Why Australia ‘s Covid cases, hospital numbers and deaths WON’T balloon-like Britain’s when the whole country opens up
- Professor Sharon Lewin says Australia’s Covid cases are unlikely to spike-like UK’s
- High immunity, masks and public health restrictions will ease the rise in infections
- The infectious diseases expert says Aussies should ‘relax’ and enjoy freedoms
Australians won’t see sky-rocketing Covid-19 cases like Britain in life after lockdown, a health expert who designed the roadmap out of lockdown predicts.
As residents flocked to pubs, shopping centres and cafes after the lockdown ended in Victoria and NSW, some Australians fear the country could be faced with a similar situation to the UK.
Case numbers in Britain dramatically spiked after it lifted all Covid restrictions in July, controversially dubbed ‘Freedom Day’.
Residents flocked to pubs, shopping centres and cafes after lockdown eased in Victoria and NSW this month
With immunity to the virus waning six months after vaccination, the country is considering reintroducing caps on gatherings and mask mandates.
But Doherty institute director Professor Sharon Lewin dampened concerns Australia could face a similar fate by highlighting a few key differences.
‘The bulk of our population have been vaccinated in the last eight weeks, so they’re freshly vaccinated [and] we’ve got high levels of immunity,’ the she told ABC Melbourne Radio on Tuesday.
High levels of immunity from Vaccination uptake, mask wearing and public health restrictions on density limits and isolation are set help ease Australia’s rise in Covid-19 infections post-lockdown
‘Second of all, we still have some public health restrictions. There’s still mask-wearing in different settings, and there’s density limits, and there’s an active [contact tracing], isolate, and quarantine system in place, which many other countries like the US and the UK and Israel don’t have.’
She added Australia was in ‘very good shape’ to follow the roadmap set at both the state and federal level.
‘I think you can relax and you should enjoy the new freedoms we have,’ Professor Lewin said.
The Doherty Institute produced the report and modelling on which the federal government based its roadmap out of the pandemic that will open international borders next week.
NSW reported 282 cases and one death on Tuesday – in a figure that has slowly dropped since the state recorded 498 infections on its reopening day two weeks ago.
Premier Dominic Perrottet hinted more restrictions could be axed for NSW as the state hit an 85 per cent vaccination milestone this week.
‘We will be looking at aspects of the roadmap at the COVID economic recovery committee this week,’ he said.
The UK saw a dramatic spike in cases after lifting its lockdown in July along with public health restrictions
‘The vaccination rates have provided an opportunity to revisit some areas and we will look at that.’
Across the state, 93.1 per cent of over 16s have had at least one jab of the Covid-19 vaccine.
Data compiled by NSW Health showed that 87.2 per cent of patients hospitalised for Covid-19 during the Delta outbreak were not on the immunisation register.
Just over 90 per cent of Covid-19 patients requiring intensive care were not vaccinated.
Those vaccinated made up only 5.6 per cent of hospitalisations and 3.1 per cent of those required admission to ICU.
NSW hit its 85 per cent double-vaccination coverage milestone this week
Out of 503 deaths from Covid-19 in the previous four months, only 11.7 per cent were fully vaccinated, with 12 per cent having just one dose.
Victoria recorded 1,510 new Covid-19 cases and four deaths on Tuesday as the state continues to revel in its newfound freedoms.
The figure was slightly up from Monday’s recording of 1,461 cases, which was the lowest number since October 6.
There are 817 people in hospital, 15 more than Monday, with the seven-day average at 789. Of those, 147 are in intensive care and 88 are on a ventilator.
