The government-appointed inquiry into Australia’s COVID response has warned public trust won’t be so high in a future pandemic and people would be unlikely to accept again many of the measures taken.

“That means there is a job to be done to rebuild trust, and we must plan a response based on the Australia we are today, not the Australia we were before the pandemic,” the report released on Tuesday said.

The inquiry was conducted by former NSW public servant Robyn Kruk, epidemiologist Catherine Bennett, and economist Angela Jackson. It examined the health and economic responses; while it did not directly delve into the state responses, it did cover the federal-state interface.

The overall takeout from the inquiry is that “Australia did well relative to other nations, that experienced larger losses in human life, health system collapse and more severe economic downturns”.

But “the pandemic response was not as effective as it could have been” for an event for which there was “no playbook for pivotal actions”.

The inquiry said “with the benefit of hindsight, there was excessive fiscal and monetary policy stimulus provided throughout 2021 and 2022, especially in the construction sector. Combined with supply side disruptions, this contributed to inflationary pressures coming out of the pandemic.”

The inquiry criticised the Homebuilder program’s contribution to inflation, as well as Jobkeeper’s targeting, and said blanket access to superannuation should not be repeated.

The government – which might have originally expected the inquiry to have been more critical of the Morrison government – quickly seized on the report’s economic criticisms.

The panel has made a set of recommendations to ensure better preparation for a future pandemic.

It highlighted the “tail” the pandemic has left, especially its effect on children, who suffered school closures.

“Children faced lower health risks from COVID-19; however, broader impacts on the social and emotional development of children are ongoing. These include impacts on mental health, school attendance and academic outcomes for some groups of children.”

The report noted that the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee had never recommended widespread school closures.

A lack of clear communication about risks had created the environment for states to decide to go to remote learning.

The impacts on children should be considered in future pandemic preparations, the inquiry said.

It strongly backed making permanent the interim Australian Centre for Disease Control. The government will legislate next year for the CDC, to start on January 1 2026, as an independent statutory agency.

The CDC would be important in rebuilding trust, the report said, as well as “strengthening resilience and preparedness”. It would provide “national coordination to gather evidence necessary to undertake the assessments that can guide the proportionality of public health responses in future crises”.

The report said trust in government was essential for a successful response to a pandemic.

At COVID’s outset, the public largely did what was asked of them, complying with restrictive public health orders.

But the initial strengthening of trust in government did not continue through the pandemic. By the second year, restrictions on personal freedom were less accepted.

Reasons for the decrease in trust included a lack of transparency in decision making, poor communication, the stringency and duration of restrictions, implementation of mandated measures, access to vaccines and inconsistencies in responses across jurisdictions.

Michelle Grattan, Professorial Fellow, University of Canberra

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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Pandemics – the global spread of infectious diseases – seem to be making a comeback. In the Middle Ages we had the Black Death (plague), and after the first world war we had the Spanish flu. Tens of millions of people died from these diseases.

Then science began to get the upper hand, with vaccination eradicating smallpox, and polio nearly so. Antibiotics became available to treat bacterial infections, and more recently antivirals as well.

But in recent years and decades pandemics seem to be returning. In the 1980s we had HIV/AIDS, then several flu pandemics, SARS, and now COVID (no, COVID isn’t over).

So why is this happening, and is there anything we can do to avert future pandemics?

Unbalanced ecosystems

Healthy, stable ecosystems provide services that keep us healthy, such as supplying food and clean water, producing oxygen, and making green spaces available for our recreation and wellbeing.

Another key service ecosystems provide is disease regulation. When nature is in balance – with predators controlling herbivore populations, and herbivores controlling plant growth – it’s more difficult for pathogens to emerge in a way that causes pandemics.

But when human activities disrupt and unbalance ecosystems – such as by way of climate change and biodiversity loss – things go wrong.

For example, climate change affects the number and distribution of plants and animals. Mosquitoes that carry diseases can move from the tropics into what used to be temperate climates as the planet warms, and may infect more people in the months that are normally disease free.

We’ve studied the relationship between weather and dengue fever transmission in China, and our findings support the same conclusion reached by many other studies: climate change is likely to put more people at risk of dengue.

Biodiversity loss can have similar effects by disrupting food chains. When ranchers cleared forests in South America for their cattle to graze in the first half of the 20th century, tiny forest-dwelling, blood-feeding vampire bats suddenly had a smörgåsbord of large sedentary animals to feed on.

While vampire bats had previously been kept in check by the limited availability of food and the presence of predators in the balanced forest ecosystem, numbers of this species exploded in South America.

These bats carry the rabies virus, which causes lethal brain infections in people who are bitten. Although the number of deaths from bat-borne rabies has now fallen dramatically due to vaccination programs in South America, rabies caused by bites from other animals still poses a global threat.

As urban and agricultural development impinges on natural ecosystems, there are increasing opportunities for humans and domestic animals to become infected with pathogens that would normally only be seen in wildlife – particularly when people hunt and eat animals from the wild.

The HIV virus, for example, first entered human populations from apes that were slaughtered for food in Africa, and then spread globally through travel and trade.

Meanwhile, bats are thought to be the original reservoir for the virus that caused the COVID pandemic, which has killed more than 7 million people to date.

Ultimately, until we effectively address the unsustainable impact we are having on our planet, pandemics will continue to occur.

Targeting the ultimate causes

Factors such as climate change, biodiversity loss and other global challenges are the ultimate (high level) cause of pandemics. Meanwhile, increased contact between humans, domestic animals and wildlife is the proximate (immediate) cause.

In the case of HIV, while direct contact with the infected blood of apes was the proximate cause, the apes were only being slaughtered because large numbers of very poor people were hungry – an ultimate cause.

The distinction between ultimate causes and proximate causes is important, because we often deal only with proximate causes. For example, people may smoke because of stress or social pressure (ultimate causes of getting lung cancer), but it’s the toxins in the smoke that cause cancer (proximate cause).

Generally, health services are only concerned with stopping people from smoking – and with treating the illness that results – not with removing the drivers that lead them to smoke in the first place.

Similarly, we address pandemics with lockdowns, mask wearing, social distancing and vaccinations – all measures which seek to stop the spread of the virus. But we pay less attention to addressing the ultimate causes of pandemics – until perhaps very recently.

A planetary health approach

There’s a growing awareness of the importance of adopting a “planetary health” approach to improve human health. This concept is based on the understanding that human health and human civilisation depend on flourishing natural systems, and the wise stewardship of those natural systems.

With this approach, ultimate drivers like climate change and biodiversity loss would be prioritised in preventing future pandemics, at the same time as working with experts from many different disciplines to deal with the proximate causes, thereby reducing the risk overall.

The planetary health approach has the benefit of improving both the health of the environment and human health concurrently. We are heartened by the increased uptake of teaching planetary health concepts across the environmental sciences, humanities and health sciences in many universities.

As climate change, biodiversity loss, population displacements, travel and trade continue to increase the risk of disease outbreaks, it’s vital that the planetary stewards of the future have a better understanding of how to tackle the ultimate causes that drive pandemics.

This article is the first in a series on the next pandemic.

Olga Anikeeva, Research Fellow, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide; Jessica Stanhope, Lecturer, School of Allied Health Science and Practice, University of Adelaide; Peng Bi, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide, and Philip Weinstein, Professorial Research Fellow, School of Public Health, University of Adelaide

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The news of a hot chilli sauce shortages earlier this year – due to high temperatures and drought in agricultural regions – prompted warnings to stock up on supplies or forego adding this flavor to your food. But what prompts people to want to do this in the first place?

We are usually born with an aversion to the sensations like the taste of chilli on our tongue. This isn’t surprising because the key ingredient in chilli is a compound called capsaicin, which causes a painful and even burning sensation when it comes into contact with sensitive areas of our skin, eyes and mouth. Little wonder that it is also a key ingredient in pepper spray.

But in smaller, tolerable amounts, we can adapt to the sensations evoked by chilli and find them desirable.

Chilli can even act as a natural opiate, making our bodies release endorphins in a similar way to a “runner’s high”.

A taste sensation

We react to capsaicin because we have a family of receptors in sensory nerves lining the epithelial (outer) layers of our skin, naso-oral and gastrointestinal tract. These bind to the capsaicin and relay signals to our brain.

These receptors are temperature sensitive and respond to heat in addition to being activated by capsaicin.

In the case of biting into a chilli pepper, the release of capsaicin onto our tongue generates a sensation that ranges from mild tingling to burning heat, depending on the degree to which we have adapted to it.

What distinguishes the sensation compared to other flavours – for example, salty, sweet and bitter – is that it continues long after we have swallowed the mouthful of food containing the chilli. This is because capsaicin is soluble in fat so it is not easily washed off from its receptors on our tongue and mouth by drinking water. In this way, the sensation can intensify with further mouthfuls of chilli-containing food.

We experience capsaicin as a burning sensation that is amplified when the temperature of the food is hot. Our brain interprets this as both pain and excessive warmth, which is why our facial skin flushes and we start to sweat.

Sounds horrible, so why do some people love it?

