INTERNATIONAL: Thousands of nurses in Australia's most populous state, New South Wales have walked off the job on Tuesday,February 15, for the first time in nearly a decade to begin a 24-hour strike after talks with the government to plug staff shortages and secure a pay rise have failed.

Nurses and midwives across New South Wales have defied a last minute order by the state's industrial relations commission to call off the strike, which it said could put public health in danger.

Nurses had sought a pay rise of more than 2.5 percent and better nurse-to-patient ratios. The strike will be staggered through the day and will include staff from more than 150 hospitals around the state.

The arrival of the fast-moving Omicron variant in Australia in late November has fuelled a surge in Covid-19 infections - accounting for the bulk of the country's total of around 2.6 million confirmed cases and overwhelmed hospitals. New case numbers have been trending lower in recent days. Just over 23,000 new cases were reported by midday on Tuesday, while hospital cases have dipped to about 3,000 from a peak of 5,400 three weeks ago. Officials have registered 46 new deaths, with the pandemic total standing at 4,664.

^{PHOTO: NURSES WALKING AND CHANTING DURING PROTEST / NURSES HOLDING PLACARDS / SOUNDBITES FROM NURSES AT PROTEST}