/r/CoronavirusDownunder
This subreddit is a place to share news, information, resources, and support that relate to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes called COVID-19. The primary focus of this sub is to actively monitor the situation in Australia and New Zealand, but all posts on international news and other virus-related topics are welcome, to the extent they are beneficial in keeping those down under informed.
Welcome!
This subreddit is a place to share news, information, resources, and support that relate to the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 and the disease it causes called COVID-19. The primary focus of this sub is to actively monitor COVID-19 in Australia, but all posts on international news and other virus-related topics are welcome, to the extent they are beneficial in keeping those in Australia well informed. We are a community that values free speech as long as it does not break the sub and/or Reddit rules.
Sub rules:
Please ensure that you flair your posts appropriately.
- Be civil.
- Comply with Redditβs content policy.
- Heated debate is acceptable, personal attacks are not.
- Ensure your post is relevant to coronavirus pandemic in Australia and New Zealand.
- Do not editorialise article titles.
- Avoid reposts.
- Avoid low effort posts.
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For more information, please refer here.
Helpful resources:
/r/CoronavirusDownunder
199,798 Subscribers
SARS-CoV-2 variants for Australia
Here's the latest variant picture for Australia.
The growth of DeFLuQE variants appears to have ended.
XEC.* grew to around 35%.
For Australia from October, XEC.* variants showed a growth advantage of 2.7% per day (19% per week) over the dominant DeFLuQE variants. That predicts a crossover in late November.
Victoria continues to be under-represented, the dismal routine. Victoria has shared 3X fewer samples than South Australia in recent months, despite a ~3.5X larger population. Samples from Victoria (and Tasmania) lag the other states by several weeks.
Report link:
23:38 UTC
r/CoronavirusDownunder random monthly discussion thread - December 2024
Look after your physical and mental health
A great way to incorporate exercise into your daily routine is by running! Running can be a fun & flexible way to exercise. When exercising make sure to follow any restrictions in your state or territory & remember to stay #COVIDSafe
Official Links
The state and territory surveillance reports may be released weekly, fortnightly or monthly.
Cumulative COVID-19 case notifications from across the country are updated daily on the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) data visualisation tool. The National Dashboard contains information about COVID-19 vaccinations and treatments, aged care outbreaks, hospitalisations and deaths and are updated monthly.
17:01 UTC
COVID-19 weekly statistics for Australia
Australian COVID-19 weekly stats update:
The risk estimate is up to 0.8% Currently Infectious, or 1-in-128. That implies a 21% chance that there is someone infectious in a group of 30.
I estimate 19.3% of the population were infected in the last 6 months, 5M people.
Aged care metrics in NSW have begun to tick upwards, following the earlier trend from most other states.
Aged care metrics have been reported from the NT for the first time in many months. I think those months of reporting zero cases or outbreaks are not credible at all.
I am claiming full credit for the restoration of reporting from the NT, after my pithy take on the topic last week.
Report Link:
https://mike-honey.github.io/covid-19-au-vaccinations/output/covid-19-au%20-%20report%20Weekly.pdf
11:56 UTC
Weekly case numbers from around Australia: 5,864 new cases ( πΊ7%)
Vic and Tas appear to be having a major wave, with cases higher than usual in WA and the ACT. The high positivity rates in SA suggest it has higher cases than the reporting indicates.
While QLD still has low cases, a big weekly increase could indicate another significant Xmas wave. NSW continues to slowly increase.
See below for charts for all of the states.
| State | Level | Cases | Positivity | Flu tracker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NSW | med-low | 2,003 πΊ8% | 7.5% πΊ0.9% | 0.8% π»0.2% |
| VIC | high | 1,578 π»1% | 9.3% π»0.1% | 1.6% πΊ0.2% |
| QLD | med-low | 1,356 πΊ25% | 1.9% πΊ0.8% | |
| WA | med-high | 309 πΊ1% | 5.2% πΊ0.1% | 1.7% πΊ0.4% |
| SA | med-low | 306 π»5% | 9.1% β¦οΈNC | 1.0% π»1.3% |
| TAS | high | 217 πΊ62% | 1.1% π»1.2% | |
| ACT | med-high | 86 π»23% | 1.1% π»0.6% | |
| NT | low | 9 π»80% | 2.9% πΊ0.5% | |
| AU | med-high | 5,864 πΊ7% | 1.2% π»0.2% |
These case numbers are only an indicator for the current trends as most cases are unreported.
