Topline
Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, on Friday unveiled a set of new pandemic restrictions and testing protocols as a record rise in new Covid-19 infections fueled by the omicron variant threatens to upend the highly vaccinated nation’s plan to live with the virus.
People queue at the St Vincent’s Bondi Beach COVID-19 drive through testing clinic in Sydney.
Key Facts
On Friday, New South Wales (NSW) reported a record 38,625 new cases—its highest since the start of the pandemic—with active hospitalization numbers hitting 1,738.
In an effort to curb the outbreak, state Premier Dominic Perrottet announced new restrictions including a ban on singing and dancing in most public venues like pubs, nightclubs, bars and restaurants.
The state’s Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant noted that singing and dancing at public venues were being targeted as these activities bring together people from different social groups and help accelerate the virus’ spread.
Perrottet also announced the suspension of all elective surgeries until February as the state braces for a deluge of new hospitalizations from Covid-19.
The state leader noted that booster shots will soon be made mandatory for people working in high-risk settings including healthcare workers, nurses, teachers and disability care workers.
NSW also updated its Covid-19 testing protocols to allow residents to register their positive rapid antigen tests with the state—without needing to take an additional PCR test—and this number will be added to the daily case count.
What To Watch For
According to NSW’s health authorities, the number of Covid-19 hospitalizations in the state could rise to 6,000 by the end of the month, under the worst-case scenario. Even a slightly less grim scenario could see that number reach 4,700—nearly three times the current hospitalization numbers. This could put a severe strain on the state’s medical systems which are already under pressure as 3,800 medical workers are in isolation after testing positive for the virus.
Big Number
92.79%. That’s the percentage of New South Wales’ eligible population (people aged 12 or older) that has been fully vaccinated against Covid-19, according to a tracker run by the Sydney Morning Herald. Australia as a whole is among the most highly vaccinated countries in the world with nearly 91% of its eligible population fully inoculated.
Key Background
As omicron fuels a surge in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in Australia, the federal government’s ‘living with Covid’ strategy has come under increasing scrutiny. In the past few weeks, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has publicly vowed to press on with his ‘no lockdown’ approach, calling for more “personal responsibility” from people. He’s also refused to put much stock in case counts by noting that omicron appears to be less severe than the delta variant. Last month, Morrison decried “heavy-handed” government action and urged state and local authorities to shift away from “a culture of mandates” on masks and social distancing rules. However, with a surge in cases putting pressure on hospitals in the country’s two most populous states—NSW and Victoria—local leaders may be forced to ditch that advice. Other countries, like Singapore and the U.K., which embraced the ‘living with the virus’ stance, reintroduced restrictions at various points last year after being hit by the more infectious delta and omicron variants.
Further Reading
Some virus restrictions back in Australia as omicron surges (Associated Press)
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Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2022/01/07/no-singing-or-dancing-at-public-venues-australian-state-reinstates-pandemic-restrictions-as-omicron-upends-living-with-covid-approach/