Australia will only need to re-introduce indoor mask mandates to combat the surging Omicron sub-variant if the number of Covid patients in intensive care quadruples, according to a top health expert.
Transmission of the virus has risen by 57 per cent nationally in the past week – up to 53,376 cases on Tuesday – driven by Omicron’s more transmissible BA.2 sub-variant.
The spike is yet to be reflected in intensive care figures as there are only 97 Covid patients are in intensive care, compared to 424 at the height of the first Omicron wave in January.
Infectious disease expert Professor Peter Collignon told Daily Mail Australia new public health rules would be needed only if 20 per cent of Australia’s ICU beds were taken up by Covid patients.
Recent figures show there are 2,183 intensive care beds available nationally, meaning the number of coronavirus patients in the ICU would need to multiply four-fold to 436 for that threshold to be reached.
A top health expert has urged officials not to reintroduce mask mandates unless the number of Covid patients in intensive care quadruples. Pictured are masked shoppers in the Brisbane CBD
‘Lockdowns are a thing of the past but once that figure is reached we can think about mask mandates and tightening density limits in pubs and restaurants,’ Professor Collignon said.
‘We’re looking at potentially requiring people to sit down in venues – not widespread restrictions.
‘If your ICUs are 20 per cent full with Covid patients, those rules will help flatten the curve of infections. The trigger has to be a hospital system that is overwhelmed by infections.’
Mask rules have largely been relaxed in Australia in recent months. They are no longer mandatory in most public indoor spaces in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Infectious disease expert Professor Peter Collignon told Daily Mail Australia Covid lockdowns should be a ‘thing of the past’
His stance echoes that of Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard, who this week called for more restrictions only when Omicron posed ‘an immediate threat’ to the safety of the state’s residents.
The Australian National University expert said heavy-handed restrictions such as stay-at-home orders would be futile given the virulence of Omicron strain.
‘Places that have tried hard to stop it completely – Hong Kong, Singapore and Western Australia – have failed,’ Professor Collignon said.
‘Lockdowns are off the table in Australia now 95 per cent of the country is fully vaccinated.
The expert said it would likely take a week before the recent rise in cases in reflected in hospital and ICU admissions.
‘If you know how many cases there are and what ages are involved, you can have a very good indication of how many people are going to be in hospital,’ he said.
Mask rules have largely been relaxed in Australia in recent months and are no longer mandatory in most public indoor spaces in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. Pictured are masked passengers at Sydney Airport, where face coverings are still mandatory
Dr Gerrard on Tuesday said 58 per cent of the cases sequenced by Queensland’s health officials in the past two weeks were identified as the BA.2 strain.
‘It will be by far and away the dominant strain virus in Australia within weeks,’ Dr Gerrard said.
The top doctor he said is not considering reintroducing any mandates, at least not yet.
‘A legal restriction from the chief health officer is a very serious thing to undertake,’ Dr Gerrard said.
Queensland’s chief health officer John Gerrard (pictured) said state infections jumped by 15 per cent in the past week, with more than half the cases in the past fortnight identified as sub-variant BA.2
‘I will only undertake that if it is clear there is an immediate threat to the safety of Queenslanders. But we do not plan to introduce any new public health measures to deal with this current BA.2 wave until we get a better sense of what it is like.’
Dr Gerrard said the spike had not been reflected in hospital wards and was not as bad as January’s Omicron wave when infections doubled every two to three days.
There are 252 patients – including 19 school-aged children – in hospital and another nine people in intensive care.
The CHO said the BA.2 variant was ‘dominant’ in age groups from pre-school to 30s in Queensland.
‘For most cases we all know it is a mild disease …(but) we can see serious complications with COVID in children – it is not a myth – including some who have gone to ICU,’ Dr Gerrard said.
Health Minister Yvette D’Ath, who is back to work after recovering from COVID-19, said the latest case numbers were a timely reminder for people to get vaccinated.
Mr Gerrard said more mandates are not being considered in Queensland despite the new Omicron sub-variant causing a spike in COVID-19 cases (pictured, people wear masks in Brisbane in January 2022)
The latest figures show 93.28 per cent of eligible Queenslanders have had one dose, while 91.49 per cent have had two.
But almost 40 per cent of Queenslanders due for boosters have not received them.
Another concern was the 5-11 age group’s 43.15 per cent vaccination rate.
‘I know we have been dealing with so many things in our community in recent times including the floods but please remember the virus is … as dangerous as it has always been,’ Ms D’Ath said.
Meanwhile, Mr Hinchliffe on Tuesday revealed he was the third state minister to contract the virus but only had mild symptoms.
‘I am following the isolation rules, will be recovering and working from home,’ he tweeted.
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