Doctors alarmed over easing COVID-19 rules

Tess Ikonomou
Oct 07, 2022, updated Oct 07, 2022

Professor Steve Robson is pushing for Australia to set up its own Centre for Disease Control. Photo: AAP

Australia’s peak medical body has warned it’s too early to scrap COVID-19 isolation requirements, with the nation likely to be hit by another wave of infections.

National cabinet has agreed to dump the five-day isolation period for positive cases, with the changes to take effect on October 14.

Australian Medical Association president Steve Robson told AAP it was too early to ease the protections.

“All the signs are that we’re looking at another wave of COVID,” he said.

“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.”

Professor Robson said information from the northern hemisphere showed newer variants of the virus wouldn’t be affected by immunity from previous infection or from vaccinations.

“We’re seeing a major wave beginning again in the northern hemisphere. We’re very concerned that this doesn’t happen in Australia,” he said.

Meanwhile, Australia’s former deputy chief medical officer has called for guidelines on COVID-19 vaccines for children to be reviewed.

Dr Nick Coatsworth said experts in the UK were no longer providing COVID-19 vaccines to healthy children aged between five and 11, while Sweden was not recommending jabs for those aged 12 to 17.

In Australia, COVID-19 vaccines are recommended for everyone aged over five.

“If you’re a healthy child or adolescent, the benefit of the COVID vaccine just isn’t there,” Dr Coatsworth told Sydney radio 2GB.

Fresh data for NSW and Victoria, released on Friday, show that weekly case numbers and deaths continue to fall in the country’s two most populous states.

The federal health department will release its weekly COVID-19 case notifications report on Friday.