Thousands of nurses strike in Australia for higher wages

Thousands of nurses have rallied in Sydney to protest their workload and demand better pay. 

A massive surge in omicron cases has overwhelmed Australia's hospital system

Australia's most populous state of New South Walessaw its first nurses' strike in nearly a decade on Tuesday. Nurses said they wanted better pay for their jobs and a better balance between their numbers and patients requiring their services.

Brad Hazzard, NSW's health minister, said the strikes were "unfortunate" and "disappointing," especially because they came in defiance of a last-minute state order that asked nurses to call off their protest over risks to public health.

Thousands of nurses and midwives protested at the parliament building in Sydney in solidarity.

They carried placards reading "Need more nurses now" and "Stop telling us to cope."

Cases have been steadily falling in Australia, but frustration from an overwhelming surge of omicron infections over the last few months remains.

Australia recorded nearly 2.4 million cases after the first case of omicron was detected last November. The total number of confirmed COVID cases stands at around 2.6 million, and the total number of deaths at 4,664.

The country, which is set to open borders to vaccinated international travelers from February 21 after nearly two years, on Tuesday reported just over 24,900 cases in the previous 24 hours.