New South Wales has recorded another 22,577 COVID cases and four deaths as the state's huge outbreak continues to surge.
It is another daily case record, surpassing Friday's 21,151.
Four deaths were recorded, while 901 people are hospitalised and 79 are in intensive care.
The deaths were three women and one man; one was in their 60s, one in their 70s and two in their 80s. Two of them had received two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine.
One woman, in her 80s, was a resident of North Parramatta's Lilian Wells Nursing Home, the second death linked to an outbreak at that facility.
There are 901 people in hospital with COVID, 79 of which are in intensive care and 26 on ventilators.
Some 93.6 per cent of adult NSW residents have now had two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, while the 12-to-15-year-old age bracket has moved to 78.2 per cent having received two doses.
Testing numbers to 8pm on New Year's Eve were down to 119,278, from 148,410 a day prior.
The rising case numbers come as Premier Dominic Perrottet continues to focus on hospitalisation and intensive care numbers rather than the daily case total.
Queensland expands indoor mask mandate
Masks must be worn indoors across Queensland from Sunday after COVID-19 infections in the state moved in an "upward trend" despite fewer cases being reported.
Deputy Premier Steven Miles on Saturday said Queensland had 2266 new COVID-19 cases, down from 3118 the previous day.
However, he said the lower numbers were due to a change in reporting protocols with the latest case figures taken from a 12-hour period - not the usual 24 hours - from 7am to 7pm on Friday.
"Reporting numbers from the evening before will allow us to provide more detailed and accurate information ... now that we are dealing with a much larger number of cases," Mr Miles said.
He said case numbers were still increasing, prompting Chief Health Officer John Gerrard to recommend a mask mandate expansion.
From 1am on Sunday, masks must be worn in "virtually all indoor spaces".
Previously masks were only required indoors at supermarkets, shops, on public transport and rideshare as well as airports and planes, cinemas and theatres.
From Sunday they will also be required at workplaces unless unsafe to do so, pubs, clubs and cafes unless when seated, indoor stadiums and sport arenas, libraries, hairdressers and nail salons and medical centre waiting areas.
"Virtually all indoor spaces except when eating and drinking and when undertaking strenuous activity will now require masks," Mr Miles said.
He said there had been 34,938 tests in the last 24 hours with 16125 total COVID-19 cases in the state with 13,958 active.
Overall 90.6 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have had one dose and 86.6 per cent are double jabbed.
Mr Miles said cases were increasing despite Saturday's low numbers.
"For comparison the evening before we had 1613 cases for that 12 hour period, the evening before that 1178, so even though the numbers we are reporting today is lower than what we are used to, it does represent a continuing upward trend," he said.
Victoria records 7,442 new cases in another pandemic record
Another 7,442 COVID-19 infections were found in Victoria for the the final day of 2021, starting the new year with another pandemic record.
The number of active cases reported in the most-recent 24-hour reporting period has also risen again, to 24,161, and 63,026 people were tested.
There are 51 people actively infectious with COVID-19 in intensive care, with 21 people ventilated.
Another nine people have died with the virus.
SA reports 2,100 new COVID-19 cases
It comes as another 2,100 COVID-19 cases have been recorded in South Australia.
As cases in the state continue to rise, so are hospitalisation numbers, with 71 patients.
Premier Steven Marshall said a worker at the Port Augusta sobering-up clinic had the virus and now three people living there had also turned positive.
"All of those people will be designated as close contacts. We believe there could be between 30 and 50," he told reporters on Saturday.
"We're rushing to try to get that very vulnerable community into the appropriate setting so that we can continue to care for them."
South Australian Premier Steven Marshall Source: AAP
Tasmania records 428 new COVID-19 cases
Another 428 COVID-19 cases have emerged in Tasmania, almost doubling active cases on the island state to 938.
The majority of active cases, 224, are being managed at home, while there are 79 people in community management clinics.
One hospital patient is being treated specifically for COVID-19 symptoms, while another person with COVID-19 is being treated for an unrelated medical condition.
Tasmania was free of the virus when it reopened to fully vaccinated travellers from mainland hotspots on 15 December.
On Friday, Tasmania had reported 137 new cases and had 520 active cases.
On Thursday it scrapped the requirement for travellers to take a PCR rest in the 72-hour period before travel to the state, moving to a rapid antigen test one day before arriving.
ACT COVID-19 numbers drop
The ACT has recorded a slight drop in coronavirus case numbers, with 448 new infections reported.
That is down from 462 on Friday, the territory's record daily number.
Just nine people are in hospital with COVID, and none are in intensive care or require a ventilator.
There are now 1,479 active cases in the ACT. Some 3,141 negative tests were recorded in the last 24 hours.
NT posts 54 new cases
There has been a slight decrease in the number of new COVID-19 cases in the Northern Territory, too - from 60 new infections on Friday to 54 on Saturday.
Six cases of community transmission have been reported, out of which five are from Darwin and one from Katherine.
Nine cases are close contacts of previous cases.
There are currently 21 people with COVID-19 in hospital, with none in intensive care.
Overall, 2,690 COVID-19 tests were processed across the Territory in the last 24-hour period.
A new mask mandate has been in force since 6pm on Friday, coinciding with many revellers ushering in the new year. People are required to wear a mask when they cannot socially distance indoors, and are not eating or drinking.
WA backpacker outbreak rises
Western Australia, meanwhile, has detected two new local COVID-19 cases linked to an infected French backpacker who travelled from Queensland.
The new cases are close contacts of another recent infection and are in hotel quarantine, WA Health said on Saturday.
This takes the total number of cases linked to the so-called "backpacker outbreak" to 16, and includes the unvaccinated 25-year-old index case.
Many of the cases went to a busy Perth Mess Hall dance party with about 400 other people on 19 December.
More than 770 close contacts have been identified, with 18 yet to be tested as police struggle to track down some backpackers who are thought to have left WA or are avoiding testing.
Meanwhile, anyone entering the state from the ACT or Tasmania from Monday must be fully vaccinated, take a PCR test within 24 hours of arrival and take another test on day 12 of their 14-day self-isolation. They must also use the G2G Now app while in quarantine.