Well, firstly, all that burning increases saliva production, a response that dilutes the heat as well as enhancing the ability to chew the food. This also dissolves and spreads other flavours in food around the tongue, which enhances the perception of these flavours.

Some volatile organic compounds with flavour can also rise up from the back of the mouth to the nasal sensors when the food is swallowed. Think of the pungent hit of wasabi that comes with sushi or the complex mix of aromas in a Thai red curry. Relatively bland food like rice has its flavor increased by the addition of chilli.

Another factor is that endorphins are released in response to the painful stimulus, which provide their own pain-numbing and mood-enhancing effects. This is a similar situation to people who get addicted to running – the effect of endorphins released by prolonged or intense exercise is to reduce feelings of pain and make us feel good.

People may increase their consumption of chilli as their response to capsaicin receptors adapts and they develop more tolerance and preference for the taste and its effects.

However, it is possible to have too much chilli, shown in the link between high daily consumption of chilli (more than 50 grams – or three or four tablespoons – per day) and declines in memory.

COVID and taste

One thing people have noticed as a frequent side-effect of COVID infection and some antiviral treatment is that their sense of taste and smell is temporarily reduced or lost.

While this eventually recovers in most people, it can go on long after the initial illness. This loss of the ability to smell and taste flavours in food (anosmia and ageusia) leads to reduced enjoyment and quality of life.

Researchers have focused on the mechanisms through which the different COVID variants affect olfactory neurons (the parts of the brain that process and respond to smell) and supporting cells in order to find treatments.

These include smell training using essential oils, which may assist people whose smell remains impaired longer than a month post-COVID. Chilli might also assist, as a taste enhancer.

One study by a meals company of 2,000 diners with COVID found 43% of them were increasing the amount of chilli and other spices they were adding to food to amplify the flavour of meals. Danish experts say eating foods like chilli might be useful to provide sensory stimulation to diners when their sense of smell isn’t quite up to scratch.

Michael Mathai, Associate Professor, Victoria University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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 are now rapidly pushing towards a “business-as-usual” pandemic. This political strategy requires the elimination of protections or restrictions, so that life and business can go “back to normal”.

But life is nowhere near normal. COVID is the third most common killer of Australians, with 11,746 deaths so far this year. And there is mounting evidence survivors of COVID face the risk of long-term health effects on the lungs, heart, brain and immune system.

In reality, there is no going back to normal now we are living with COVID.

Balancing risk

So what is driving these changes and what will the impact be?

First and foremost, there is no scientific basis for the change. We know that people vary in terms of how long they remain infectious with COVID after testing positive.

Setting a reasonable duration of isolation depends on balancing the risk to the community of ongoing transmission and the benefit of enabling individuals with COVID to go back to work, school and normal activities as quickly as possible. Seven days was already a compromise. And now New South Wales premier Dominic Perrottet has called for isolation to be scrapped altogether. Has the evidence changed with respect to this balance?

There are a number of recent studies in vaccinated people in the Omicron era evaluating how long people shed virus and are potentially infectious after testing positive for COVID. This fresh research shows a significant number of people (between one-third and one-half) remain infectious after a five-day isolation period. Another study shows two thirds are infectious after this time.

So, of the 11,734 people reported to be COVID positive on September 1, at least 3,900 would still be infectious on day five. If released from isolation, they could infect others.

With onward transmission, this could result in many additional COVID cases that would not have occurred if an isolation period of seven days had been retained.

While the reduction of the duration of isolation applies only to people who do not have symptoms, it is well accepted transmission without symptoms occurs. Unfortunately, our politicians have equated the absence of symptoms with the inability to transmit the virus to justify the changes. Decision-makers clearly need to be better informed.

But what about businesses?

Mandatory isolation places stress on people and businesses. But with numbers of COVID cases falling from the peaks of the BA.4/5 wave throughout Australia, fewer people are now testing positive for COVID than at any time this year. The pressure on individuals and businesses due to mandatory isolation is at a low point for 2022.

So why make the change now? Perhaps the hope is that while we are experiencing reduced transmission due to the large number of people recently infected with COVID, easing our protections will not lead to an immediate increase in cases.

In this confidence trick, politicians can make these changes with no apparent impact. They will continue to do so until all mitigations against transmission are gone. This is all part of a strategy which, in the words of the NSW premier, has “less reliance on public health orders and more reliance on respecting each other”. As if the two concepts are mutually exclusive instead of mutually reinforcing.

Unfortunately, reinfection is common, and we will face another epidemic wave in the future, likely before the end of the year. Then our systematic dismantling of all existing protections will make the next wave come on sooner and affect more people.

Mitigate transmission instead

Allowing a substantial proportion of people to go back to work while still infectious is not a solution to solving the workforce disruptions COVID is still causing. This is because there will be an increase of infections in workplaces and schools due to the shortened isolation. When our next wave comes, this will result in even more people being furloughed because they are sick with COVID or caring for others, defeating the ultimate purpose of the change.

And, as we have learned with the BA.5 wave – the highest number of people hospitalised with COVID in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic – reintroducing mandates once they have been removed does not happen even when medically advised. Once a protection is relaxed there is no going back – it’s a one-way road.

The best way to protect business interests and keep the economy productive is to mitigate transmission of SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID) as best we can using a vaccine-plus strategy.

In other countries that have shortened the isolation and then abandoned it altogether, such as in the United Kingdom, transmission has only been worsened and the economic impacts compounded.

Removing mask mandates on planes will mean a greater risk of having your travel disrupted by COVID and also of airport disruptions because of flight crew off sick from increased exposure.

By reducing isolation and thereby increasing workplace transmission, we make the workplace less safe. The rights of people to a safe workplace must be considered alongside business continuity.

Allowing increased transmission will impact the economy by resulting in higher numbers of people affected by long COVID. In the UK, the model we appear to be emulating, up to one in four employers are reporting their productivity is affected by long COVID.

The move to a business-as-usual pandemic leaves us unnecessarily vulnerable and will ultimately disrupt business even more.

The emergence of COVID variants that are more and more infectious and increasingly vaccine-resistant, along with the simultaneous removal of mitigations such as isolation and masks, dooms us to recurrent and disruptive waves of disease.

Our best chance of business continuity is not the one-way road to a disruptive business-as-usual pandemic but a layered strategy. This would include improved booster rates, safer indoor air, masks in public indoor settings and maintaining the current isolation period for those with COVID.

Nancy Baxter, Professor and Head of Melbourne School of Population & Global Health, The University of Melbourne and C Raina MacIntyre, Professor of Global Biosecurity, NHMRC Principal Research Fellow, Head, Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute, UNSW Sydney

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

The COVID-19 pandemic has already generated its own mythology. In Britain, they talk of the “myth of the blitz” – the idea of a society that pulled together in the second world war to withstand the bombs dropped by the Luftwaffe with pluck, bravery and humour.

In Australia, our COVID-19 myth is about a cohesive and caring society that patiently endured lockdowns, border closures and other ordeals. Like many myths, ours has some foundation in reality. It might be a poor thing when considered alongside wartime Britain’s wartime sacrifices, and you have to ignore the empty toilet paper shelves in the local supermarket, but it still has its own force. It might be especially potent in Melbourne, where the restrictions were most severe and prolonged.

The COVID-19 myth is now presenting its puzzles to true believers. If you imagined we all pulled together for the common good, and because we have the good sense to look after our own health, you are likely to find it strange that we are now apparently prepared to tolerate dozens of deaths in a day. The total COVID death toll is now above 11,000.

More than tolerate: there has been a preparedness to pretend nothing out of the ordinary is happening.

All of this seems a far cry from those days when we hung on the daily premiers’ media conferences and experienced horror as the number of new infections rose above a few dozen a day, a few hundred, and then a thousand or so. Have our senses been blunted, our consciences tamed?

Public discourse is never neutral. It is always a product of power. Some people are good at making their voices heard and ensuring their interests are looked after. Others are in a weak position to frame the terms of debate or to have media or government take their concerns seriously.

The elderly – especially the elderly in aged-care facilities – have carried a much larger burden of sacrifice than most of us during 2020 and 2021. They often endured isolation, loneliness and anxiety. They were the most vulnerable to losing their lives – because of the nature of the virus itself, but also due to regulatory failure and, in a few places, gross mismanagement.

Casual and gig economy workers, too, struggle to have their voices heard. On his short journey to an about-face over the question of paid pandemic leave, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at first said the payment was unnecessary because employers were allowing their staff to work from home. Yet the conditions of those in poorly paid and insecure work have been repeatedly identified as a problem for them as well as for the wider community, because they are unable easily to isolate.

Up to his point, however, our democracy has spoken: we want our pizzas delivered and we want to be able to head for the pub and the restaurant. And we are prepared to accept a number of casualties along the way to have lives that bear some resemblance to those of the pre-COVID era.

The “we” in this statement is doing a lot of heavy lifting. There is a fierce debate going on about whether governments – and by extension, the rest of us – are doing enough to counter the spread of the virus. Political leadership matters enormously in these things.

