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The Northern Territory has recorded 17 new cases of COVID-19, the territory's highest-ever daily case number.

"It's a big number, but it's a number that we expected," acting Chief Minister Nicole Manison said.

Of those cases, 14 are from households in Katherine following a testing blitz in the town.

READ MORE: Emotional scenes as Queensland border reopens

These include eight children under 12, five people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s, and one 70-year-old woman.

"We are finding the cases that we thought were there and we can expect more cases," Ms Manison said.

All of Katherine has been declared an exposure site, and a new testing mandate has been put in place.

People from outside Katherine who have spent any time in Katherine, Binjari or Rockhole since Monday, November 29, are mandated to get a COVID-19 test in the next 72 hours.

READ MORE: UK faces 'tidal wave' of Omicron cases

Those residents are not required to isolate.

"Obviously Katherine has been the ground zero for COVID-19 in the Territory," Ms Manison said.

She added the issue is the high likelihood of the virus spreading from Katherine to other communities.

"I have to say that this is really serious," Chief Health Officer Dr Hugh Heggie said.

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Ms Manison said there is a strong chance some communities outside Katherine will have active wastewater COVID-19 test results.

"It is likely that we are going to have to escalate our responses to some of these communities to a lockout in the next day or two," Ms Manison said.

"That means locking down people who are not fully vaccinated."

Ms Manison said a positive wastewater result has already been recorded in Tennant Creek, and health authorities are awaiting further results from additional testing.

"About the number of COVID tests that we had in Tennant Creek was very disappointing. There were only five COVID tests done in Tennant Creek and frankly that is not good enough," Ms Manison said.

More than 60 people had to be rescued from hazardous surf across New South Wales on the weekend, including one who needed CPR and another who could not be revived.

A man in his 40s was unable to be saved after he was pulled from the water in Coffs Harbour just after midday on Saturday.

The incident occurred after Surf Life Saving New South Wales warned on Friday that a hazardous surf warning had been issued for Saturday for the south coast right up to the central coast.

READ MORE: Australia's COVID-19 booster shots brought forward to five-month mark

"Large and powerful surf" then continued across most of the New South Wales coast on Sunday, according to Surf Life Saving New South Wales.

A local surfer was found unconscious at the southern end of Newport Beach in Sydney just before 10.30am on Sunday.

The man in his early 20s was surfing with friends at a popular break when he went under a wave and came up unconscious and not breathing.

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Nearby surfers pulled him onto a surfboard and called for assistance.

He was brought back to shore on an inflatable rescue boat and was given CPR.

According to Surf Life Saving New South Wales, the man then began breathing and spat out a large amount of water but was still unconscious.

Emergency services attended, including NSW Police, three NSW Ambulance crews and the CareFlight Rescue Helicopter, which landed on a nearby football field.

READ MORE: Emotional reunions as Queensland border opens

Paramedics stabilised the man and took him to hospital.

NSW Ambulance Inspector Charnan Kurth said quick work by surfers and lifesavers saved the young man's life.

"Thank you to the lifesavers and bystanders who were a huge help today. Our paramedics assisted the Medical Team in stabilising him for transport to hospital," Inspector Kurth said.

"After inhaling seawater he had the potential to rapidly decline in condition. Drownings can occur in seconds — we have to be constantly looking out for each other."

Despite the rise of Bitcoin and the looming possibility of an Australian government digital currency, Australians know very little about cryptocurrencies, a new survey has found.

Only one in 10 Australians feel they understand what a cryptocurrency is, according to a Saxo Markets survey, while those older than 65 are even less certain.

There is also a divide between the sexes.

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Around 21 per cent of Australian men claim to have a handle on what cryptocurrencies are and how they work, the survey found, compared to just seven per cent of women

Bitcoin was easily the most well-known of all the cryptocurrencies (there are more than 10,000), with 38 per cent of Australians surveyed recognising the name which is synonymous with digital currencies.

The next most recognised cryptocurrencies were Ethereum, hitting home with 12 per cent of Australians surveyed, and Dogecoin on 8 per cent.

And although non-fungible tokens — or NFTs — rocketed to prominence in 2021, 75 per cent of Australians have still never heard of them.

NFTs are one of the hottest commodities coming out of the blockchain industry in 2021 — earlier this year a jpg file sold for more than $88 million — but their popularity has yet to reach Australia.

NFT works, including digital art, GIFs and even tweets, have been thrust into the spotlight in what many are calling a digital art boom.

Last week, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg estimated more than 800,000 Australians have owned cryptocurrency at least once.

Cryptocurrencies were a "fast-moving area" which the government needed to get ahead of, Mr Frydenberg said, while at the same time declaring the Commonwealth and Reserve Bank are in planning to launch a central cryptocurrency currency.

Forty-two per cent of Australians surveyed said they would use a cryptocurrency if it was made legal tender tomorrow, but only one in four agreed that cryptos should be declared legal by the government.

If cryptos were in legal circulation, one in three Aussies said they would use it by putting it in their savings or a retirement plan.

Foreshadowing a regulatory framework was now needed for cryptocurrencies and its associated industries, Mr Frydenberg acknowledged a "digital revolution" triggered by Bitcoin was now well underway in Australia's financial sector.

READ MORE: Emotional reunions as Queensland border opens

What is an NFT?

An NFT is a digital token encrypted with the artist's signature on the blockchain — a digital ledger that is the backbone of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum — allowing sellers and buyers to verify authenticity and ownership.

NFTs ensure a buyer has the true original directly from the artist.

They also allow artists to sell works directly to buyers on their own, which some have asserted will democratise the art market.

READ MORE: UK faces 'tidal wave' of Omicron cases

As many as 20 per cent of unvaccinated people with Covid could be missed by “leaky” rapid antigen testing, says leading epidemiologist Michael Baker. Free rapid antigen testing will soon be available for unvaccinated people in…

Police and emergency crews are attending a six-vehicle crash in Brisbane, where a man is in a critical condition after becoming trapped in his car.

Police were called to the crash in Chermside around 12.10pm, confirming one truck and multiple cars were involved.

Firefighters and critical care paramedics attended the scene to help remove the man from his vehicle.

He has been transported to Princess Alexandra Hospital with serious injuries.

Eight other patients were deemed stable and are being assessed for further injuries.

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https://twitter.com/QldAmbulance/status/1470217902955450370

Police confirmed investigations are ongoing into the cause of the accident, which took place on Webster Road, about 50 metres north of the intersection.

A police spokesperson urged residents to avoid the area, adding the crash had caused major traffic delays.

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https://twitter.com/QldPolice/status/1470217916347863040

"Avoid the area if you can, emergency services are on scene and expect to be on scene for a considerable amount of time," the spokeswoman said.

"Significant delays are expected so avoid the area for some time."

READ MORE: UK faces 'tidal wave' of Omicron cases

More to come.