And an investigation into Victoria's hotel quarantine reveals significant flaws.
Welcome to The Medical Republic’s COVID Catch-Up.
It’s the day’s COVID-19 news in one convenient post. Email bianca@biancanogrady.com with any tips, comments or feedback.
5 May
- A man has been diagnosed with COVID-19 in Sydney despite no history of travel or exposure.
- Victorian quarantine hotel air conditioners were compromised during transmission event, report says.
- Australians over 50 can now get the AstraZeneca vaccine, and the dose allocation to primary care has been bumped up.
- Most children infected with COVID-19 contract it at home.
- Ninth consecutive week of increased new infections globally.
- Latest COVID-19 infection numbers from around Australia.
Sydney’s eastern suburbs are on alert after a man tested positive for COVID-19 this morning despite having no recent overseas travel or contact with hotel quarantine facilities or staff.
NSW Health has issued an advisory warning that the man visited a number of venues in Bondi, Silverwater and around the area from Friday 30 April to Sunday 2 May while potentially infectious.
The venues include a screening of The Courier at Event Cinemas in Bondi Junction on April 30, Barbeques Galore in Annadale and Casula, and Figo Restaurant in Rushcutters Bay. Anyone who has visited the locations in question during potential exposure times is asked to get tested and self-isolate immediately.
Authorities are now attempting to determine the source of the infection.
Air-conditioners in a quarantine hotel in Victoria were apparently closed off to outside air for long periods at night to save energy, according to a story in The Australian.
The report cites a Victorian state government investigation into the quarantine hotel program, which found that rooftop air handling units at the Park Royal Hotel in Melbourne were switched off for 10 hours at around the time of a COVID-19 transmission event in January.
Investigations have also revealed that management of hotel guests in quarantine could involve up to six government agencies, and extensive and complicated movement of people around the hotel, posing a contamination risk.
It also turns out that the much-maligned nebuliser was not the likely source of spread of the virus within the hotel, but rather the result of guest receiving a swab test while standing in the open doorway of their room.
Australians aged over 50 years are eligible for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from today. The vaccine is (supposed to be) available now through GP respiratory clinics and state and territory vaccination clinics, and from May 17 will be expanded to more general practice clinics.
However GPs are still reporting that they are unable to access enough – or any – of the vaccine, despite preparing to receive thousands of doses and patients, according to The Guardian.
However that may improve with the announcement today from the RACGP that general practices eligible to receive 50 doses a week category will be bumped up to 150 doses a week, and those receiving 100 doses will now get 200 doses week.
“Today’s announcement is not a perfect panacea and the RACGP will continue to advocate for general practices that have faced significant challenges during the vaccine rollout, as well as the patients they treat,” RACGP President Dr Karen Price said in a statement.
Most children and young adults who were infected with COVID-19 in Hong Kong contracted the virus at home, not at school, research suggests.
A study published in JAMA Network Open used health databases to examine 397 cases of COVID-19 in children, which occurred over three waves of the pandemic in Hong Kong.
Around half the infections were from domestic exposure rather than international travel. Among these, more than 90% reported contact with an infected individual, and 90% of these were a family member.
“Our study found that transmission of SARS-CoV-2 within school campuses in Hong Kong was rare, regardless of whether the schools were closed or reopened,” the authors wrote.
The study also showed that almost all the infections were mild, and the individuals recovered without incident.
It’s now the ninth successive week of increased new COVID-19 infections globally, and the seventh consecutive week of increased deaths, according to the latest update from WHO.
New infections have once again reached a peak for the entire pandemic, with 5.7 million new cases reported in the last week.
Once again, India’s devastating second wave – which has seen a 20% increase in new cases – has dominated the statistics, accounting for 46% of new cases and 25% of deaths reported globally last week. Infections are also increasing rapidly in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Infection rates are declining in almost all other areas of the planet: the US recorded a 15% decrease, France a 23% decrease and Turkey a 32% decrease.
Here are the latest COVID-19 infection numbers from around Australia to 9pm Tuesday:
National – 29,852 with 910 deaths
ACT – 124 (0)
NSW – 5496 (7)
NT – 166 (0)
QLD – 1568 (1)
SA – 732 (2)
TAS – 234 (0)
VIC – 20,524 (1)
WA – 1008 (0)
