A week after the isolation rules were cut from seven to five days, national data on the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Australia is expected to be released.
This will be the first time the latest data will be available after the federal government has taken a national approach to how virus numbers are reported.
Previously, health authorities in each state published the daily number of cases and deaths.
The new reporting method was announced after the national cabinet decided to reduce the isolation period for COVID-19 patients from seven to five days.
However, only those with no symptoms can leave isolation after a shorter period of time, and health experts expect this to keep the number of new infections low.
“Without symptoms, you’re much less likely to still be infectious,” epidemiologist and biostatistics professor Adrian Esterman told the AAP.
“I don’t think the recent changes to the isolation rules will have a big impact on the broadcast.”
But independent lawmaker Monique Ryan fears the federal government has moved too quickly to change the rules on viruses.
Dr Ryan, who was director of neurology at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital before joining Parliament, wants a national COVID-19 summit to discuss a plan in case infections increase and pressure on hospitals.
He said that people working in the elderly, disabled, children and healthcare sectors feel left behind to deal with the continuing impact of the virus as the rest of the country tries to move forward. .
“I am really concerned that we are dismantling all controls (and) mitigation strategies related to COVID at a time when, in fact, we have more COVID in our community than ever,” Dr. Ryan told Sky News. Thursday.
“I ask for a reorganization of the conversation in light of the fact that COVID has not disappeared and will not go away in the next six to 12 months”.
As the Northern Hemisphere approaches winter, Dr Ryan fears Australia may be vulnerable to new strains of the virus due to reduced health measures.
Professor Esterman said a new sub-variant of the Omicron virus mutation is spreading in England and he wouldn’t be surprised if Australia saw a similar waveform in November.