SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Nurses in Australia's most populous state went on strike Thursday, demanding better conditions after three years on the front line of the Covid-19 crisis.

The 24-hour strike was the third statewide walkout by nurses and midwives this year, and came as tensions between essential workers and the New South Wales government reached the boiling point.

Outside Westmead Hospital in Sydney, a large crowd of striking medical workers formed a picket line, cheering loudly each time a passing driver beeped their car horn in support.

One nurse held aloft a sign that read: "Stop telling us that we are 'coping'".

The union has called for a legally-enforced ratio of patients to nurses, warning care has been compromised because there are too many people coming into hospitals for help and too few staff on the wards.

Michael Whaites, assistant general secretary of the NSW Nurses and Midwives Association, told the crowd that patients had been kept in emergency for up to 110 hours because there were not enough hospital beds.

"The system is sick, and we are sick and tired of carrying the weight of it on our backs," he said.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, tight restrictions saw Australia maintain one of the lowest death rates among wealthy nations — but this year case numbers have exploded, straining an already struggling health system.