A dramatic increase in Covid cases in Australia has prompted calls for the reinstatement of lockdown-style restrictions, but these requests have been met with a fierce pushback.
Dr. Kerry Chant, the state’s chief medical officer, issued a grim warning in response to a 40 percent spike in the number of illnesses in New South Wales. The number of infections in Queensland and Victoria increased by 60 percent last week, prompting the recommendation of masks.
The Australian Medical Association has advocated for a return to working from home, as health officials fear that the current Covid wave might once again derail Christmas preparations for millions if safeguards are not implemented immediately.
Dr. Chant stated, “We certainly hope the situation will improve before the holidays.” Now is the time to take precautionary steps.
However, the decision to reinstate limitations has infuriated Australians who wish to put the pre-vaccine pandemic nightmare behind them.
2GB’s As the number of Covid cases continues to rise, Ben Fordham (shown with wife Jodie Speers) has criticized demands to reinstate lockdown-style restrictions.
Monday’s host of 2GB, Ben Fordham, exclaimed with frustration, “Australia has moved on.” “We are aware of the risks. We are defending the most helpless.
However, we will not roll into a ball and suck our thumb every time this occurs.
Poll
Is Australia’s reluctance to abandon Covid an embarrassment?
Yes, get over it already 805 votes
No, saving lives is more crucial 159 votes
It would be too costly to visit overseas to find out forty votes.
Now share your thoughts
Official Covid case data are now being given weekly as opposed to daily, and the most recent NSW stats jumped 7,350 from 12,450 to 19,800 on Friday, prompting Dr. Chant’s dire warning.
She now advocates wearing masks in crowded, indoor settings and holding events outdoors or behind closed doors.
Dr. John Gerrard, the chief medical officer of Queensland, stated that the current wave could peak in the week preceding Christmas and cautioned that the cycle of Covid waves could last ‘years’.
The Australian Medication Association has gone even farther, with NSW AMA President Dr. Michael Bonning advocating for a return to home-based employment.
Dr. Chant confirmed that we have entered the fourth wave of Covid.
The number of Covid infections increased by 60% in Queensland and Victoria last week, and by 40% in New South Wales.
NSW’s senior health officer, Dr. Kerry Chant, issued a grim warning about the impact on Christmas plans, while Queensland’s top health officer, Dr. John Gerrard, has suggested the return of masks.
The wave is departing with a certain trajectory. The wave will be pretty steep, and ideally the descent will be just as sharp.
‘Therefore, it is imperative that the community takes these precautions immediately, and I cannot emphasize the urgency enough – if you’re going to get vaccinated, do so quickly.
‘There is a feeling that the wave may reach its apex before the holiday season, and that we may be on the downside.
However, the message is clear: this is a period of elevated risk for COVID, thus now is the time to engage in protective behaviors.
According to Dr. Norman Swan, an ABC medical expert, the current outbreak could be considerably more widespread.
He stated that the figures were underreported because people were not testing. Rapid antigen testing are also unable to identify the most recent Omicron variation, and many people who get the disease no longer exhibit symptoms.
Queensland’s senior medical officer, Dr. John Gerrard, stated that the current wave might peak in the week before Christmas and cautioned that the Covid wave cycle could last ‘years’ (pictured, medics in full PPE in Melbourne in 2020)
Dr. Norman Swan, an ABC medical expert, says the current outbreak could be far more widespread.
He told Radio National on Monday, “The data is unreliable since it is voluntary, and the quick antigen tests with the current variations are slow to become positive.”
You can anticipate much more hospitalizations. The number of hospitalizations is on the rise. The fear is that there will be another spike in fatalities.
Many, though, are enraged by the doomsday prophecies because they fear losing their livelihoods in yet another lockdown. Additionally, there is the psychological impact and opportunity cost of losing liberties once more.
Ben Fordham said on his Monday morning 2GB show, “We appear to be in a spiral of self-sabotage.”
“There are others intent on keeping us concealed under the bed.
The Australian Medical Association desires that we return to working from home. Seriously, some individuals have not been to work for at least three years.
‘We are just beginning to see a few of them return to the workplace, and the AMA wants to send them back home.
This mindset has wreaked havoc on small companies that rely on foot traffic, and the AMA wants it to happen all over again.
Ben Foprdham criticized the Australian Medical Association for urging a return to working from home (pictured: Melbourne’s Central Business District during a lockdown in October 2021).
Professor Peter Collignon, an authority on infectious illnesses, was praised for’maintaining a cool head’ and resisting work-from-home rules.
The professor told the Sydney Morning Herald, ‘It effectively flattens the curve, which is not a bad notion, but one must also consider the social and economic consequences.
“Will we live as hermits for the next five to ten years?”
Fordham continued, “Well, thank God for Professor Peter Collignon – this is exactly what we want to hear. We need some common sense mixed in with all of this gloom and despair.
We are aware that Coronavirus is here to stay. We have learnt to coexist with the virus, and this must continue.
“Now is not the time to run and hide, as more than 95% of the population has been immunized.” More than 70% had received three doses. Five million have received their fourth dose.
The people will not tolerate a return to restrictions leading up to the holiday season.
Unless safeguards are taken immediately, health officials now fear that the current Covid outbreak might once again derail the holiday plans of millions (pictured, Sydneysiders enjoy a picnic in 2021)
Dr. Nick Coatsworth, former deputy chief medical officer, has declined to comment on the latest outbreak because it is time to “move on” from the epidemic.
In just seven days, the number of Covid cases in Victoria increased from 10,226 to 16,350, announcing the new wave and stoking fears of yet another lockdown in Melbourne, which has previously seen the longest Covid curfews.
Testing has showed that two new Omicron subvariants, BQ.1 and XBB, are responsible for the virus’s most recent outbreak.
Despite 41 Covid-related deaths in Victoria in the past week, the state’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, conceded that the current outbreak may be milder than prior ones.
He stated that there are currently no indications that these subvariants induce more severe disease.
‘However, hospitalization rates are likely on the rise due to diminishing immunity from previous vaccinations and the potential of these novel subvariants to evade immunity from previous infection.
As we are in a well-established wave, greater community and public health activities will lower transmission and the impact on illness, mortality, and the health care system.
Despite 41 Covid-related fatalities in Victoria in the past week, the state’s chief health officer, Brett Sutton, conceded that the current outbreak may be milder than prior ones.
In the most recent outbreak, he established a six-point plan for residents, including wearing a mask, staying in well-ventilated interior settings, receiving vaccine boosters, being tested, and remaining at home if you test positive.
“Protecting yourself is the best way to safeguard your family and community,” he continued. If you do not contract Covid, you cannot spread it.
Premier Dan Andrews of Victoria has stated that he has no plans to reinstate the debilitating limitations that have been in place in his state for the previous two years and that it is time to’move beyond’ them.
However, Victorian Premier Dan Andrews said he had no plans to reinstate the onerous restrictions that had paralyzed his state for the previous two years, stating that it was time to “move beyond” them.
Last week, he stated, “As Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly has made quite plain, this age of COVID exceptionalism must end, and it has.”
“Victorians know what to do with this; they’ve done it for the past three years, and they’ve done it so well.
There will be fluctuations in the case count. Every government in the nation has accounted for the fact that COVID will be present in some form for a considerable amount of time.
However, we are approaching it differently now because you must move beyond this.