The COVIDSafe team attended an ACTU affiliates briefing on Tuesday afternoon with Professor Michael Kidd to discuss the recently released National COVID-19 Community Protection Framework, and the fact we're seeing a definite increase in cases, which he described as ‘an upward curve that is yet to reach its peak.’
The message for us all with holiday season fast approaching is to be vigilant, be protected and be community-minded.
Although this wave is not showing the same raw case numbers that were seen in July and August this year, hospitalisations are increasing over Australia by 25 to 30% with the ‘soup of omicron sub variants’ proving to be more infectious and more transmissible.
Lower case numbers could be due to the fact that reporting of a positive RAT test is not mandatory anymore and people are not getting as many PCR tests as before. Professor Kidd said we're also seeing an increase of Long COVID cases and second infections as the year goes on.
The message for us all with holiday season fast approaching is to be vigilant, be protected and be community-minded.
Vaccination remains the best defence as two boosters (your 3rd and 4th shot) provide the best protection from severe illness and hospitalisation. Alongside this, masks in public spaces are strongly recommended as well as proper ventilation in workplaces.
The National Community Protection Framework from the Department of Health and Aged Care was also discussed as valuable guidance for HSR’s to support the ongoing need for protection in the workplace against COVID 19.
You can find a copy here: Community Protection Framework. The framework provides best-practice advice for prevention of workplace transmission.
