Many infectious diseases experts are warning that failure to urgently take simple steps to reduce the spread of Omicron could result in the need for lockdowns or other drastic measures later.
The Omicron variant is spreading so quickly that experts fear soaring cases may overwhelm hospitals and cause mass illness and death, even if the strain is found to be significantly milder than other COVID-19 variantsAustralian Medical Association president Omar Khorshid has urged state governments including Victoria to use a combination of proven measures such as masks and social distancing as well as vaccination to flatten the new wave of COVID-19 infections.
Epidemiologists say people have too readily latched onto very early reports that the variant could be milder.The head of the epidemiological modelling unit at Monash University, James Trauer, says authorities may need to begin reconsidering whether it will be safe to hold future large events in January and beyond, such as the Australian Open.
“We need to shift our mindset towards realising that we not be heading for a normal summer, particularly in places like New South Wales and Victoria.” A Victorian government spokesman said there were no plans to impose new capacity limits or cancel major events such as the Australian Open or the Boxing Day Test.
Victoria’s cases have risen from to 1193 to 1504 a day in the week to Saturday, and hospitalisations have increased from 323 to 384. The state now has 19 confirmed cases. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said on Friday that while more information was needed about the severity of illness caused by Omicron, “there is nothing to suggest it is certainly worse and a lot to suggest that it is less”.When asked on Saturday about the Imperial College study, Mr Morrison did not repeat this statement and stressed that Australia was a highly vaccinated country, with 1.2 million people having had their booster jab.
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