In the years following the second world war, Australia’s roads became places of carnage, as car ownership increased and provision for road safety was exposed as inadequate. It peaked around 1970, with almost 3,800 deaths – more than 30 for every 100,000 people. Road fatalities touched the lives of many Australians. If not for the death of my father’s first wife in a vehicle accident on New Year’s Day in 1954, I would not be around to write this piece today.

In the 1960s and 1970s, the coming of mandatory seatbelt wearing and random breath-testing helped bring the numbers down. Manufacturers made their cars safer. Public campaigns urged drivers to slow down and stay sober. These were decisions aimed at avoiding avoidable deaths, despite the curtailment of freedom involved. https://www.youtube.com/embed/nQ-IvxZiZYk?wmode=transparent&start=0

These decisions were also in the Australian utilitarian tradition of government, “whose duty it is to provide the greatest happiness for the greatest number” – as the historian W.K. Hancock famously explained in 1930. The citizen claimed not “natural rights”, but rights received “from the State and through the State”. Governments made decisions about how their authority could be deployed to preserve the common good and protect individuals – from themselves as well as from others.

Governments have during the present surge so far been willing to take what they regard as a pragmatic position that the number of infections and fatalities is acceptable to “the greatest number”, so long as “the greatest number” can continue to go about something like their normal lives.

But this utilitarian political culture also has its dark side. It has been revealed persistently throughout the history of this country – and long before anyone had heard of COVID-19 – as poorly equipped to look after the most vulnerable. The casualties of the current policy are those who have consistently had their voices muted and their interests set aside during this pandemic – and often before it, as well.

These are difficult matters for governments that would much prefer to get on with something other than boring old pandemic management. The issue is entangled in electoral politics – we have just had a federal contest in which major party leaders studiously ignored the issue, and the nation’s two most populous states are to hold elections in the next few months. Governments also realise that restrictions and mandates will meet civil disobedience.

But COVID cannot be wished away. At a minimum, governments need to show they are serious about it to the extent of spending serious money on a campaign of public information and advice on issues like mask-wearing and staying home when ill. They usually manage to find a sufficient stash of public money ahead of each election when they want to tell us what a beaut job they’ve been doing. They might now consider whether something similar might help to save lives.

Frank Bongiorno, Professor of History, ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences, Australian National University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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.

So what are BA.4 and BA.5? And what can we expect in this next phase of the pandemic?

How did it start? BA.1, BA.2 and BA.3

Omicron started off as three subvariants (that is, a group of viruses from the same parent virus), all appearing in late November 2021 in South Africa: BA.1, BA.2, and BA.3.

The three are genetically different enough that they could have had their own Greek names. But for some reason, this did not happen, and the World Health Organization designated them as subvariants of Omicron.

BA.1 rapidly took over from Delta in Australia in early January this year, forming a massive wave of cases, peaking at more than 100,000 a day.

However, BA.2 is even more transmissible than BA.1, and Australia saw a second wave of cases, this time caused by BA.2. This wave peaked in early April at more than 60,000 cases a day.

When were BA.4 and BA.5 detected?

BA.4 was first detected in January 2022 in South Africa. BA.5 was also detected in South Africa, in February 2022.

Both appear to be offshoots of BA.2, sharing many identical mutations. They also have many additional mutations likely to impact transmission.

They are talked about together because mutations in their spike protein (the bit that latches on to human cells) are identical. (For brevity, I refer to them as BA.4/5.)

However, they do differ in some of the mutations on the body of the virus.

How transmissible are BA.4/5?

We measure how contagious a disease is by the basic reproduction number (R0). This is the average number of people an initial case infects in a population with no immunity (from vaccines or previous infection).

New mutations give the virus an advantage if they can increase transmissibility:

• the original Wuhan strain has an R0 of 3.3
• Delta has an R0 of 5.1
• Omicron BA.1 has an R0 of 9.5
• BA.2, which is the dominant subvariant in Australia at the moment, is 1.4 times more transmissible than BA.1, and so has an R0 of about 13.3
• a pre-print publication from South Africa suggests BA.4/5 has a growth advantage over BA.2 similar to the growth advantage of BA.2 over BA.1. That would give it an R0 of 18.6.

This is similar to measles, which was until now was our most infectious viral disease.

How likely is reinfection?

BA.4/BA.5 appear to be masters at evading immunity. This increases the chance of reinfection.

Reinfection is defined as a new infection at least 12 weeks after the first. This gap is in place because many infected people still shed virus particles many weeks after recovery.

However, some unfortunate people get a new infection within the 12 weeks, and therefore are not counted.

Likely, there are now tens of thousands of Australians into their second or third infections, and this number will only get bigger with BA.4/5.

How high are case numbers likely to rise?

Around Australia, we are starting to see a third wave of cases because of BA.4/5.

The effective reproduction number, or Reff tells us, on average, how many people an infected person will pass it on to, given the immunity in the population. All Australian states and territories now have a Reff greater than 1, meaning that even with the current levels of immunity, we are seeing an exponential growth in case numbers. This will inevitably lead to an increase in hospitalisation and deaths.

The second Omicron wave due to BA.2 was not as high as the first one caused by BA.1, probably because there were so many people infected with BA.1, that the ensuing immunity dampened the second wave down.

This third wave may not be as high as the second for the same reason.

How severe is the disease from BA.4/5?

A recent pre-print publication (a publication that has so far not been peer-reviewed) from a Japanese research group found that in lab-based, cell-culture experiments, BA.4/5 was able to replicate more efficiently in the lungs than BA.2. In hamster experiments, it developed into more serious illness.

However, data from South Africa and the United Kingdom found that their BA.4/5 wave didn’t see a major increase in severe disease and death.

This is possibly because of the high rates of immunity due to previous infections. Our high rates of vaccine-induced immunity might have a similar protective effect here.

Will BA.4/5 change long COVID?

At this stage, we do not know whether any of the Omicron subvariants differ in their ability to cause long COVID.

However, we do know that full vaccination (three doses for most people) does provide some protection against long COVID.

How protective are our vaccines against BA.4/5?

Each new subvariant of Omicron has been better able to evade immunity from vaccination than its predecessor.

Although current vaccines based on the Wuhan strain will still provide some protection against serious illness and death against BA.4/5, they are unlikely to provide much, if any, protection against infection or symptomatic disease.

What about new vaccines?

The good news is second-generation vaccines are in clinical trials. Moderna is trialling a vaccine containing mRNA against the original Wuhan strain and Omicron BA.1.

Early results are very promising, and likely to give much better protection against BA.4/5.

But this third Omicron wave – along with a very severe flu season – will likely see our hospitals struggling even more over the next few weeks.

If things get bad enough, state and territory governments might be forced to reintroduce face mask mandates in many settings – in my opinion, not such a bad thing.

This article has been republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons — Attribution/No derivatives license.

Contributing Author: Adrian Esterman is Professor of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of South Australia.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The Australia Today is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts, or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of The Australia Today and The Australia Today News does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Australia’s Omicron wave earlier this year was much larger than we thought, recent research has confirmed. We also heard Health Minister Mark Butler acknowledge Australia can expect a “very big wave” of people with long COVID over the next few years.

hat’s long COVID?

More than 7 million Australians have had COVID; most have recovered from the acute illness. But some have lingering symptoms for months, or longer.

The World Health Organization defines long COVID as symptoms present three months after infection, lasting at least two months, that cannot be attributed to other diagnoses.

The most common symptoms include: fatigue, especially after activity, shortness of breath, brain fog or difficulty concentrating, sleep problems, chronic cough, muscle aches and pains, loss of smell or taste, depression and anxiety.

But there is no one test that diagnoses long COVID. So this multitude of complex symptoms makes it a difficult condition to track down, study and treat.

Who’s more likely to get long COVID?

The risk of long COVID is increased in people who have had more severe COVID, women and people with a chronic illness, such as diabetes, or chronic lung or heart disease.

A US study looked at 4.5 million people treated in the community or in hospital, and followed them to see if they developed long COVID. At six months, 7% had symptoms.

Worryingly this study also suggests being vaccinated only reduced the risk of long COVID by 15%. Symptoms such as brain fog and fatigue were present and vaccination seemed only partly protective against them.

How do we treat long COVID?

Australia’s National COVID-19 Clinical Evidence Taskforce’s recommendations for treating long COVID were updated in May. But these borrow heavily from UK recommendations and the evidence backing these recommendations is at best weak.

In the UK “long COVID clinics” have adopted a medical-led holistic model of care. This involves GPs, specialists and allied health workers, such as physiotherapists, occupational therapists and exercise physiologists. Similar clinics have been set up in Australia.

However, the advice for such clinics is based on consensus and experience of similar conditions, such as chronic fatigue, and what we know about how people recover after leaving intensive care, rather than the results of robust studies focusing on long COVID.

UK advice for treating long COVID involves looking for and managing COVID complications that may affect the lungs, lead to heart disease and managing other existing conditions, such as obesity and diabetes. It also recommends assessing and managing anxiety and depression, which not surprisingly is common in people with long COVID.

UK guidelines advise supporting people to manage their own symptoms, including getting support from their GP, then referral to specialist services when needed.

If people had COVID pneumonia – especially those who went to intensive care, still have breathing problems and are weak – there is some limited evidence pulmonary rehabilitation helps. This is out-patient care with specialist physiotherapists and nurses, involving breathing exercises, education and support.

