‘Much more’ to do as Victoria meets grim milestone

Chief health officer Brett Sutton has spoken on the two year milestone of the first Australian Covid case declaring there is “so much more” work to do in bringing the pandemic to an end.

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Chief health officer Brett Sutton has declared there is “so much more” work to do in bringing the pandemic to an end.

Speaking on the two year milestone since the first Australian case of Covid-19 was detected, Professor Sutton said the challenges posed by the virus continued.

“I’ll not forget this day two years ago when the first confirmed case of COVID-19 - a Victorian - was notified in Australia,” he wrote on Twitter.

“It’s been extraordinarily disruptive and difficult since that time; hard to imagine what the world would go through and the awful loss of life.”

Professor Sutton said the power of vaccines had “transformed how we can go about our lives” and allowed public health experts to “understand this virus more and more each day”.

“The challenges continue and may seem as great as ever but we’ve made extraordinary strides in getting to this point,” he added.

“But so much more to do - third doses, kids getting vaxxed, reaching the unreached. We need global vaccine equity, more focus on ventilation, #bettermasks and simple, sustainable behaviours to protect us and others, like testing when symptomatic or in high risk settings.

“I think Victorians understand better than almost anyone what to do and I hope I’ve played a small role in bringing this into public commentary. (There are) so many brilliant folk in public health in Victoria have supported bringing evidence to light.”

COVID AT HOME CAMPAIGN

The Victorian government will launch a new campaign encouraging people with mild Covid symptoms to recover at home.

More than 550k cases have been diagnosed across the state since January this year. Just 0.71 per cent of those have required hospital care.

There are currently 1057 Victorians in hospital with the virus, including 119 in ICU and 45 on a ventilator.

The ‘Get the right help for your recovery’ campaign, which will run across TV, radio, print, online and outdoor media, aims to support Victorians experiencing mild symptoms.

It will encourage people to use measures such as rest, hydration and pain relief in a bid to ensure they feel confident to manage their illness from home.

Victoria’s hospital system has been under extreme pressure due to the covid-19 Omicron variant. Picture: Ian Currie

For those that experience more severe symptoms, the campaign will detail what signs to look out for and what measures to take to seek additional help.

The campaign will be translated into 41 languages and have versions that target vulnerable and disadvantaged communities.

It comes after the state government was forced to declare a Code Brown on Victoria’s besieged healthcare system.

SPIKE IN COVID CASES

Victoria has recorded 14,836 Covid cases and 29 deaths overnight, with hospital admissions also spiking.

The daily case tally is an increase on Monday’s 11,695 new infections, following four consecutive days where numbers dropped.

There are 1057 Victorians in hospital with Covid, an increase of 59 in 24 hours.

ICU cases remain unchanged, with 119 patients fighting for life.

Victoria’s pre-Omicron peak for Covid hospitalisations was 851 in October last year, when the state was battling a surge in Delta infections.

It comes amid a grim anniversary, with Tuesday marking exactly two years since Australia recorded its first Covid-19 case.

On January 25, 2020, a man who had flown into Melbourne from China tested positive for a virus that was so new it didn’t have a name.

The case was a man from Wuhan, where the virus is believed to have originated, who travelled to Australia on January 19 from Guandong.

Hours after Australia’s initial case was recorded, three more Chinese travellers were confirmed to have tested positive in NSW.

There was no hotel quarantine, no Covid screening at airports and no vaccinations, which wouldn’t be rolled out widely in Australia for some 18 months. It was before public health officials and epidemiologists entered the limelight, premiers closed their borders and millions of Australians spent months in and out of lockdown watching daily press conferences and hearing the word “unprecedented” multiple times.

By the end of February, the Morrison government had announced the novel coronavirus would become a global pandemic and extended its travel ban on visitors from China.

A Covid testing centre at Melbourne Town Hall remains quiet as Victorians turn to rapid tests. Picture: David Crosling

A few days after that, Australia saw its first community transmission of Covid when there were still just 33 confirmed cases in the country.

On March 11, the World Health Organisation, which had already declared a public health emergency of international concern, “rang the alarm bell loud and clear” and declared a pandemic.

Covid has gone on to infect almost two million Australians and more than 3000 people have died after contracting it.

It’s estimated there are some 411,875 active cases in the country, with 5173 people in hospitals including 404 patients in intensive care units and 146 people on ventilators.

Australia’s total cases skyrocketed from 300,594 on Christmas Day to more than 2 million confirmed infections on Tuesday, which is likely to be an underestimate as authorities rely on at-home testing.