Another lockdown was announced by the Victorian government today to combat the growing cluster of COVID-19 cases. All Victoria will enter a 7-day circuit breaker lockdown at 11:59pm tonight. This comes as over 150 exposure sites around Victoria have been identified, along with 11 new cases overnight. Over 10,000 primary or secondary contacts have been identified.
Melbourne’s current COVID-19 outbreak has now grown to 9 cases, with key infection links still missing. One case attended the MCG AFL game on Sunday, with 23,000 other fans now on high alert. A snap lockdown has not been ruled out by acting Victorian Premier James Merlino.
All Australians over 50 are now eligible for the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine. However, many are waiting for an alternative vaccine. Director of Infectious Diseases at Mater Health Services, Paul Griffin has warned that we won’t be able to control COVID-19 forever with border closures. He has cautioned that anyone waiting for a different vaccine is not only putting themselves at the back of the queue, but is also subjecting everyone to unnecessary risk.
Skateboarding is making its debut at the Olympics this year, but unfortunately 2 members of the Australian Olympic team are now out of the running after testing positive to COVID-19 before the qualifying event. One of the athletes is only 13 years old, and one coach also tested positive.
The traditional 9-5 work day has shifted for many people. Now, it’s common for people to work night shifts or ‘graveyard shifts’ from 11pm – 7am, which drastically increases the likelihood of crashes.
If you suffer from daytime tiredness and always feel unrefreshed, you may have Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) – a sleep condition which disturbs your breathing during sleep.
The Indian COVID-19 variant, B.1.617.2, has now spread to 48 countries and every continent excluding Antarctica. This variant is thought to be more infectious than previous strains. 2,915 cases of the variant have been recorded in the UK, with 776 in India, although the latter is likely to be much lower than the true number of cases. 74 cases have been recorded in Australia.
Both the New Zealand and Singapore government have rolled out funny and informative ads encouraging citizens to get their COVID-19 jab. Both use every day local language, and address concerns of the community. Should Australia be following suit?
Researchers from Australia and the US have developed a new antiviral that reduced the amount of coronavirus in infected mice by 99%. The antiviral uses gene-silencing RNA technology, which finds the viral genome and destroys it so the virus can’t replicate anymore.