These numbers suggest a national estimate of 120K to 180K new cases this week or 0.4 to 0.6% of the population (1 in 187 people). This gives a 50% chance that at least 1 person in a group of 130 being infected with covid this week.
Flu tracker reported that 1.2% (π»0.2%) of people had viral respiratory symptoms for the week to Sunday and suggests 330K infections (1 in 83 people). This is on par with the seasonal average.
Based on the testing data provided, this suggests around 142K new symptomatic COVID-19 cases this week (0.5% or 1 in 194 people). This gives a 50% chance that at least 1 person in a group of 134 being infected with covid and 1 person in a group of 57 being sick with something (covid, flu, etc) this week..
Notes:
- Levels are automatically assigned based on cases from the last year. Low indicates cases are in the bottom 25% quartile, median-low in the 25 to 50% quartile, median-high 50 to 75% quartile, and high in the top 75% quartile.
- Case data is mostly from NNDSS Dashboard that is automated from CovidLive with a few notable exceptions such as QLD, WA and SA.
- Case numbers may include a number of adjustments to normalise trends to account for missing reporting weeks and data corrections.
- Residential Aged Care data used throughout the report is sourced from Federal reports.
NSW
Respiratory disease notifications from sentinel laboratories reporting
| Virus | Level | Notifications | Positivity |
|---|---|---|---|
| SARS-CoV-2 | mid-high | 847 πΊ10% | 7.5% πΊ0.9% |
| Influenza | low | 373 π»1% | 1.5% πΊ0.1% |
| RSV | low | 314 πΊ11% | 1.2% πΊ0.1% |
| Adenovirus | low | 500 π»11% | 2.0% π»0.2% |
| HMPV | mid-high | 1,375 π»16% | 5.5% π»0.7% |
| Rhinovirus | mid-high | 6,456 π»7% | 25.7% π»0.9% |
| Enterovirus | low | 108 πΊ23% | 0.4% πΊ0.1% |
| Parainfluenza | mid-high | 1,088 π»2% | 4.3%β¦οΈNC |
^(Sentinel laboratory reporting do not include all cases)
Notes:
- Case numbers are sourced from CovidLive up until 28 Oct 2022, and by surveillance report numbers after this.
- Starting from 6 Oct 2023, a projection for total cases is made to account for the removal of RAT reporting. The PCR case numbers are multiplied by 2.7.
- Additional data was sourced from NSW surveillance reports
Vic
Additional Info:
- PCR tests: 15,550 π»10%
- PCR test positivity: 9.3% π»0.1%
- Hospitalisations (7-day average): 197 πΊ2%
- ICU (7-day average): 11 πΊ10%
Notes:
- Case numbers are sourced from surveillance reports falling back to CovidLive when there is no Vic reporting. Older data was sourced from Vic Data.
- Starting from 7 Jul 2023, a projection for total cases is made to account for the removal of RAT reporting. The PCR case numbers are multiplied by 4.
- Additional data was sourced from Victorian surveillance reports
QLD
Additional Info:
- SARS-CoV-2 Hospitalisations: 111
- Influenza Hospitalisations: 14
- RSV Hospitalisations: 26
Of the COVID-19 Hospitalisations 22 (20%) were aged 65β74 years and 54 (49%) were 75 years or more. 1112 people diagnosed in the last week, 142 (13%) were aged 65β74 years and 232 (21%) were 75 years or more. ATAGI recommends people aged 75 years and older get a booster dose every 6 months.
Notes:
- Case numbers are primarily sourced from QLD Open Data Portal with the last two weeks sourced from CovidLive.
- Starting from 8 Sep 2023, a projection for total cases is made to account for the removal of RAT reporting. The PCR case numbers are multiplied by 2.5.
- Additional data was sourced from QLD respiratory dashboard
WA
Notes:
- Case numbers are primarily sourced from Virus WAtch with the last two weeks sourced from CovidLive.
