Health experts warn workers to stay home amid Covid “variant soup” wave
Health experts are warning people to work from home when they can, as the latest Covid wave is expected to peak before Christmas.
Since October, cases have steadily been on the rise in Victoria and New South Wales, following a new “variant soup”.
Last week, NSW Health changed its Covid-19 risk rating from green to amber, as cases in NSW and Victoria have doubled in just a fortnight.
Hassan Vally, an Associate Professor in Epidemiology at Deakin University, said on Monday that new variants XBB and BQ.1 were driving case numbers as they became more dominant.
He also said that the new variants were less severe, but more infectious.
“We also know these variants don’t seem to be increasing in virulence … The evidence seems to point to they’re inherently less virulent,” he said during an Australian Science Media Centre briefing.
Dr Vally said the current wave was expected to make a sharp increase before a sharp decrease by the end of the year, as he urged people to take “preventative measures” to avoid getting sick.
“Each wave seems to be having less impact,” Dr Vally said.
He said the threat posed by Covid wasn’t over, but emphasised we had entered a stage of living alongside the virus.
Last week, health authorities recommended that residents of NSW wear masks indoors and on public transport if social distancing wasn’t available.
NSW residents will also now have to wear masks in all areas of hospitals.
In the week ending November 17, there were 27,869 people across NSW infected with Covid-19.
Health authorities in NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and the ACT have issued similar warnings, strongly recommending a return to wearing masks in public indoor areas and on public transport, but have shied away from reintroducing mandates.
Dr Vally said people who were in a position to work from home should do so when they can.
“Maybe this is a point also where people, where they have the flexibility, should work from home a little bit more than what may become normal,” he said.
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