Two small trials have shown pulmonary rehabilitation, improves breathlessness, exercise capacity, fatigue and quality of life. So this is now recommended.

How to manage fatigue, pain and brain fog?

However, breathing problems are only one component of long COVID.

For people with long COVID and severe fatigue or pain following exertion, a standard exercise program may make things worse. Here, the recommendation is for an initial period of rest then incremental increase in activity, often over many months. However, the optimal approach is not defined.

Neurological symptoms of poor concentration or brain fog, sleep disturbance and altered taste are common, but as yet there are no agreed or proven therapies.

Some people with the most severe neurological symptoms and fatigue develop a disabling condition known as postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome or POTS. When people stand up, their heart races and blood pressure falls. This leads to severe fatigue, headaches and difficulty concentrating.

This condition can be treated by modifying someone’s diet and taking medication. We know this because we see POTS after other infectious diseases or other prolonged, severe diseases that lead to hospitalisation. However, we need clinical trials for these therapies for long COVID to see which treatments work and for whom.

What’s in the future

There are many aspects of long COVID that health authorities, doctors and researchers have yet to pin down.

We still don’t know what causes long COVID, we don’t have a universally accepted definition of it, robust data to say how many Australians are or will be affected, nor a concrete plan of how to manage the many thousands of cases we can expect. So evidence-based treatments for long COVID are only part of the picture.

But the problem we face is here now. We cannot wait for gold-standard evidence to come in before we start treating people.

In the meantime, people need reliable information about the symptoms of long COVID, what to expect and where to go for help. And health professionals need to take their symptoms seriously.

Health professionals also need training in how to manage people with long COVID, targeting appropriate investigations and treatments that will benefit people the most.

That does not just mean specialised long COVID clinics in capital cities, though it is likely we will need these to help people with the most debilitating problems.

Our response will also need to leverage help from a range of existing health providers, and a coordinated response to deal with symptoms that range from mild to severely debilitating. People need support for rehabilitation, mental health and return to work or study.

If we do not start planning and preparing now, the problem will only worsen.

This article has been republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons — Attribution/No derivatives license.

Contributing Authors: Peter Wark is Conjoint Professor in the School of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Newcastle.

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed within this article are the personal opinions of the author. The Australia Today is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, suitability, or validity of any information in this article. All information is provided on an as-is basis. The information, facts, or opinions appearing in the article do not reflect the views of The Australia Today and The Australia Today News does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.

Till last year, a total of 1,525 Victorians had died from COVID-19 and today this figure stands at 3,012.

Recently, hospitalisations have also slightly increased across NSW and Victoria with 1656 and 456 admissions respectively.

Australia’s death rate for COVID-19 is one of the lowest in the world – 7,000 deaths across all states and territories. However, within Australia, Victorian COVID-19 deaths account for the largest share.

The state of Victoria has shown a rate of 95 per cent for double dosed and 68 per cent for triple vaccinated. Yet, on average, 15 people are dying from COVID-19 each day in Victoria.

Christopher Hall from the Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement told ABC:

“That represents families and workplaces and communities that have been permanently impacted by the death of somebody within that network.”

The majority of people who have died with the virus have been older Australians and due to COVID-19 restrictions many family members couldn’t support them in their last moments.

Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has promised “more healthcare workers and nurses to help lighten the load” at the regional hospital of Ballarat.

The Australian Centre for Grief and Bereavement is offering free COVID-19 bereavement support and can be reached on 1800 642 066.

As part of the Health Minister of Victoria’s changes to pandemic orders:

Patrons won’t be required to have two doses or show their vaccination status before entering any venue.

“The requirement for staff and patrons of venues to check-in using the Service Victoria app will end, with operators not required to keep any attendance records or maintain check-in marshals.”

Masks will no longer be required in primary schools, early childhood, hospitality and retail settings, or at events of any size.

Close contacts will no longer have to quarantine – provided they wear a mask indoors and avoid sensitive settings. They will also need to undertake at least five negative rapid tests over the seven days that would previously have been the self-quarantine period.

All visitor restrictions in hospitals will be removed except for mask requirements, with health services able to tailor their own settings based on their own circumstances.

Events with more than 30,000 people will no longer require public health pre-approval.

“International travellers who are symptom-free will be recommended but not required to get a PCR or rapid test on arrival, and unvaccinated travellers will no longer complete 7 days’ quarantine.”

Pre-departure tests for unvaccinated aircrew will also be lifted.

People are exempt from testing or quarantine for 12 weeks if they’ve had COVID-19 – up from 8 weeks.

Individuals will be required to notify their workplace contacts, in addition to informing their social contacts. Workplaces won’t have to individually identify and notify each potentially exposed worker.

Minister for Health Martin Foley said, “The vaccinated economy kept Victorians safe and businesses open during an unpredictable time when we saw our highest case numbers ever – but now is the right time to set it aside and focus on the highest risk settings.”  

“Many things that are very effective in driving down transmission will remain strongly recommended. That will keep us protected during winter and help us respond to emerging risks,” 

added Mr Foley.

A number of critical and common-sense settings will be retained, including the essential requirement to isolate for seven days following a COVID-19 diagnosis and existing two-dose and three-dose vaccination mandates for workers. 

Visitor restrictions in care facilities will be retained to protect the vulnerable. Residents can currently have up to five visitors per day if each shows a negative rapid antigen test result – or two visitors if no test results are provided.

Face coverings will still be required on public transport and at airports – excluding airport workers who aren’t public-facing – and in sensitive health, aged care and justice settings. All workplaces will still require a COVID Safe Plan.

Many rules which are no longer required will be recommended, including working from home if you’re a close contact exempt from quarantine. Masks are strongly recommended when you can’t physically distance.

Vaccinated international arrivals:
·         Previously, vaccinated international arrivals to South Australia were not permitted to enter high-risk settings for 7 days after arrival; this requirement has now been removed.
·         Vaccinated international travellers to South Australia need to undertake a COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) on arrival and quarantine until they have taken the test.

Additionally, if the person returns a positive RAT result, they need to then have a PCR test immediately by travelling directly to the test site and wearing a mask at all times (this does not apply to people quarantined in a medi-hotel or quarantine facility). 

People who are quarantined in a medi-hotel or quarantine facility will be directed by an authorised officer in the facility to have a PCR test in the event they return a positive RAT result.

Unvaccinated international arrivals:
·         Unvaccinated international arrivals will still be required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in South Australia and submit to PCR testing.
International arrivals also need to comply with the isolation, testing, reporting and other requirements of the Emergency Management (Exposure Sites, Contacts and Diagnosis Requirements No 7) (COVID-19) Direction 2022.

The following changes made to the Arrivals Associated Direction for South Australia are effective from 12.01 am on 18 April 2022.

All COVID-19 RAT results (including those of international arrivals) need to be recorded on the SA Health website here: https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/conditions/infectious+diseases/covid-19/testing+and+tracing/rapid+antigen+testing+rat+for+covid-19#scrollTo-Reportingyourresult10

The information above only highlights the key changes made to the Directions and does not reflect all requirements. For all other existing requirements for international travellers to South Australia, visit: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/travel/international-travel

All existing directions, frequently asked questions and other information can be found here: https://www.covid-19.sa.gov.au/emergency-declarations

If you require further information you can call the SA COVID-19 Information Line on 1800 253 787 between the hours of 8am to 8pm 7 days per week or go to the SA Health website at www.sahealth.sa.gov.au or www.sa.gov.au/covid-19

With the help of this model, researchers can “predict the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccines, potentially speeding-up the development of new vaccines.”

The Queensland Brain Institute’s Dr Pranesh Padmanabhan, working with researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IIS) has produced this model.

This research was a result of an international collaboration between the Queensland Brain Institute and the Indian Institute of Science and was published in Nature Computational Science.

Dr Padmanabhan said the research established a framework for predicting the efficacy of new vaccines against future strains of the SARS CoV-2 virus.

“The ability to predict vaccine efficacies could expedite vaccine development by helping shortlist promising candidates and minimise reliance on expensive and time-consuming clinical trials.”

Since 2020, researchers and scientists have been working hard to develop vaccines and keep ahead of its mutations.

According to UQ, Dr Padmanabhan and his colleague analysed 80 individual antibodies from 20 studies to construct a mathematical model of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies.

Dr Padmanabhan said:

“The model we developed reliably predicted the diversity of the antibody response within and across vaccinated individuals.”

The team then analysed clinical trial data for eight major vaccines. They found a relationship between vaccine protection against SARS CoV-2 and the potential antibody response.

Dr Padmanabhan adds:

“The main predictions are the influence of vaccination on the severity of disease and the population-level protection conferred by the eight approved COVID-19 vaccines. Using this model, we aim to predict the efficacies of new vaccines against different variants without relying heavily on clinical trials.”

Prof. Narendra Dixit from the IIS said the major challenge was to understand and describe the vast variability in the antibody responses elicited by the vaccine.

“Overcoming this challenge would allow predicting the fraction of the vaccinated individuals who would generate strong enough responses to be protected from serious infection.”

