirements during “the next phase of the pandemic”.

Currently, people who test positive for COVID-19 are required to isolate for seven days, with the national cabinet agreeing to resume pandemic payments for people who miss out on receiving a salary if they are unable to go to work.

The return of the isolation payments will come with a $780 million price tag, but the cost will be split among the federal, state and territory governments.

Albanese said given the increased spread of the virus, a review of isolation rules was not underway.

“The advice from the chief medical officer … was that now is certainly not the time for (the isolation period) to be reconsidered,” he said.

“That’s something that health officials will continue to look at.”

It comes ahead of an Emergency Management Council meeting tomorrow morning.

During the meeting, authorities are set to discuss updated modelling, the hospital system, whether masks should be mandated in schools for the start of Term 3 and elective surgery proposals.

But Picton told ABC Radio Adelaide that the government was not considering imposing mask mandates inside public venues to help control the spread of the virus, despite calls from health experts.

“This is not the advice that we have from AHPPC (the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee) at the moment,” he said.

“We do though absolutely recommend that people should wear masks and we have been messaging that very clearly.”

Mask mandates are still in force on public transport, as well as in high-risk areas such as hospitals and aged-care facilities, with people risking a $1100 fine if they fail to comply.

Picton said SA Health had a branch dedicated to monitoring mask-wearing compliance, but it was mostly taking an “educative approach… rather than issuing people with heavy-handed fines”.

“There are some mandates in place where there are some people who don’t follow them and we can’t have a SA Health person on every bus and every train making sure that everybody is wearing a mask,” he said.

“We’re calling on South Australians to do the right thing – to work with us in partnership.”

Police Commissioner Grant Stevens said today that, in the past, SA Police only issued fines for “extreme behaviours”, with officers “careful of not taking the big stick to the South Australian community”.

He said he had since diverted police officers back to “traditional duties” and there was now an obligation on transport providers to ensure their passengers complied with rules.

“It’s for industry providers to make sure they’re doing their bit to make sure their customers are complying with the expectations to use those services,” he told ABC Radio Adelaide.

“We’re moving down to a path of personal responsibility and people doing the right thing to protect themselves and the people they care about.

“I have enough challenges right at this point in time with police officers undertaking their core duties without deploying specific police to check on people who are not wearing a mask.”

– with AAP