The Australian Medical Association (AMA) said on Friday that it was “too early” to end mandatory Covid-19 isolation periods, citing the risk of a new wave of the pandemic.
Late in September, federal, state, and territory leaders agreed to end mandatory isolation requirements for Covid-19, which will take effect on October 14, with each jurisdiction implementing the change through relevant public health legislation, according to the Xinhua news agency.
In response to the decision, AMA President Steve Robson expressed “great concern” about another wave.
“We’re coming out of one of the biggest waves of Covid yet and it has absolutely crushed hospital workforce and left us with a massive logjam and backlog in hospitals at the moment that has to be dealt with.
“If we have another wave over the holiday season, then it spells bad news for the country because we can’t tackle that backlog,” Robson added.
On Friday, the Department of Health provided updates on national Covid-19 weekly current trends.
“Over the last week, 36,242 cases of Covid-19 were reported across Australia, an average of 5,177 cases per day,” it said on its website.
A seven-day average of 1,548 cases are being treated in hospitals.
Australia’s overall Covid caseload and death toll stood at 10,269,925 and 15,319, respectively, as of Friday.