Prof. Dixit further adds:

“By deducing links between the activity of antibodies, its variability, antibody generation by vaccination, and the resulting protection conferred upon populations, our study offers exciting insights into the workings of COVID-19 vaccines.”

With the help of this model, new vaccines may be able to be produced much faster by allowing scientists to “make decisions before clinical trials are over”.

The advice from the TGA is the first step of a two-stage process, with further advice, including the timeframe that a booster should be administered after the second dose, to be provided by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Advice from ATAGI is expected to be provided to government shortly.

We know that two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine provides very good protection, especially against severe disease.

A booster dose potentially makes sure the protection from the first two doses is even stronger and longer lasting, helping prevent the virus from spreading and new variants from emerging.

The provision of booster doses for sixteen and seventeen year olds will provide further protection and peace of mind for children and their parents. 

Australia was one of the first countries in the world to commence a whole of population COVID-19 booster program. Over 7.1 million Australians have already received a booster dose over recent weeks.

Over 93.1 percent of Australians aged 16 and over have completed their primary course of vaccination.

All Australians who are currently eligible for their primary course of vaccination, or for their booster dose, and who have not yet acted are urged to make a booking as soon as possible to get vaccinated.

The Australian Government has secured more than 151 million booster doses for delivery over the coming year and is well placed to continue to achieve world leading vaccination rates against COVID-19.

To book a booster dose please use the COVID-19 Clinic Finder and make your appointment.

The recommendations from ATAGI follow Australia’s medicines regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA), provisionally approving the Novavax vaccine in Australia.

ATAGI has recommended the Novavax vaccine be given in two doses, at least three weeks apart.

Australia has purchased 51 million doses of the Novavax COVID-19 vaccine. Samples of the Novavax vaccines are set to arrive in Australia in early February to enable TGA batch testing.

Subject to successful TGA batch testing, the Novavax vaccine will be available to be administered from the week of 21 February 2022.

“Australians will be able to access a Novavax vaccine through general practices, community pharmacies, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services, Commonwealth vaccination centres, and state and territory clinics.”

All primary care vaccine providers, who are currently participating in the vaccine rollout have already received an expression of interest to administer Novavax.

The vaccine is only approved by the TGA for use in a primary course of vaccination. Studies for its use as a booster dose and in paediatric patients are ongoing.
The vaccine does not have regulatory approval for these purposes at this stage.

ATAGI recommends the Novavax vaccine can be administered to pregnant and breastfeeding women.

It also advises the vaccine can be used for people who are severely immunocompromised and who are recommended to receive three doses for their primary course of vaccination.

ATAGI has noted the vaccine has been demonstrated to be highly effective in preventing symptomatic COVID-19 in adults.

Novavax is the fourth COVID-19 vaccine to be approved for use in Australia after Vaxzevria (AstraZeneca), Spikevax (Moderna), and Comirnaty (Pfizer).

Australia is one of the most vaccinated countries in the world against COVID-19, with more than 48 million COVID-19 vaccines administered across the country and over 95% of Australians 16+ having received the first dose.

If you are due for your first, second or booster shot, or have kids aged 5+ book a COVID-19 vaccine today.
Find a vaccine clinic

At present, Australia continues to grapple with a shortage of Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT).

People have reported price gouging which has been called “beyond outrageous” by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

Rod Sims, the Chair of the ACCC, told media that the agency has received reports of RATs costing up to $500 for two tests through online marketplaces.

He added that it is costing more than $70 per test through convenience stores, service stations and independent supermarkets.

Despite wholesale RAT costs being up to $11.45 a test, ACCC says prices for the kits are often retailing between $20-$30.

A police spokesperson told media that the incident happened on Tuesday afternoon:

“The incident was reported to police and inquiries are continuing.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has now warned the perpetrator.

“At a time when everyone across our state has made incredible efforts in keeping people safe, in making sacrifices, what a disgraceful act. The police will catch you.”

Tight-fitting respirator face masks such as N95 or filtering facepiece (FFP3) masks are essential respiratory protective equipment during aerosol-generating procedures in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) environment. 

We have removed Mr Singh’s tweet as per his request.

According to Emma Andollie, an Occupational Health and Safety nurse, international standards, Australian standards and respirator manufacturers all require people to be clean-shaven when wearing a respirator.

As the function of a close-fitting respirator relies on an effective seal to the skin there should be no foreign substance or facial hair between mask and skin when testing.

However, Prof Brett Sutton who is the Victorian Chief Health Officer responding to his query clarified that “There are no pandemic orders that require you to shave or cut your beard to wear a mask.”

The rule is very clear that a medical practitioner “must meet OH&S requirements but religious exemptions also apply.”

Individuals unable to shave due to personal or religious reasons such as Sikhs are often recommended to use alternatives such as powered air-purifying respirators (PAPRs). 

Nitin Arora, Digital Editor of JICS, and Dr Christian Karcher, University of Melbourne, also pointed to the “use the Drager 8000 PAPR hood” and “3M Versaflo systems” by bearded medical practitioners.

Such types of equipment are also being used by some Sikh medical practitioners in the UK during the pandemic.

However, researchers note that such “alternatives are expensive, limited in supply, and cumbersome to use.”

He is confident that as a medical student during such unprecedented times he has a “reasonable, safe, evidence-based solution, and there is space for equal opportunity to be upheld.”

Researchers of a scientific study conducted in 2020 note that there is “no evidence in the literature to suggest why, instead of shaving, the facial hair-factor cannot be overcome with an under-mask beard cover.”

They add that using the Singh Thattha technique obtains a pass rate of 25/27 (92.6%) by qualitative and 5/5 (100%) by quantitative fit test in full-bearded individuals. 

The authors of this study also note that “for individuals for whom shaving is not possible, the Singh Thattha technique could offer an effective solution to safely don respirator masks.”

Now, the question is does Mr Singh’s predicament sound like religious discrimination or an essential feature that saves the medical practitioner from harm?

As similar stories have come forward from Queensland where male Sikh nursing students are finding it hard to gain placement unless they either cut beard for clean shaven look or defer for next year.

Victoria recorded 20,769 new COVID-19 cases and 18 deaths on Wednesday, 10,726 from PCR tests and 10,043 from rapid antigen tests.

Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews said public health teams recommended the wait time between COVID-19 second dose and booster be reduced from four months to three “effective immediately”.

“The total number of people eligible increases substantially by two million Victorians and it will help us get more people third-dose boosted quicker than would otherwise be the case,”

explained Mr Andrews.

Meanwhile, 20 Australian Defence Force personnel will arrive in Victoria on Thursday, to help with driving ambulances and freeing up paramedics.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the extra support on Wednesday after Mr Andrews requested assistance. 

There are also 12 Australian Public Service workers helping Victorian authorities to take triple zero calls, due to rising demand. 

It comes as a “code brown” declaration for Victoria’s hospital system that came into effect at midday on Wednesday. 

There are 1173 Victorians in hospital with COVID-19, an increase of 21 on Tuesday’s figures, of which 125 are in ICU and 42 on ventilation.

Walk-up vaccinations will be available and are encouraged at a number of state-run centres, including:

•             Royal Exhibition Building (walk-up access available 8:00am to 8:00pm daily during the blitz)

•             Latrobe University Bundoora (walk-up 8:00am to 8:00pm)

•             Sandown Racecourse (walk-up 9:00am to 6:30pm Saturday and Sunday)

•             Dandenong Plaza (walk-up 9:00am to 5:00pm Saturday and Sunday)

•             Frankston’s Bayside Centre (walk-up 9:30am to 5pm Saturday and Sunday)

•             Sunshine Hospital (walk-up 8:00am to 8:00pm)

•             Bendigo Vaccination Hub (walk-up 9:00am to 8:00pm)

•             Ballarat Mercure (walk-up 8:30am to 3:00pm Sunday)

Authorities are expecting hospital admissions from the current Omicron wave to skyrocket in the coming weeks, prompting the code brown alert to ensure hospitals can postpone or defer less urgent care.

New South Wales

The four-month interval was to drop to three months on January 31, in line with federal government rules for GPs and pharmacies.

Premier Dominic Perrottet said, “As we are clearly seeing boosters are key to keeping yourself, your friends and your family safe.”

The state’s clinics can provide 250,000 shots a week but delivered about 180,000 last week.

“It’s awful for us to see our bookings in our clinics go begging,” NSW Health Deputy Secretary Susan Pearce said.

Triple-dosed adults now sit at 27.8 per cent, despite more than half of adults being eligible.

Some 300,000 people are currently isolating with COVID-19, while another 550,000 have been infected in the past four weeks.

Adults can proceed with their booster schedule four to six weeks after being infected with COVID-19, Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said.

Vaccine body ATAGI is currently working through official guidance.

It comes as the deaths of 20 men and 12 women were reported on Wednesday, including three aged in their 40s and 18 people aged over 80.

One in four deaths were of unvaccinated people, while only five people had had a booster.

“No matter where you are in NSW or indeed Australia, you are vulnerable,” Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.

The number of COVID-19 hospital patients rose 13 to 2863, with ICU numbers up eight to 217.

