According to ABC’s coronavirus expert Dr. Norman Swan, a distressing new wave of Covid is engulfing parts of Australia, and it’s not just a seasonal winter outbreak. Official data confirms that a fresh wave of Covid is gripping New South Wales, killing nearly 10 people every day, while Victoria has been relatively untouched so far. However, Dr. Swan has expressed concerns about Covid antivirals not being made available to NSW patients to ease the symptoms of the disease before they are rushed to hospitals. He stated that in the past week, nearly 1,500 Covid patients were admitted to NSW hospitals, and despite being treated, one in sixteen died from the disease in hospital. He also warned that the death rate is even higher if someone catches Covid in a hospital while being treated for something else.
While Victoria has only 464 people in hospital with Covid in total, it recorded seven deaths every day from Covid in the past week. According to Dr. Swan, “There is a surge on, and it’s not seasonal. It’s around the world.” He added that hospitalizations are an effective way to measure Covid’s severity as testing has significantly declined worldwide. He questioned why there are differences between states and speculated that antiviral drugs may not have been as widely prescribed in New South Wales, leading to higher local hospitalization figures.
Dr. Swan stated that nationwide, there are roughly 2,600 people hospitalized in Australia, with 1,458 in NSW and only a third of that figure hospitalized in Victoria. He urged more data to identify issues with antiviral usage and prescribing and highlighted a shortage of GPs in some areas, which could cause under-prescribing. He also advocated for pharmacists to have the authority to prescribe antivirals in areas with low prescription rates. Dr. Swan believes there needs to be real-time observation to put a lid on the situation.
The current Covid count is equal to 1.4 teaching hospitals filled with Covid patients, which is a massive resource drain as well as a significant risk to individuals. Dr. Swan concluded by saying that this is a significant problem, and we must act fast to curb the new wave.
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