A new Covid-19 variant has made its way from India into Australia, and it’s more transmissible than the others.
According to infectious disease expert Professor Robert Booy, there is no evidence to suggest the new strain, called “Centaurus” is more severe.
Professor Booy said people should be concerned and alert as cases rise mid-winter nationwide.
“This is a call to action,” he said.
“We need to do things we were doing six months ago, better – wearing masks, social distancing, hand washing and working from home where possible.”
“The numbers are likely to rise to January levels,” Professor Booy said.
He warned of the impacts on the already struggling health systems if transmission rates increase.
”If we can reduce the transmission rate by 10 or 20 per cent, we’ll get the pressure off hospitals and GPs,” he said.
Older people experiencing Covid symptoms can also be prescribed antiviral medication in a telehealth consultation.
The new variant is a descendant of the BA2 strain.
Reinfection times for people who have already had Covid have been reduced country-wide from 12 weeks to just 4.
With the rate of transmission from new variants, people can expect to test for another round of Covid after a month of being infected initially if they present with new symptoms.
Originally published as New Covid variant sparks fresh concerns amid winter wave
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