A top Australian epidemiologist is cautioning New Zealand to learn from the mistakes made across the ditch, as more states tighten Covid-19 restrictions.
Last night, Victoria was brought into a snap lockdown after recording 18 community Covid cases, having spread from New South Wales where the Delta variant is running rampant.
In the fifth lockdown for the state since the pandemic began, all non-essential businesses have been made to close while masks must be warn both indoors and outdoors.
In the past 29 days, the Sydney Covid outbreak has soared to 930 cases with a high rate of infection occurring in the community despite lockdown measures.
Professor Mary-Louise McLaws warned world leaders of the dangers of relaxing Covid-19 restrictions. (Source: Other)
University of New South Wales Professor Mary-Louise McLaws is warning the Delta variant is harder to contain than other variants.
“You really need to learn from our experience, that is, you have to respond really rapidly.
“You don’t have to have a lot of face to face contact with somebody. Indoors, in shopping malls, you could be walking through a plume of infectious particles.”
McLaws noted that New South Wales was slower to reintroduce restrictions at the beginning of this outbreak, having treated it the same as previous variants.
She said the state still “doesn’t have a handle on it”, as more people contract the virus.
Jordyn Rudd breaks down everything you need to know. (Source: Other)
“What you need to look at is the proportion of those who are unlinked and out in the community who have not been in lockdown prior to their diagnosis and that proportion hasn’t changed.”
Warning there is “real trouble” surrounding the decisions of world leaders, McLaws said some risk giving up battling the virus due to Covid fatigue.
“We often elect leaders for what we think is a good time, peacetime, but this is really tough.
“Leaders need to be really mindful that they protect us and not throw their hands up in the air and say we’re just going to live with it.”
It comes after the World Health Organization cautioned at the beginning of 2021 that the second year of the virus could be tougher than the first as countries struggle to remain vigilant and as the virus mutates.
Labelling the variant a “psychopath”, McLwas said vaccines like Pfizer and AstraZeneca are proving to have lower efficacy rates against Delta.
However, in countries like the United Kingdom, hospitalisations and deaths caused by the Delta variant have been much higher among unvaccinated people.
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