Professor Paul Kelly says the current COVID-19 wave is just beginning, with 5000 hospitalisations already.

“We can predict reasonably well up to four weeks from now,” Kelly says. “And in every state and territory, the number of cases according to those predictions are continuing to rise. So we’re at the start of this wave, not the end.”

Actions such as wearing masks indoors have the potential to reduce the number of cases in hospital, he says.

“It’s a combined community effort that we need to put in place for the next few weeks. And that will make a big difference in that number.”

The federal government is staying in close contact with the health system to ensure that it can cope with the likely increase in hospitalisations.

“These hospitalisation rates are deeply concerning,” Health Minister Mark Butler says.

But he says the admission rate to intensive care units has not increased as sharply.

“That’s been a much slower increase. We’re still at probably only about half the ICU admission rate we saw in January, although hospitalisation numbers are at about the same rate.”