- Starting from 20 Oct 2023, a projection for total cases is made to account for the removal of RAT reporting. The PCR case numbers are multiplied by 6.
SA
Additional Info:
- Total Covid Cases: 998,338
- Deaths notified in the past week: 6
- Total deaths: 1,911
- PCR tests conducted in the past week: 3,369 π»5%
Respiratory disease notifications:
| Virus | Notifications | Positivity | Year to Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| SARS-CoV-2 | 306 π»5% | 9.1%β¦οΈNC | 17,291 π»40% |
| Influenza | 140 π»13% | 22,262 πΊ7% | |
| RSV | 59 π»12% | 11,996 πΊ1% |
Notes:
- Data was primarily sourced from SA Health
- A projection for total cases is used to estimate the numbers with RAT reporting for consistency with other states. The PCR case numbers are multiplied by 4.
Tas
Notes:
- Case numbers are primarily sourced from CovidLive
- Starting from 26 Apr 2024, a projection for total cases is made to account for the removal of RAT reporting. The PCR case numbers are multiplied by 4.
National Residential Aged Care outbreaks are rising, and cases will likely soon follow. Vic and Tas homes carry the highest burden on the current increase.
- 237 active outbreaks πΊ16%
- 361 staff cases π»2%
- 1,016 resident cases π»1%
- 21 resident deaths (πΊ9)
And XEC has finally managed to get it's nose out in front of KP.3.1.1 in weekly tally for the first time (23 of 56 samples taken between 9-15th Nov) giving it 41% compared to KP.3.1.1 with 32%.
03:08 UTC
Vaccination overseas
Hello
I was wondering if anyone has had any experience getting vaccinated, in particular with Novavax, overseas?
As we can no longer access Novavax here in Australia, I was thinking of taking a bit of a drastic measure to attempt to be vaccinated in Japan. My partner will be flying there for work. Itβs been challenging looking online because of the language barrier. I have attempted to ask in several other subreddits without much help. I understand itβs a risk flying. I feel unprotected since my last novavax vaccine 2 years ago. I am still dealing with neurological issues since 2021 as well as shortness of breath etc
Any advice would be greatly appreciated
02:58 UTC
No longer a COVID virgin as of 12 days ago, send help (or pizza).
Still feel like crap. Mild fever, cough, complete blockage of alternating nostrils, no appetite, no energy, feeling of pressure in the head like it's stuffed with cotton. Surprisingly no headache or loss of smell/taste.
My wife has caught it twice in the past, my son once. Never passed it on to me at home, used the same tests they did. So I've either been lucky or this is obviously a strain made just for me.
Can't even remember how many vaccines I've had, maybe 4.
06:02 UTC
SARS-CoV-2 variants for Australia
Here's the latest variant picture for Australia.
The growth of DeFLuQE variants appears to have ended.
XEC.* grew to around 34%.
XEC.* variants showed a steady growth advantage of 2.1% per day (15% per week) over the dominant DeFLuQE variants. That predicts a crossover in late November.
Victoria continues to be under-represented, the dismal routine.Β Victoria has shared 3X fewer samples than South Australia in recent months, despite a ~3.5X larger population. Samples from Victoria (and Tasmania) lag the other states by several weeks.
Report link:
04:20 UTC
COVID-19 risk analysis and weekly statistics for Australia
Australian COVID-19 weekly stats update:
The risk estimate is down slightly to 0.7% Currently Infectious, or 1-in-153. That implies an 18% chance that there is someone infectious in a group of 30.
I estimate 20.5% of the population were infected in the last 6 months, 5.3M people.
Aged care staff cases (the source of the previous analysis have been growing in many states, but are held down by declines in NSW and Queensland.
Aged care metrics grew strongly in Western Australia and Tasmania.
Report Link:
https://mike-honey.github.io/covid-19-au-vaccinations/output/covid-19-au%20-%20report%20Weekly.pdf
22:20 UTC
Kids and Covid vaccine
Can anyone explain to me why kids in Aus are not being vaccinated ? They may not be hospitalised but are carriers and still susceptible to long covid??
