Soaring COVID-19 infections mean difficult decisions in the most socially mobile week of the year but the prime minister, for one, is staying positive for 2022.
Scott Morrison needed a Christmas miracle. It was the end of 2020 and a COVID-weary nation was ready to leave pandemic restrictions behind. Lockdowns were over, borders were reopening and the beach beckoned.. “Every Christmas is a time to be thankful and while there are frustrations and disappointments and disruptions this Christmas, I think here in Australia we have a lot to be thankful for.
“There’s other things in the toolbox that we can do now to prevent that massive uptick in cases we’re seeing in many other parts of the world,” Lewin says. “That includes simple public health measures.“All along in this pandemic we have had most of our policies informed by the best science, and very clear instructions of what you can and can’t do. Having the right policy right now, making it really clear to people what you can and can’t do, is something I strongly support.
Australia is leading the world on vaccinations, with predictions in places including Canberra that just a few hundred people could be sitting out the jab. The first dose rate is beyond 94 per cent nationally, with full vaccination for those 16 and over at 91 per cent. World Health Organisation leaders hit discordant tones this week. Professor David Nabarro, WHO’s special envoy for COVID-19, was pessimistic in a briefing to journalists. The world faces renewed danger, he said, just as the fast-spreading omicron became dominant in the United States. There, COVID-19 cases are now doubling in one to three days in areas with community transmission.
“Contact tracing can still play an important role,” he says. “It will increasingly need to be targeted to higher risk contacts so as to maximise its benefits as case numbers exceed what contact tracers can manage.”Professor Fiona Russell of Melbourne’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute says that in the face of considerable uncertainly, efforts must be focused on the clinically vulnerable and those at high risk.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
FDA approves Pfizer's antiviral COVID-19 pill, plans to increase production in 2022US health regulators authorise the first pill against COVID-19, a Pfizer drug that Americans will be able to take at home to head off the worst effects of the virus.
Read more »
Britain's daily COVID-19 cases top 100,000 for first time as Omicron surgesConfirmed infections have risen almost 60 per cent in the past week, driven by the highly transmissible omicron variant.
Read more »
UK on edge over Omicron as new COVID-19 cases top 100,000It is the first time daily infections have passed 100,000 in the UK, adding to the pressure Boris Johnson is facing over whether to impose new restrictions after Christmas.
Read more »
Israel to offer fourth COVID-19 dose over 'scary data'Israel will offer a fourth dose of a coronavirus vaccine to its residents over 'scary' data reported from scientists in different countries studying the Omicron variant.
Read more »
World’s first Covid-19 pill approvedThe US Food and Drug Administration has authorised the first oral antiviral treatment for Covid-19. Paxlovid is a pill made by Pfizer.
Read more »
Interstate COVID-19 testing requirements under review after clinics swampedThe Prime Minister will seek advice from Australia&x27;s medical experts on testing for interstate travel to ease pressure on the health system after long COVID-19 testing lines are seen across the nation.
Read more »