'Skyward': Bleak prediction for Victoria's Delta outbreak
A leading epidemiologist has issued a dire warning about Victoria’s Covid crisis, predicting a huge surge in daily cases by the end of the month.
WHO advisory professor Mary-Louise McLaws said she agrees with new modelling from the Burnett Institute which suggests the state is just six weeks behind where NSW is now.
“The numbers are going skyward. They're not at all flattening,” she told the 9 Network’s Today Show.
“They haven't peaked and sadly at this speed unless there is some intervention, Victoria will reach 1000 cases by the end of September.”
Victoria recorded 334 new local cases of Covid-19 on Friday and another death while NSW reported a record 1,542 new infections.
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Young spreading Delta in Victoria
Professor McLaws said the Victorian government is failing to address why young people are at the epicentre of the Delta-fuelled outbreak — with more than 70 per cent of active cases under the age of 40.
“The government needs to have a look at what is driving the young even though they are under lockdown,” she said.
“You really need to find out what in the world is going on.”
“The numbers are going skyward. They're not at all flattening.”
Professor Mary-Louise Mclaws says Victoria’s COVID-19 cases haven’t peaked yet and the state could reach up to 1000 daily infections by the end of the month. #9Today pic.twitter.com/SpYyK7vq4A— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) September 9, 2021
NSW needs vaccine 'catch-up plan'
Professor McLaws said the NSW government also needs a greater focus on the young, slamming the state’s freedom plan as “inequitable”.
“Young adults have been left behind with vaccine opportunities,” she said.
She called for a “catch-up plan” to boost vaccination rates among the young.
It comes after the Australian Medical Association said Sydney’s roadmap out of lockdown, announced by the NSW government on Thursday, lacked sufficient detail and ignored dire medical warnings.
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