I rang the chemist today and they said under 18s were not eligible unless vulnerable. I thought the risks were considered lower than an infection
08:22 UTC
Weekly case numbers from around Australia: 7,120 new cases (πΊ2%)
Ignoring the variability in the territory reporting, cases have been fairly flat this week. The recent small spike in WA cases appears to have stalled already with a slight drop in cases and only minor increases in aged care cases and wastewater readings.
- NSW 3,817 new cases (πΊ1%)
- VIC 1,294 new cases (π»1%) ^(see note)
- QLD 1,088 new cases (πΊ5%)
- WA 307 new cases (π»1%)
- SA 322 new cases (π»4%)
- TAS 134 new cases (π»3%)
- ACT 112 new cases (πΊ96%)
- NT 46 new cases (πΊ59%)
These numbers suggest a national estimate of 140K to 210K new cases this week or 0.5 to 0.8% of the population (1 in 154 people).
This gives a 50% chance that at least 1 person in a group of 107 being infected with covid this week.
Notes:
- Vic case numbers have been estimated from Aged Care data for the last two weeks and is only a rough guide.
Residential aged care case data mostly mirrors the general case trends, but there was a big jump in Tasmanian (up 63%) and SA (up 34%).
Flu tracker tracks cold and flu symptoms (fever plus cough) and is another useful tool for tracking the level of respiratory viruses in the community. This decreased slightly to 1.3% (π»0.1%) for the week to Sunday and suggests 357K infections (1 in 77 people). This is on par with the seasonal average.
- NSW: 1% (π»0.3%)
- VIC: 1.6% (πΊ0.1%)
- QLD: 1.2% (πΊ0.3%)
- WA: 1.7% (π»0.4%)
- SA: 1.7% (πΊ1.0%)
- TAS: 1.4% (π»0.1%)
- ACT: 1.8% (πΊ0.6%)
- NT: 2% (π»1.1%)
Based on the testing data provided, this suggests around 167K new symptomatic covid cases this week (0.6% or 1 in 165 people).
This gives a 50% chance that at least 1 person in a group of 114 being infected with covid and 1 person in a group of 53 being sick with something (covid, flu, etc) this week.
From the NSW Respiratory Surveillance Report, Rhinoviruses (common cold) accounts for about 27% of laboratory samples, Human metapneumovirus and SARS-CoV-2 at 6% and Parainfluenza is at 4%.
Whooping cough (pertussis) cases are increasing again but undiagnosed pneumonia presentations are back to normal levels (most likely Mycoplasma pneumoniae or "walking pneumonia"),
Extra sequences show that KP.3.1.1 and XEC as the dominant variants still, with KP.3.1.1 and it's children (MC) starting to regain the greater proportion of cases again, up slightly to 60% with XEC falling slightly to 27%.
A quick look across the ditch shows that cases are still maintaining fairly low levels with KP.3.1.1 being the dominant variant (62%), with XEC making up most of the other cases (18%).
04:32 UTC
jn1 vaccines in Australia
Heres our tale of trying to book in for the jn1 vaccines, due in 6th Dec.
We are under time constraints due to Dec being the time of highest exposure, with a large anount of people per day at an indoor poor ventilated event and a person with increased vulnerabilities.
NONE of the pharmacists I spoke to were aware of it
NONE.
SEVERAL doctors practices said they no longer administer it.
:(
06:05 UTC
best rapid test brands?
I heard rapid tests these days can determine if you have the flu, COVID or cold? is this true?
I've had COVID once in 2021 and Jesus. I felt like death and that I was dying. my eyes even hurt to be on my phone.
I am currently sick but nowhere near that I I am going to die type of sick.
i do feel like I have pneumonia and been coughing up so much fluid for 3 days.
want to check if it's COVID or the flu or what?
is there a test that tells you if it's just the flu or COVID?
09:11 UTC
QLD health on long COVID
Has anyone else read read this βQLD Health living evidence on Long COVIDβ? Is the research just cherry picked? And a statement at the end stating long COVID is not caused by long term damage to tissue with no citationβ¦is that accurate?
And long COVID is mostly mass hysteria:
https://www.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/380741/long-covid-living-evidence-summary.pdf
Keen to hear others thoughts??