The health minister said half of those in ICU were unvaccinated.

Unvaccinated people make up only five per cent of the NSW adult population, and 18 per cent of the total population.

Infections appear to have stabilised, with 32,297 new cases including 12,450 from rapid antigen tests.

It’s the fourth straight day under 35,000.

The NSW Labor opposition wants schools turned into vaccination hubs, a plan to ensure schools remain operational when teachers get sick, and advice for families in multiple languages.

NSW and Victoria are due to present a united schooling plan to the national cabinet on Thursday.

If you have symptoms you should visit your nearest testing clinic as soon as possible.

Many people who contract COVID will experience mild symptoms and feel better in 3-4 days. While a small portion of people may feel quite unwell for 7-14 days.

Here’s a list of severe symptoms that need urgent medical attention:

• difficulty breathing
• an oxygen level of less than 92% when tested with a pulse oximeter
• blue lips or face
• pain or pressure in the chest
• cold and clammy, or pale and mottled, skin
• fainting or collapsing
• being confused
• becoming difficult to wake up
• little or no urine output
• coughing up blood.

If you have no symptoms you should take a rapid antigen test at home.

If you test positive for COVID-19 you must immediately isolate and make a list of close contacts.

Someone is a close contact if they:

• live in the same house as someone who tests positive
• spent 4 hours or longer with someone in a home, or health or aged care environment
• are determined as one by your state or territory health department.

Isolation means staying at home.

• Do not attend work or school, visit public areas, or travel on public transport, in taxis or ride-share services.
• You should stay separated from other people in your house. Stay in a separate, well-ventilated room away from other people.
• If you have an appointment you cannot miss – such as a visit to a doctor, family violence service or police – you must tell them that you have COVID-19.

While in isolation, try to get plenty of rest, drink lots of water and eat well.

Here is a list of items to include in your COVID-19 ready kit:

1. paracetamol or ibuprofen
2. electrolyte powder or solution 
3. disposable gloves for handling dishes may provide an extra layer of protection
4. tissues
5. masks
6. cleaning products
7. Rapid Antigen Kits‍
8. a list of key helplines and resources – such as the National Coronavirus Helpline on 1800 020 080, mental health services, and your states or territory’s helplines.  

According to the Australian government, being fully vaccinated against COVID-19 reduces your risk of severe illness, hospitalisation and death.

Learn more at: https://www.health.gov.au/health-alerts/covid-19/testing-positive

This study, published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, compares relative life expectancy across countries before and after the onset of the pandemic.

ANU researchers’ study found that the average life expectancy for Australians increased between 2019 and 2020 by 0.7 years for females and males.

According to the researchers, this is the largest increase observed in Australia since the 1990s.

The researchers attributed this rise to Australia’s strict response to COVID-19.

The study’s co-author Prof. Vladimir Canudas-Romo notes:

“During the 1918 Spanish flu, attempts were made to close borders. Yet, once ports opened, the lack of a vaccination meant the virus spread with fatal effects. With modern-day vaccines, Australia has been able to escape this deadly fate.”

The nations with the next highest increases were Denmark and Norway.

Both nations recorded an increase of 0.1 and 0.2 years for females and males respectively.

On the other hand, the USA showed a decrease with the average life expectancy being reduced by -1.7 and -2.2 years for females and males respectively.

Prof. Tim Driscoll, the University of Sydney, told ABC that the findings of the new study were interesting.

However, he added that the findings were not indicative of the broader wellbeing (mental and physical) despite showing that there were some benefits to lockdowns in Australia.

“From what I’ve seen, I don’t think there’s good evidence that that happened, but that doesn’t mean that there haven’t been issues and challenges with the mental health of people who’ve been locked down and isolated.”

The debate raises an ultimate question that is the battle between life expectancy and quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through the program,
1- Eligible Commonwealth concession card holders will be permitted to receive a maximum of ten free tests in a three month period with a maximum of five tests in any one month through participating community pharmacies.
2- Eligibility will include people with a Pensioner Concession Card, Commonwealth Seniors Health Care Card, Department of Veterans’ Affairs Gold, White or Orange Card, Health Care Card, Low Income Health Card.

Community pharmacies will be reimbursed a set amount for the unit cost of the Rapid Antigen Tests (which will be $10 plus GST per test initially, with ongoing review of unit prices).

For each supply transaction processed for an eligible person under this program (minimum of 2 tests and maximum of 5 tests per transaction), an Administration Handling and Infrastructure (AHI) fee of $4.30 per transaction will be reimbursed to the pharmacy, consistent with current AHI arrangements under the Seventh Community Pharmacy Agreement. Community Pharmacies will be responsible for sourcing supply for the program as they do for non-subsided rapid antigen tests.

The program to provide free Rapid Antigen Tests for concession card holders will become available through community pharmacies from 24 January 2022.

The individual pharmacies will commence participation in the program as supply continues to become available in late January and early February 2022. 

Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms and close contacts should attend a state clinic for free testing and not go to a pharmacy to receive a free test.

Essential Workers – Close Contact Furlough Arrangements by Sector and Workforce

Worker absenteeism due to symptomatic COVID-19 illness, identified asymptomatic infection and the required isolation of close contacts is impacting on critical supply sectors and supply chains across all states and territories.

Current arrangements could see 10 per cent of Australia’s workforce including many workers in critical supply sectors withdrawn from the workforce. The potential impact of school closures on workforce absenteeism relating to caring responsibilities could see a further 5 per cent of Australia’s workforce withdrawn from the workforce.

The medical advice is that Omicron continues to show greater infectivity than the Delta variant, but with much less severity in terms of hospitalisations, ICU and ventilated patients.

Each state and territory will implement these changes to close contact arrangements for essential workers under respective state and territory public health orders and equivalent arrangements.

Changes will be made as soon as possible, where they have not already been made under state and territory public health arrangements, to include essential workers in:

·       All transport, freight, logistics and service stations

Changes will be made shortly, where they have not already been made under state and territory public health arrangements, to include: 

·       Health, welfare, care and support (including production and provision of medical, pharmaceutical and health supplies),

·       Emergency services, safety, law enforcement, justice and correctional services,

·       Energy, resources and water, and waste management,

·       Food, beverage, and other critical goods (including farming, production, and provision but not including hospitality),

·       Education and childcare; and

·       Telecommunications, data, broadcasting and media.

A full list of sectors is attached.

National Cabinet agreed to further consider expanding these sectors to priority 2 cohorts, pending further health advice.

National Cabinet further endorsed the AHPPC Permissions and Restrictions for workers in health care and aged care settings to ensure close contact essential workers in these sectors are able to return to safely work and ensure continuity of care and effective operations.

National Framework for Managing COVID-19 in Schools and Early Childhood Education and Care

The Framework is based on six National Guiding Principles:

1.       ECEC services and schools are essential and should be the first to open and the last to close wherever possible in outbreak situations, with face-to-face learning prioritised*;

2.       Baseline public health measures continue to apply;

3.       No vulnerable child or child of an essential worker is turned away;

4.       Responses to be proportionate and health risk-based;

5.       Equip ECEC services and schools to respond on the basis of public health advice and with support from public health authorities where required;

6.       Wellbeing of children and education staff to be supported.

All Governments will come back to National Cabinet next week to set out the practical implementation of this Framework so that families can plan with certainty. This will include detailed operational plans, such as mask wearing and surveillance rapid antigen testing, including for teachers.

The Queensland and South Australian Governments have delayed the start to their school years by two weeks due to the forecast peaks of the virus in those states. These schools will still be open for the children of essential workers during this period. 

National Cabinet reaffirmed the National Plan to Transition Australia’s National COVID-19 Response and continue work to suppress the virus under Phase C of the National Plan – seeking to minimise serious illness, hospitalisation and fatalities as a result of COVID-19 with baseline restrictions.

To date over 45 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered in Australia, including 346,349 in the previous 24 hours. This was the third highest daily vaccination total on record with record numbers of 254,112, boosters and 55,570 5 to 11 year old vaccinations.

Almost 95 per cent of the Australian population aged 16 years and over have now had a first dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, including over 99 per cent of over 50 year olds and more than 99 per cent of over 70 year olds.

More than 92.3 per cent of Australians aged 16 years and over are now fully vaccinated including more than 97.3 per cent of over 50 year olds and more than 99 per cent of Australians over 70 years of age.

Over 4.3 million booster doses have been administered. Australia has sufficient supplies of boosters, with 24 million mRNA booster doses in stock in Australia. Yesterday over 242,000 boosters were administered across Australia. Over 48 per cent of those eligible for boosters have had a booster and almost 42 per cent of Australians aged 70 years of age and over have had a booster in the last 9 weeks since the booster program commenced.

Vaccinations for 5 to 11 year olds commenced on Monday 10 January. In only three days over 140,000 vaccinations have been administered to 5-11 years olds accounting for 6.2% of all 5-11 year olds.

Since the beginning of the pandemic there have been 1,195,158 confirmed cases in Australia and, sadly, 2,522 people have died. Australia’s case and fatality rate continues to be the second lowest in the OECD. Globally there have been over 315.4 million cases and sadly over 5.5 million deaths, with 2,265,922 new cases and 6,606 deaths reported in the last 24 hours. The Omicron variant continues to surge in many countries around the world. The latest advice is the Omicron variant is highly transmissible, but significantly less severe than the Delta variant.

