covid
-
Cutting COVID Isolation and Mask Mandates Will Mean More Damage to Business and Health in the Long Run
From Friday September 9, the isolation requirements for people with COVID and no symptoms will be cut from seven days to five days. Masks will no longer be required on domestic flights. While Australian Medical Association President Steve Robson called for the release of the science behind the National Cabinet decision, the change shows we…
-
What Can We Expect from Australia’s Third Omicron Wave?
Australia is heading for its third Omicron wave in the coming weeks, as BA.4 and BA.5 become the dominant COVID strains. BA.4 and BA.5 are more infectious than previous COVID variants and subvariants, and are better able to evade immunity from vaccines and previous infections. So we’re likely to see a rise in case numbers.…
-
Why Are Patients Waiting for Hours in Emergency Departments?
Around 25,000 people visit hospital emergency departments across Australia every day. Many of them are reporting waiting for hours to be seen. Some give up and leave, only to have their condition deteriorate. “Ambulance ramping” – where ambulances queue outside hospitals to hand over patients – has become more common and means some people wait…
-
Cases Are High and Winter Is Coming, We Need to Stop Ignoring COVID
In a poll conducted by the Guardian in August of 2021 about the number of deaths Australians would be willing to accept as restrictions eased, only 3% of respondents felt that 5,000 or more COVID-related deaths per year would be acceptable. Sadly we have surpassed that milestone in the first four months of this year…