This is the first industrial action taken by nurses in almost a decade which comes despite an order by the state’s industrial relations commission to call off the strike.
Their demands includes mandated nurse-to-patient ratios and a pay rise of higher than 2.5%.
Cases in New South Wales (NSW) account for the bulk of Australia’s 2.5 million reported infections.
However, many hospitals are struggling to cope as admissions rise, but intensive care unit admissions and death rates remain relatively low. Australia has reported about 4,600 deaths in the pandemic.