09:46 UTC
Masking uptick?
Wifey attended a large-ish shopping center today (masked), and observed somewhere between one in 20 and one in 10 people wearing N95 masks. She said, and I quote "It felt like January 2021 all over again". Has anyone else noticed a similar increase in mask-wearing, or are we just in the "weirdo postcode" :D ?
EDIT: Muchos gracias for all the replies, anecdotally at least, it seems there *might* be a small increase in mask-wearing... but it's not in any way consistent. "Weirdos" was meant to be taken as self-deprecating... you'll get the side-eye of a lifetime for maskin' round these parts! I'm heartened to see more people taking precautions.
09:34 UTC
How long are people feeling sick at the moment?
My 7 year old and I both tested positive on Wednesday, itβs now Sunday and Iβm feeling terrible still.
Sheβs on the mend but nasty cough and still a weak positive but RAT so sheβll be home for a few more days I suspect.
But based on previous infections, after a few days I started to feel better but this time I can barely function still.
How long has it taken people to start to feel better recently? Any tips/tricks?
01:28 UTC
SARS-CoV-2 variants for NZ
Here's the latest variant picture for New Zealand.
DeFLuQE variants continue to dominate, although growth appears to have stalled.
XEC.* growth has stalled at around 23%.
For NZ, XEC.* variants are now showing a growth dis-advantage of -0.9% per day (-6% per week) over the dominant DeFLuQE variants.
The new MC.10.2 sub-lineage is boosting the resistance of the DeFLuQE clan, notably in the Hawkes Bay region.
Report link:
23:04 UTC
SARS-CoV-2 variants for Australia
Here's the latest variant picture for Australia.
The growth of DeFLuQE variants appears to have ended.
XEC.* grew to around 28%.
XEC.* variants showed a slightly slower growth advantage of 2% per day (14% per week) over the dominant DeFLuQE variants. That predicts a crossover in early December.
Victoria continues to be under-represented, the dismal routine. Victoria has shared 3X fewer samples than South Australia in recent months, despite a ~3.5X larger population.
Report link:
22:54 UTC
Australia vaccine update
07:51 UTC
COVID-19 weekly statistics for Australia
Australian COVID-19 weekly stats update:
The risk estimate is up sharply to 0.8% Currently Infectious, or 1-in-122. That implies a 22% chance that there is someone infectious in a group of 30.
I estimate 21% of the population were infected in the last 6 months, 5.6M people.
Aged care metrics grew strongly in Victoria and Western Australia.
Report Link:
https://mike-honey.github.io/covid-19-au-vaccinations/output/covid-19-au%20-%20report%20Weekly.pdf
07:37 UTC
COVID-19 Vaccine Update: Pfizer JN.1 vaccines to be rolled out in Dec as the preferred vaccine
The ATAGI 108th meeting was held on the 9th October 2024. This is the section relevant to covid.
- ATAGI reviewed data on currently circulating COVID-19 strains, which include JN.1.
- Australian suppliers have updated their vaccine formulation to include JN.1, and are undergoing registration with the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). These vaccines will be available from late 2024.
- ATAGI recommends using the latest COVID-19 vaccine formulation available.
- ATAGI endorsed the GRADE assessment on whether people aged 6 months and over should receive a single dose of the updated formulation COVID-19 vaccine following a previous dose in the past 6 to 12 months. This assessment supports ATAGIβs current recommendations on COVID-19 vaccination, which remain unchanged.
The latest Pharmacy Bulletin has been distributed to a number of providers and indicates that this should be available from early Dec
- Pfizer JN.1 COVID-19 vaccines are to be included in the National COVID-19 Vaccine Program from 9 December 2024
- The first ordering window for the JN.1 COVID-19 vaccines opens on Saturday 16 November 24, with a requested delivery date for 6 December 2024
- The Pfizer COVID-19 COMIRNATY JN.1 vaccine will become available to report to the AIR from 30 November 2024
Edit: The TGA still haven't updated their covid vaccine regulatory status page:
- Pfizer JN.1 vaccine was approved on 11 October 2024.
- Moderna vaccine with the JN.1 update is still being assessed. It should show up in an ARTG search once approved.
07:08 UTC