10,000 Australians to be infected with coronavirus in weeks in outbreak worse than Italy

Australia will be WORSE than Italy with 10,000 infected in just two weeks – and swamped health services will mean ill will be left to die, thousands of doctors warn

Medical professionals predict more than 10,000 Australians could be infected with coronavirus within weeks in an outbreak even worse than in Italy. 

At least 3,500 doctors and experts have signed an open letter pleading with the Australian government to take a tougher stance against COVID-19. 

In the letter, intensive care specialist Greg Kelly aligned the nation’s demographic and health care system closer to Italy rather than China.

He said the current rate of infection in Australia alone suggests at least 10,000 people could catch the deadly respiratory virus by April. 

Globally, there are more than 182,000 cases of COVID-19 throughout 162 nations, including 452 in Australia.

“On current growth rates, the 300 cases in Australia today will be… 10,000 by the 4th of April,” the letter reads.

It goes on to state that Australia’s current healthcare system would be ‘in a worse position than Italy is currently in’ should the predictions come to fruition. 

More than 27,000 people have caught the virus in Italy and medics are currently struggling to keep up with the amount of critically sick people. So far, 2,158 people have died from complications relating to COVID-19 in the country, and that number is predicted to rise. 

Mr Kelly, along with the alost 4,000 signatories, asked the government to follow the measures taken by China, South Korea and Singapore to prevent further carnage in Australia. 

They claim the social distancing policies are a step in the right direction but need to be pushed even further and strictly enforced. 

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has introduced further policies to help slow the spread of coronavirus on home soil, but admits there is no way to stop it entirely.

Some of the policies include mandatory self isolation for anybody arriving in the country from an international destination for 14 days, and prohibiting all non-essential gatherings of more than 500 people for the foreseeable future. 

Mr Morrison said the changes to Australian’s way of life may seem drastic to some, but are preventative measures to help keep the nation’s most vulnerable as safe as possible.

The measures could be in place until September, and possibly longer, depending on the course of the virus. 

More to come 



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