New Covid wave sweeps Australia: Should I be concerned?

Australia is experiencing a new wave of Covid as cases once again continue to rise. All states and territories have seen a rise in infections and the number of hospitalisations is also increasing.

But what does it mean for Aussies as the Christmas period approaches and should we be worried?

What you need to know

• In the week ending 30 October, 7,227 cases of Covid were reported across Australia, an average of 1,032 cases each day. This is up 109 cases on the week prior.

• The current Omricon subvariants in circulation are EG.5 (Eris) and BA 2.86 (Pirola).

• Most cases are affecting high-risk Australians, including the elderly.

🤔 Should I be worried?

For the vast majority of Australians, the new wave "is nothing to worry about" Professor Esterman, an expert in epidemiology at the University of South Australia told Yahoo News Australia. However high-risk individuals should take extra care and consider another booster. "There are currently well over 200 active outbreaks in residential aged care homes across Australia."

Professor Bennett says to remember "we've been here before". "With each wave, our population-level immunity is helping us get through that wave in a safer way than we have in the previous wave," she said. "But we still have to remember that people can become very unwell and we're still losing lives".

As for lockdowns and border restrictions we've seen previously, we shouldn't be worried, says Dr Paul Griffin, the director of infectious diseases at Mater Health in Brisbane.

"The message we should get out there for people is that the virus will continue to change," he said, adding it's not going anywhere.

Read more: Is Covid still a thing?

What's caused the new wave?

"The reason for this wave is very similar to what we've seen previously, and that is that we've seen another significant change in the virus," Dr Griffin said. "Each time the virus changes, the protection that we have from past infection and vaccination declines and that allows the virus to transmit more readily."

Professor Catherine Bennett, the chair of epidemiology at Deakin University agreed and told Yahoo a new wave was "expected". Mostly because protection from immunity or vaccination "wanes over time".

As for vaccinations, only a "very small percentage" of the population is up to date and most people haven't had a shot in the past six months, according to Professor Esterman.

"For most Australians, it doesn't really matter, they're not really a huge risk," he told Yahoo. "But for the elderly population, that's over 65s, only 40 per cent are up to date with their vaccination, and that is a worry."

⏭️ So what next?

Do I need another booster? That's a question a lot of people are asking at the moment.

For people who are particularly vulnerable, if they haven't had their second booster, "now is the time to think about it because it will give you your best protection through this second wave for the year," Professor Bennett said.

Dr Griffin encourages simple hygiene practices which are "still effective". These include:

• Mask-wearing

• Social distancing

• Hand hygiene

• Ventilation

And finally, we should be telling our elderly people, or any high-risk individual, "to protect themselves when they go out" by "wearing a good quality face mask" Professor Esterman said.

Plus "if you're feeling unwell, especially if you've got any respiratory symptoms, stay at home," he added.

Read more: Covid costing the Australian economy billions

🗣️ What they said

NSW Health's Director of Communicable Diseases Christine Selvey told ABC News "Nobody has a crystal ball but the modelling that we do have suggests that the increase will continue up through and into December"

Dr Paul Griffin, the director of infectious diseases at Mater Health in Brisbane "We should be striving for good control over this virus that isn't going to go away.

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