Omicron: Retailers want isolation periods cut, as chief Mark Butler urges businesses to prioritise work from home

And the nation's top doctor is warning a major winter Omicron wave threatening the nation's hospital system has only just begun, urging businesses to prioritise working from home arrangements.

Australia has recorded more than 300,000 new COVID-19 infections in the past seven days, a number Health Minister Mark Butler suspected represented half the true figure.

Joining Mr Butler on Tuesday, chief medical officer Paul Kelly warned cases would continue to spiral over the coming weeks, placing additional strain on a system battling the twin threats of winter COVID-19 and flu surges.

"We're at the start of this wave, not the end," Professor Kelly said.

"We know that that is associated with hospitalisations, and what happens in the future really very much depends on what we do today."

More than 5200 people were in hospital nationally, similar to levels reached during the Christmas-New Year Omicron wave. But with the milder Omicron having supplanted Delta as Australia's dominant strain, just 158 were in intensive care.

Mr Butler and Professor Kelly, both wearing masks during the press conference, urged Australians to cover their faces in indoor settings, but again stopped short of calling for the practice to be mandated.

Part of their advice was urging businesses to consider letting staff work from home where possible, along with wearing masks in the workplace.

"This will not be forever but for the next few weeks this is the way we can actually influence the spread of the virus, protect vulnerable people in our community and also protect our healthcare systems which are already under strain," Professor Kelly said.

The government last week bowed to pressure by extending paid pandemic leave, but a number of customer-facing businesses, including major airports, continued to suffer widespread staff shortages as Omicron ripped through their workforce.

And retailers, whose staff are unable to work from home, have called for national cabinet to slash isolation periods for workers who contract the virus.

Fleur Brown, Chief Industry Affairs Officer at the Australian Retailers Association, said the sector was facing 40,000 vacancies, an increase of 40 per cent in just three months.

"When the current COVID peak stabilises, we'd like to see shorter isolation periods considered by our health experts, so we're in line with other global economies," she said.

"This would help improve the labour shortages that are crippling the economy and would be a welcome step in living with COVID."

National cabinet was split on the idea, championed by NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, who has called for leaders to "look at" cutting mandatory isolation from seven to five days.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ruled the move out on Monday.

But Ms Brown warned the Omicron surge was simply exacerbating a pre-existing shortage brought on by plummeting numbers of international students and skilled foreign workers, who have traditionally propped up the sector.

"COVID-19 and the flu are significant factors in the current staffing challenge, and we're concerned this could remain acute in coming weeks as infections spike," she said.

And despite some experts calling for mask mandates to return in indoor settings, Ms Brown warned the measure would be counterproductive.

"We believe Australia is past the point of mask mandates. They are hard to enforce and unfortunately can drive an increase in customer aggression towards our frontline teams, which has been a big challenge through the pandemic," she said.

"All customers and staff have the opportunity to continue to wear a mask if they believe they need to or choose to."

Andrew McKellar, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive, said businesses had become adept at facilitating working from home during the pandemic, and it was "in everyone's interests to do what we can to avoid going backwards with harsher measures".

"Some businesses are already running on the bare minimum number of staff given the current labour shortage, so there is rising concern about what the impact may be of widespread staff absences due to COVID and flu," he said.

"It's essential that governments and public health authorities continue to provide clear information and guidance based on the latest available advice."

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