Covid patients in NSW hospitals rise to 1,066 as cases fall to 18,278, while Victoria holds steady at 7,172 – as doomed academics predict 100,000 cases and warn a lockdown may be needed
- The number of Kovid patients in the hospital has almost doubled since Christmas
- Medical experts say this figure could rise to 100,000 by the end of January.
- In Victoria, the Omicron version now covers 76 percent of all COVID cases
NSW 18,278 new Covid-19 cases have been reported in hospital, with 1,066 and two deaths, while Victoria reported 7,172 new cases overnight on Sunday.
with the number of coronavirus The number of hospitalized patients has nearly doubled since Christmas, with experts saying it could reach 100,000 per day by the end of January.
Professor Adrian Esterman, Chair of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University South Australia, said the number of new cases is doubling every four days.
He said, ‘In four days i.e. around 40,000 cases and four days after that 80,000 cases, you can see how easily it can reach 100,000 cases. Sydney Morning Herald.
The number of new COVID cases in NSW rose to 18,278 on Sunday. Pictured: A group of friends celebrating the New Year in Sydney on Friday evening
He suggested that the government should reintroduce additional measures to prevent hospitals from being overwhelmed.
He said, ‘The health system is crumbling.
‘Suppose five per cent people feel bad enough to go to the hospital – that is, 1000 patients are going into the system every day.
‘How will they deal with it? The answer is they can’t. Something has to change.’
But NSW Premier Dominic Perrot has said if the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 is at a ‘manageable level’.
“We will continue to adapt our response as needed and will re-adapt if the facts and our evidence base change,” he said.
Omar Khurshid, president of the Australian Medical Association, pointed out that even though Covid patients with the Omicron variant are not as sick as those with the deadly Delta variant, ‘they are still taking up the bed’.
Doctors are yet to see a large number of Covid cases in Victoria, but they are still extremely busy [and] They are seeing what is happening in New South Wales and they know it is coming.
Pandemic record case numbers prompt residents to get tested at drive-thru clinic in Bondi
Samples collected over the Christmas period in Victoria show the Omicron variant comprises 76 percent of all cases – less than a month after it was first detected in the state.
Professor Ben Howden of the Doherty Institute said the jump in cases has been ‘remarkable’.
He told The Age, ‘The ability for Omicron to spread and transcend past lineage is very impressive, and it’s happening in Victoria, it’s happening in Australia and around the world.
On Saturday – the first day of the new year – the number of new cases stood at 7,442 in Victoria and 22,577 in NSW.
more to come
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