National Cabinet agreed that priority access to the public provision of Rapid Antigen Testing is for health and aged care settings as well as people who are symptomatic, close contacts as well as vulnerable populations, such as remote Indigenous communities.

The guidance for close contacts was updated on 30 December 2021, with close contacts defined as household contacts of confirmed cases.

He has committed to “push through” the outbreak as he plans to ease isolation rules for asymptomatic workers in key sectors.

PM Morrison told a media briefing in Canberra:

“Omicron is a gear change and we have to push through. You’ve got two choices here: you can push through or you can lock down. We are for pushing through.”

COVID-19 infections are at near record levels especially caused by the Omicron variant.

Australia has reported about 1.1 million cases since the pandemic began.

Recently, Ambulance Union’s Olga Bartasek told media that they were forced to declare a code red in Victoria.

“Certainly, code red is only ever reserved for … things like thunderstorm asthma or the bush fires.”

However, this time it was was due to the the high number of call requests than ambulances available.

Victoria’ Acting Premier Jacinta Allan said that it showed the “unprecedented challenges” the health system faced in the wake of the pandemic.

“Code red circumstances do happen from time to time both as a consequence of the pandemic but indeed other events, either natural disasters or other events that are going on in the community at that given time.”

The premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, told a media briefing:

“There is significant pressure in our health system.”

He added that about 4,000 hospital and 400 ambulance staff in the state were isolating due to virus protocols.

More than 4,000 people are in hospital with COVID-19 and the number of patients in ICU are also slowly on the rise.

This will apply to healthcare, aged care, disability, emergency services, correctional facility, quarantine accommodation and food distribution workers. Workplaces must sight and record proof of vaccination.

This order comes into place at 11:59pm Wednesday 12 January.

Workers eligible for a third dose on or before Wednesday 12 January will have until Saturday 12 February to get their vital third dose. Workers not yet eligible for a third dose will be required to get it within three months and two weeks of the deadline to receive their second mandatory dose.

This means residential aged care workers must receive their third dose by 1 March, and health care workers by 29 March. Disability, quarantine accommodation, correctional facilities, emergency services, and food distribution workers will need to receive their third dose by 12 March.

Food distribution workers includes manufacturing, warehousing and transport (freight/port) workers involved in food distribution.

Retail supermarket staff are not included in the mandate.

Victorians in these priority cohorts were among the first required to have their first and second dose vaccination during 2021. The mandatory vaccination requirement will not apply to workers who have a valid medical exemption.

The New Restrictions:

To reduce the risks of the virus spreading, indoor dance floors within hospitality and entertainment venues must close from 11:59pm 12 January. Venues can still operate and there are no changes to the density settings currently in place.

Indoor dance floors at weddings will be permitted, but wedding hosts and guests should still consider the risks of dance floors and choose to locate them outdoors if possible.

Minister for Health Martin Foley said, “Victoria is open and the community is encouraged to support businesses in a COVIDSafe way. Closing indoor dance floors is a simple but important step – we know they pose an extraordinary risk of mass transmission.”

The strong recommendations that people work from home if they are able and that patrons in hospitality and entertainment venues opt for seated service will continue. It is recommended that people visiting these venues who can access Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) should use them before attending.

In addition, further visitor restrictions will be applied to hospitals and aged care settings – reflecting the vulnerable nature of patients and residents in these facilities.

Residents at aged care centres will continue to be permitted up to five visitors per day, but visitors must return a negative RAT result before entering. If no RATs are available at the facility, residents will be permitted no more than two visitors.

Visitors in hospitals must have received two doses of the vaccine or must return a negative RAT result before entering. Adult visitors who are not fully vaccinated must wear an N95 mask during their visit. Standard face masks continue to be mandated for children aged 8 and above.

While test requirements upon arrival remain unchanged, fully vaccinated international arrivals will no longer need to get a second PCR or RAT five to seven days after their arrival. This change is in line with the decision of National Cabinet last week and recognises the high levels of COVID-19 transmission currently in the community.

Workers in the manufacturing, distribution or packaging of food and beverages including retail supermarket workers may be exempted from close contact isolation requirements in order to attend work from 11.59pm Wednesday 12 January, if it is necessary for continuity of operations and other options have been exhausted.

To mitigate risks, exempted workers must be asymptomatic, undertake daily RATs for 5 days and return a negative result prior to attending work. They can’t enter shared break areas, and employers are asked to facilitate solo break time.

In addition, face coverings must be worn, using N95/P2 respirators if possible. Both the worker and workplace must consent to the worker’s return.

This new close contact isolation exemption for asymptomatic food distribution workers is similar to the arrangements already in place for critical healthcare workers.

Information on updated COVIDSafe settings and third dose vaccination requirements will be published at www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au when the orders come into effect at 11:59pm Wednesday 12 January.

All travellers will undergo home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India

The Revised Guidelines will come into effect from 11th January 2022 (00.01 Hrs IST)

Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said all travellers from specified countries at risk will at first, submit a sample for the post-arrival COVID-19 test at the point of arrival (self-paid). Such travellers will be required to wait for their test results at the arrival airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight.

Planning for Travel

1. All travellers should
   1. Submit complete and factual information in self-declaration form on the online AirSuvidha portal before the scheduled travel, including last 14 days travel details.
   2. Upload a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR report*. The test should have been conducted within 72 hrs prior to undertaking the journey.
   3. Each passenger shall also submit a declaration with respect to authenticity of the report and will be liable for criminal prosecution, if found otherwise.
2. They should also give an undertaking on the portal or otherwise to Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India, through concerned airlines before they are allowed to undertake the journey that they would abide by the decision of the appropriate government authority to undergo home/institutional quarantine/ self-health monitoring, as warranted.
3. Continuing with the earlier approach, travellers from certain specified Countries (based on epidemiological situation of COVID-19 in those Countries) are identified for additional follow up. These include need for additional measures as detailed in para (xviii) below. The listing of such specified Countries is a dynamic exercise based on evolving situation of COVID-19 across the world and will be made available on the websites of Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, (mohfw.gov.in) and the link of the same will be available at website of Ministry of External Affairs and Air Suvidha Portal.
4. All travellers who need to undertake testing on arrival, should preferably pre-book the test online on Air Suvidha Portal, to facilitate timely testing.

Before Boarding

5. Passengers originating or transiting from at-risk countries shall be informed by the airlines that they will undergo post arrival testing, quarantine if tested negative, stringent isolation protocols if tested positive etc. as mentioned in para (xviii).
6. Do’s and Don’ts shall be provided along with ticket to the travellers by the airlines/agencies concerned.
7. Airlines to allow boarding by only those passengers who have filled in all the information in the Self Declaration Form on the Air Suvidha portal and uploaded the negative RT-PCR test report.
8. At the time of boarding the flight, only asymptomatic travellers will be allowed to board after thermal screening.
9. All passengers shall be advised to download Aarogya Setu app on their mobile devices.

During Travel

10. In-flight announcement about COVID-19 including precautionary measures to be followed shall be made at airports and in flights and during transit.
11. During in-flight crew shall ensure that COVID appropriate behaviour is followed at all times.
12. If any passenger reports symptoms of COVID-19 during flight, he/she shall be isolated as perprotocol.
13. Proper in-flight announcements should be made by the airlines regarding the testingrequirements and people who need to undergo such testing to avoid any congestion at the arrival airports.

On arrival

14. De-boarding should be done ensuring physical distancing.
15. Thermal screening would be carried out in respect of all the passengers by the health officials present at the airport. The self-declaration form filled online shall be shown to the airport health staff.
16. The passengers found to be symptomatic during screening shall be immediately isolated and taken to medical facility as per health protocol. If tested positive, their contacts shall be identified and managed as per laid down protocol#.
17. Travellers from specified Countries at risk [as mentioned in para (iii) and (iv) above] will follow the protocol as detailed below:
    • Submission of sample for post-arrival COVID-19 test* at the point of arrival (self-paid).Such travellers will be required to wait for their test results at the arrival airport before leaving or taking a connecting flight.
    • If tested negative they will follow, home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India*.
    • Travellers shall also be required to upload results of repeat RT-PCR test for COVID-19 done on 8th day on Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by the respective States/UTs).
    • If negative, they will further self-monitor their health for next 7 days.
    • However, if such travellers are tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at INSACOG laboratory network.
    • They shall be managed at isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol including contact tracing mentioned in para (xvii).
    • The contacts of such positive case should be kept under home quarantine monitored strictly by the concerned State Government as per laid down protocol.

