(1/3) NSW respiratory surveillance reports: Week ending 23 September 2023

🔸COVID notifications increased by 10.5% in the past week

🔸Increases in COVID notifications occurred for children aged 0 – 4 years and adults aged 30 – 89 years and across most LHDs

🔹COVID: 2,171 (+256)
🔹Influenza: 1,688 (+87)
🔹RSV: 564 (-77)

#COVID19NSW @auscovid19

Source: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/weekly-reports.aspx

🇯🇵 Japan's schools face double whammy of the FLU and COVID.

Between Sept. 11 and Sept 17:

🔹86,510 cases of COVID were reported
🔹34,665 cases of Influenza were reported
🔹2,400 schools decided to either suspend or to close school facilities altogether
🔹 48 schools reported whole facility closures

#COVID19 #Japan @auscovid19

Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/09/25/japan/science-health/flu-covid-waves/

Here’s how much coronavirus people infected with COVID-19 may exhale

"Based on the new data, the team estimates that a high shedder could potentially exhale enough virus to infect someone in a closed space in about 20 seconds, making even elevator rides risky. With an average shedder, infection could take a little under 4 minutes."

#COVID19 #COVIDisAirborne @auscovid19

Source: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/coronavirus-infected-covid-19-exhale

NSW CHO confirms she will front federal COVID inquiry

"NSW Premier Chris Minns has cut off the state's Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant as she answered questions about lessons from COVID pandemic."

#COVID19NSW @NSWCHO @auscovid19 @ChrisMinnsMP

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-25/nsw-cho-confirms-she-will-front-federal-covid-inquiry/102897866

Health experts warn 'Disease X' will dwarf COVID with predicted death toll of 50 million.

Dame Kate Bingham says Disease X could be as infectious as measles and as deadly as Ebola.

#COVID19 #DiseaseX @auscovid19

Source: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/uk-world-news/health-experts-warn-disease-x-31016326

"Law experts from Charles Darwin University say the Covid-19 pandemic inquiry must focus on all levels of government to deal effectively with the lessons learned, not just the commonwealth response."

#COVID19AUS #COVIDinquiry @CDUni #COVIDisNotOver @auscovid19

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/sep/25/australia-news-live-bushfire-summit-el-nino-fire-jim-chalmers-employment-white-paper-pezzullo-clare-o-neil-indigenous-voice-to-parliament#top-of-blog

Senator Murray Watt suggests royal commission not appropriate for COVID.

#COVID19AUS @MurrayWatt #COVIDisNotOver #auspol @AustralianLabor @auscovid19

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/sep/24/employment-white-paper-skills-passport-victoria-liberal-party-council-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-referendum#top-of-blog

In Hospitals, Viruses Are Everywhere. Masks Are Not.

"A recent study found that more cancer patients died of COVID during the Omicron surge than in the first winter wave, in part because people around them had stopped taking precautions."

Respiratory viruses can unmask or exacerbate chronic conditions of the heart, lung or kidneys and trigger autoimmune conditions. “It’s much bigger than simply the actual infection”

#COVID19 @auscovid19

Source: https://nytimes.com/2023/09/23/health/hospitals-masking-mandates.html

"Family members of victims of Australia’s worst aged-care Covid-19 outbreak have called the limited scope of the federal government’s pandemic response inquiry “disappointing” as they continue to grapple with the life-changing consequences of that fiasco three years on."

#COVID19AUS @auscovid19

Source: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/families-haunted-by-covid-outbreak-at-melbourne-aged-care-centre-say-it-should-be-looked-at-in-covid-inquiry/news-story/556dfd16dac23bc02fd4897c9a31edef

Long COVID: MRI scans reveal new clues to symptoms

"People living with long COVID after being admitted to hospital are more likely to show some damage to major organs, according to a new study."

#COVID19 #LongCOVID @auscovid19

Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-66890505

"More pandemic-era measures could be rolled back in NSW after the state government moved to scrap a system that allowed people to register positive tests."

#COVID19NSW @auscovid19

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/live/2023/sep/22/australia-live-news-rupert-murdoch-news-corp-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-cost-of-living#top-of-blog

People whose long COVID symptoms include neurological issues have a different gut flora, researchers say.

