Even though SARS-CoV-2 is still around, the Australian government has stopped use of the COVIDSafe app. Was it an abject failure, and what lessons can we learn from this exercise?
The CDC’s controversial recommendation changes are based on new studies showing that most omicron transmission takes place within five days of the onset of illness.
While neoliberalism has allowed U.S. markets to grow, the resultant stunted public health system left Americans to figure out how to protect themselves from COVID-19 and its fallout on their own.
A statistically designed random sampling scheme, based on as few as 100 people, would give a very high probability of detecting if there are any COVID-19 cases and highlight at-risk hotspots.
The k number tells us whether the spread of a disease is steady or comes in big bursts, with a small proportion of people infecting many others. The latter is know as superspreading.
NSW’s successful test and trace strategy controlled the Crossroads Hotel outbreak a year ago without needing a stringent lockdown. But this has not worked as well against Delta.
COVID-19 cases in Indonesia are rising and are expected to keep doing so for another two weeks until the effects of restrictions and mask mandates are seen.
To come out of lockdown, health authorities want to see that all cases are linked, and that potentially infectious people are quarantining before they test positive. This still isn’t happening.
Nicholas Steyn, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau; Michael Plank, University of Canterbury et Shaun Hendy, University of Auckland, Waipapa Taumata Rau
New Zealand will have to vaccinate 80-85% to reach population immunity. Until then, a blanket border re-opening, even if only for vaccinated people, would pose a high risk of new outbreaks.
New Zealand’s capital is on high alert after an Australian visitor tested positive on their return home. With less than 10% vaccinated, New Zealanders remain vulnerable to new outbreaks.
Revelations that WA police accessed data from the state’s QR code contact-tracing app threaten to put a serious dent in the public’s trust. And this trust is a crucial element of our COVID defences.