18. Travellers from Countries excluding those referred as of risk, will follow the protocol as below:
    1. A sub-section (2% of the total flight passengers) shall undergo post-arrival testing at random at the airport on arrival.
    2. These 2% of such travellers in each flight shall be identified by the concerned airlines (preferably from different countries).
    3. Laboratories shall prioritise testing of samples from such travellers.
    4. All travellers (including those 2% who were selected for random testing on arrival and were found negative) will undergo home quarantine for 7 days and shall undertake RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India*.
    5. Travellers shall also be required to upload results of repeat RT-PCR test for COVID-19done on 8th day on Air Suvidha portal (to be monitored by the respective States/UTs).
    6. If negative, they will further self-monitor their health for next 7 days.
    7. However, if such travellers are tested positive, their samples should be further sent for genomic testing at INSACOG laboratory network.
    8. They shall be managed at isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol including contact tracing mentioned in para (xvii).
19. If travellers under home quarantine or self-health monitoring, develop signs and symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 or test positive for COVID-19 on re-testing, they will immediately self- isolate and report to their nearest health facility or call National helpline number (1075)/ State Helpline Number.

International travellers arriving at seaports/land ports

20. International travellers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol as above, except that facility for online registration is not available for such passengers currently.
21. Such travellers shall submit the self-declaration form to the concerned authorities of Government of India at seaports/land ports on arrival.

“They shall be managed at isolation facility and treated as per laid down standard protocol including contact tracing mentioned. The contacts of such positive case should be kept under home quarantine monitored strictly by the concerned State Government as per laid down protocol,” it added. 

Travellers from countries excluding those from at-risk countries will follow the ministry’s guidelines as well. At first, a sub-section (two per cent of the total flight passengers) shall undergo post-arrival testing at random at the airport on arrival. These two per cent of such travellers in each flight shall be identified by the concerned airlines (preferably from different countries). Further, laboratories shall prioritise testing of samples from such travellers.

International travellers arriving through seaports/land ports will also have to undergo the same protocol as above, except that facility for online registration is not available for such passengers currently. Such travellers shall submit the self-declaration form to the concerned authorities of the Government of India at seaports/land ports on arrival.

Children under five years of age are exempted from both pre and post-arrival testing. However, if found symptomatic for COVID-19 on arrival or during the home quarantine period, they shall undergo testing and treated as per laid down protocol.

As per the Health ministry, the global trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to decline with certain regional variations. The need to monitor the continuously changing nature of the virus and the evolution of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) must still remain in focus. The existing guidelines for international arrivals in India have been formulated taking a risk-based approach.

From 1pm today, parents and guardians can book at one of the 18 state-run vaccination centres offering child vaccinations online or through the coronavirus hotline.

Online bookings will require a unique email address, which can be the child’s address or another one belonging to a parent or guardian.

Parents and guardians of children between 5 and 11 are recommended to book in their child’s first dose in the lead up to the program commencing 10 January.

Eight flagship vaccination centres are being transformed into an Australian-themed ‘forest of protection’ which will feature fun imagery of native Australian animals, as well as entertainers, activities and show bags designed to help make the vaccination experience positive for children and their families.

The forest-themed sites will be located at:

1- Melton Vaccination Hub (indoor and drive-through),
2- Campbellfield Ford Complex,
3- Cranbourne Turf Club,
4- Sandown Racecourse,
5- Frankston Community Vaccination Hub,
6- Geelong’s Former Ford Factory,
7- Shepparton Showgrounds
8- Traralgon Racecourse.

Children who get vaccinated at one of the eight flagship sites will receive a showbag with goodies that can help with distraction, including a colouring-in book by First Nations artist Emma Bamblett, coloured pencils, stickers and fidget spinners.

The decoration has been developed with children and parents, including those from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. 

Acting Premier of Victoria Jacinta Allan said, “By getting your child vaccinated, you are providing them with direct protection against COVID-19 and reducing the risk of transmission to loved ones and in schools.”

“We want to create a vaccination experience that is positive for the whole family – the forest themed hubs have been designed to provide a welcoming and accessible experience for children of all backgrounds and abilities.”

She added.

Children will also be able to place a leaf with their name on it on the ‘eucalyptus vaccination tree’ that grows with every child vaccinated, with parents also able to add a leaf after receiving their third dose.

The state-run sites have been designed to cater for children who need additional support during their vaccination process such as a visual distraction, virtual reality headsets and the Buzzy Bees ice pack.

The child-friendly vaccination hubs also provide low-sensory booths and are able to cater for specific needs.

In addition, parents and guardians are encouraged to also check for paediatric vaccination appointments at their local GPs and pharmacies across Victoria.

An immunisation plan has been developed by the Department of Health and The Royal Children’s Hospital as a resource for guardians to help decide where and how to book based on their child’s needs. 

The paediatric Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine reduces COVID-19 risks for children and has the additional benefit of reducing risks of transmission to older contacts. 

For more information and to book your children’s first dose – visit www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/vaccine. Bookings can also be made via the Coronavirus Hotline on  1800 675 398 or via your local pharmacy or GP.

The 120-page study, accessed by the The New Indian, claims that water samples were collected from the 13 locations of Ganga river.

These locations included Kannauj, Unnao, Kanpur, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi, Buxar, Hamirpur, Ghazipur, Ballia, Patna, Saran, and Bhojpur.

These samples were analysed by CSIR and IITR for the same RT-PCR testing as done on humans for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The report concluded:

“Of total of 132 samples (378 sample triplicates/ 1134 technical triplicates) analyzed, none of the sample was found positive for presence of SARS CoV-2 virus.”

According to Aarti Tikoo, Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The New Indian, this study assumes significance as it comes after several Western media outlets and Indian journalists had attributed the deaths in UP and Bihar near Ganga river due to COVID-19.

The reporting by Western media had triggered outrage as India’s opposition parties had accused UP’s Yogi government of hiding COVID-related deaths.

S K Barik, director, CSIR-IITR told the New Indian:

“It’s now very clear that there was no COVID virus present in the Ganga river. Our report is based on adequate number of sample size as well as rigorous scientific procedure. … the result is that there was no Coronavirus in the water at all.”

The sampling by the CSIR-IITR was done in May and then again June this year and all the samples tested negative.

Now, a key question that arises is whether some Indian and international journalists tried to use COVID-19 as an opportunity to defame India and create disturbance within the country.

UP BJP spokesperson Rakesh Tripathi told The New Indian:

“The attempt over dead bodies and showing corpses and filming them was to create fear psychosis and defame the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh as the state is going for 2022 polls?”

While Surendra Rajput, Congress  national spokesperson, disagreed with the study conducted by scientists.

“The incidents were widely reported and covered by several. Those living by the Ganga too had faced problems.”

The study agrees that disposal of bodies near Ganga took place but it cannot be said that all those people died of COVID as there is no evidence to support this claim purported by international media.

The investigation concluded that in each sampling sites the overall water quality was not affected.

“The analysis report also shows that SARS- CoV-2 was not detected in any of the sites. Thus, it can be concluded that disposal of bodies did not largely affect the water quality of river Ganga though few of the parameters deviated from the standard norms which may be due to other anthropogenic activities.”

Prof. Anand Ranganathan, scientist at the Special Centre for Molecular Medicine at Jawahar Lal Nehru University (JNU), told The New Indian that he wishes UP government had conducted COVID-19 testing for dead bodies.

“the study exposes the entire propaganda run by several in the country and outside to hinder India’s ability to counter Coronavirus and challenge by indigenous vaccination programme.”

The study has been authored by IITR’s Dr Preeti Chaturvedi, senior scientist, environment toxicology; Dr  Aditya Bhushan Pant, senior principal scientist, and DR K C Khulbe, chief scientist.

This has now been forwarded to National Mission for Clean Ganga, Ministry of Jal Shakti and other Centre bodies.

As of 1 am, Monday, December 13:

• Travellers from interstate can arrive by road or air
• They must be fully vaccinated
• They must provide a negative COVID test in the previous 72 hours
• No quarantine is required for the fully vaccinated

• International arrivals must be fully vaccinated and return a negative COVID test within 72 hours of departure
• They will be required to get a test on arrival
• They must go into home or hotel quarantine for 14 days

There are two important changes:

• Travellers no longer have to wait two weeks to be considered fully vaccinated. One is enough
• All travellers from hotspots must get a test on Day Five after their arrival

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said nominating a time and a date provides certainty for everyone.

“It is clear we will reach our target of 80% fully vaccinated much sooner although exactly when is difficult to predict.

She said Queensland will be open to business four days earlier than previously announced 17 December. It will provide travellers and businesses with certainty to make their plans.

Vaccinated border zone residents will be able to move freely across the border without the need for a PCR test.

Border passes will be required and they will be valid for 14 days.

Unvaccinated residents will be restricted to travel for the limited reasons that exist now.

“We will live with COVID – but on our terms,”

the Premier said.

Minister for Health Yvette D’Ath said it was a matter of when, not if, the virus began circulating more widely in Queensland.

“We know COVID is coming, we know cases numbers will rise, but we can be as protected as possible by being fully vaccinated. 

“Please make it a priority to protect yourself. The vaccine is safe, effective and free.

“We’ve always said as soon as we reach the 80 per cent target, we will open up Queensland’s borders to reunite families this festive season.

“By announcing a fixed time for the easing to come into effect we can help those families plan.”

From December 17 only fully vaccinated people will be permitted to enter pubs, clubs, cinemas, festivals and theme parks and visit vulnerable settings such as hospitals and aged care accommodation.