#COVID19 #LongCOVID #GutFlora @auscovid19

Source: https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/gut-flora-of-some-long-covid-patients-is-less-diverse-say-researchers-1.6570120

WA COVID weekly update: 11 September to 17 September

🔹New cases: 604 (-9)
🔹Reinfections: 206 (34.11%)
🔹Deaths: 8 (+1)
🔹Total deaths: 1,237 (+8)
🔹Hospital: 39 (-17)
🔹ICU: 0 (-1)

🔸34.11% were reinfections

#COVID19WA @auscovid19

Source: https://health.wa.gov.au/Articles/F_I/Infectious-disease-data/COVID19-Weekly-Surveillance-Report

VIC COVID weekly update: 15 September to 21 September

🔹PCR cases: 826 (+80)
🔹Deaths: 7 (-12)
🔹Total deaths: 8,438 (+7)
🔹Hospital: 143** (+10)
🔹ICU: 8** (-1)

** 7 day rolling average

#COVID19Vic @auscovid19

Source: https://covidlive.com.au/vic

NSW COVID weekly update: 15 September to 21 September

🔹New cases: 2,333 (+313)
🔹Deaths: 21 (+1)
🔹Total deaths: 7,702 (+21)
🔹Hospital: 625 (+19)
🔹ICU: 9 (-1)

#COVID19nsw @ChrisMinnsMP @RyanPark_Keira
@NSWCHO @NSWHealth #PandemicIsNotOver #COVIDisAirborne @auscovid19

(1/3) NSW respiratory surveillance reports: Week ending 16 September 2023

🔸While COVID-19 notifications were stable. The positivity is comparable to early July 2023.

🔹COVID: 1,915 (-52)
🔹Influenza: 1,601 (-140)
🔹RSV: 641 (-5)

#COVID19nsw @auscovid19

Source: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/weekly-reports.aspx

"Labor has been accused of running a “protection racket” for state premiers by opting to hold an inquiry into Australia’s COVID response instead of a royal commission with the power to compel witnesses."

#COVID19 #Australia @Mark_Butler_MP @AlboMP @auscovid19

Source: https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/labor-is-poised-to-announce-a-new-covid-inquiry-amid-calls-to-include-scrutiny-of-states/news-story/e9a0c93a8e015872f9e7d9559ee87361

The 'highly mutated' COVID variant BA.2.86 — known as Pirola — has landed in Australia.

One case has been detected in Australia, in a laboratory in Western Australia, genomic sequencing data shows.

However, there could be more out there because only a fraction of all COVID-19 infections get submitted to for testing.

#COVID19 #Pirola #BA286 @auscovid19

Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-21/new-covid-strain-variant-pirola-ba-2-86-in-australia-symptoms/102873304

By Scott Squires @scott_squires

What if you could see COVID?

#WearAMask #MaskUp #CovidIsNotOver #CovidIsntOver #CovidIsIAirborne #StopLongCovid #KeepMasksInHealthcare #DoNoHarm @auscovid19

Twitter/X source: https://twitter.com/scott_squires/status/1704018462358876429

‘Deep inquiry’ to be held into pandemic, not a royal commission.

#COVID19AUS @Mark_Butler_MP @AlboMP @auscovid19

Source: https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/deep-inquiry-to-be-held-into-pandemic-not-a-royal-commission-20230918-p5e5hc

"U.S. COVID infections are hovering near levels of the pandemic’s first peak in 2020, and approaching the Delta peak of late 2021, according to wastewater surveillance and modeling by forecasters."

#COVID19US @auscovid19

Source: https://fortune.com/well/2023/09/16/united-states-covid-levels-approach-first-pandemic-peak-2020-who-urges-vaccination-boosters-high-risk/

By Henry Madison @RageSheen

Guy makes sheep noise at person in mask.

'Why the sheep noise?'
'Because only sheep wear masks.'
'Why sheep?'
'Because sheep all copy each other.'
'That guy is the only person I can see in this whole building wearing a mask.'
'...'

#COVID19 #COVIDisAirborne #MaskUp @auscovid19

Twitter/X source: https://twitter.com/RageSheen/status/1702529038387232990

COVID-19 outbreaks in Australian residential aged care facilities: 14 September 2023

🔹Active cases: 603 (+87)
🔹Active outbreaks: 107 (+22)
🔹Residents: 465 (+85)
🔹Staff: 138 (+2)
🔹Reported deaths in 2023: 1,097 (+5)

🔸5,864 aged care COVID deaths since beginning of pandemic

🔸686 reported deaths in 2020
🔸226 reported deaths in 2021
🔸3,855 reported deaths in 2022
🔸1,097 reported deaths in 2023

#agedcare #COVID19 @AnikaWells @Mark_Butler_MP @AlboMP @auscovid19

Source: https://www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/covid-19-outbreaks-in-australian-residential-aged-care-facilities-15-september-2023?language=en

“COVID is a reminder that infectious disease remains a fundamental threat. The pandemic has killed tens of millions of people, wreaked long-term harm on the health of many more, and triggered global economic disruption.”

#COVIDisNotOver @auscovid19

Source: https://www.ft.com/content/22ddcaab-e5ec-4362-b21c-e88008674a01

NSW COVID weekly update: 8 September to 14 September

🔹New cases: 2,020 (+101)
🔹Deaths: 20 (+8)
🔹Total deaths: 7,683 (+20)
🔹Hospital: 606 (-1)
🔹ICU: 10 (-3)

#COVID19nsw @ChrisMinnsMP @RyanPark_Keira
@NSWCHO @NSWHealth #PandemicIsNotOver #COVIDisAirborne @auscovid19