Premier defends decision to ease restrictions just days after a NSW Health briefing note warned about the dangers of Omicron

The New South Wales premier, Dominic Perrottet, says the state government has “always known” people would die as a result of loosening Covid restrictions, after documents surfaced suggesting the government was warned Omicron could lead to a spike in hospitalisations.

On Monday the Guardian revealed that health officials in NSW warned vaccines “may be less effective” against the variant and could lead to an increase in hospitalisations, just days before premier Perrottet announced restrictions would be removed.

The advice, contained in a briefing written by NSW Health’s Covid critical intelligence unit, was published on 10 December, five days before the government scrapped an indoor mask mandate and density limits on venues amid surging Omicron infections.

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