Covid-19 cases are expected to rise further across Australia after family gatherings over the Easter long weekend, amid warnings of increasing pressure on hospital staff and a possible new wave of infections.
Most states and territories have recorded consistent increases in cases over the past two months, with Victoria recording a 60% jump in cases in the last fortnight. On Friday the state reported 5,772 new cases over the previous seven-day period.
New South Wales recorded 9,876 new cases and 36 deaths last week, with 952 people in hospital and 20 in intensive care.
Hospitalisation rates have been relatively stable in recent weeks but the Australian Medical Association’s president, Steve Robson, warns that more infections are likely.
“If you look at the figures released just before the Easter weekend, we’ve got dozens and dozens of people in intensive care. We’ve got 36 deaths in New South Wales,” Robson said.
“We’re coming into winter and there’s a lot of travel going on and family gatherings. We would anticipate that with all the mitigations now essentially gone, there will be more morbidity, more illness, more loss of life.”
Many airports across the country reported long delays over the Easter weekend as domestic passenger numbers returned to almost pre-pandemic levels.
Robson said the real number of Covid cases was likely much higher than official figures suggest as fewer people were testing regularly.
He said hospital staff were still dealing with the pandemic, even if people “don’t want to hear about [it] any more”.
“Hospitals around the country are still facing staff pressures not only in dealing with day-to-day business or dealing with people who have Covid, but also dealing with massive backlogs,” Robson said.
“After several years of this, people just don’t want to hear about this any more and they’re hoping the narrative will move on for better or worse.
“It’s still very obvious to healthcare workers that the pandemic has had a prolonged and profound affect. But for people who are not affected, they just wish it was gone and that it’s someone else’s problem.”
Covid case numbers in aged care facilities have increased by about 65% in recent weeks, according to the federal government, although the caseload is about 80% lower that it was during the last summer wave.
The federal health minister, Mark Butler, recently warned “this is not over” as he unveiled new measures to combat the virus.
“There will be future waves of Covid across the course of this year and it is important to continue to reinforce those standard measures about remaining Covid-safe,” he said a fortnight ago.
Earlier this month the national chief medical officer, Paul Kelly, said it was difficult to predict whether case numbers would continue to increase during the winter months in a way resembling a wave of infections.
“I don’t have a crystal ball,” Kelly said. “But in terms of future Covid waves, I think we’ve got a ripple at the moment.
“Whether that will turn into a wave, it’s difficult to predict at this stage. Certainly, there has been an increase in numbers over the last few weeks, but off a very low base.”
