‘Red zone’: Record number of people in hospital with Covid-19 in Western Australia

One state has reached a shocking Covid-19 record, prompting fears for its health system and a call for restrictions to return.

A record number of people are in hospital with Covid-19 in Western Australia, with some medical experts calling for a return of mask rules amid fears the new Omicron wave will overwhelm the health system.

WA Health reported 329 people were in hospital with the virus on Thursday, surpassing the previous high of 327 patients on May 18.

There are now 14 people in intensive care and two more deaths have also been recorded – a woman aged in her 60s and a man aged in his 70s.

A further 6535 infections were recorded overnight, bringing the total number of active case to 34,527.

Chief health officer Andy Robertson recently flagged he expected to see between 20,000 and 25,000 cases per day in WA before a decline in infections during this wave.

Australian Medical Association WA president Mark Duncan-Smith told reporters on Thursday that if the number of patients reached 350, the state government should reintroduce broader mask rules, describing it as a “red zone”.

“If we break 350, I’m calling on the government to widen the mask mandate because we have to do something different than what we’re doing today,” he said.

AMA WA president Mark Duncan-Smith has issued a grim warning about Covid-19. Picture: Marie Nirme / The Australian

“If we pass 350, I’m calling on the government to reintroduce the mask mandate that would include indoors where social distancing cannot be maintained.

“This is in addition to the current hospitals, doctors offices, aged care and public transport.”

Dr Duncan-Smith said the move would avoid tougher restrictions down the track.

“Public health measures take two to three weeks to have an effect on the number of people in hospital,” he said.

“That’s why when we break 350 we need to be doing something different than what we’re doing today to protect the medical system down the road.

“The medical professionals in the hospitals have been the backbone of our Covid response. (They) are tired and they are worn out.

“The McGowan government needs to protect them by reducing the number of inpatients in hospital, especially if we break that 350 mark.

“If our hospitals become overrun, then poor outcomes from Covid, as well as non-Covid presentations, will occur.”

But Premier Mark McGowan has indicated he has no plans to bring back the mask mandate, other than what already exists in medical facilities, aged care and on public transport.

“As I’ve learnt about Covid over the past two-and-a-half years, you don’t set hard and fast rules because when you do, circumstances can be different to what you’ve expected,” he told reporters.

“You monitor as you go along, you make sure you take account of the circumstances you face.

“We take advice on these things as to what can and can’t be done within our hospitals but it is a difficult period.”

Mr McGowan said he expected Covid-19 numbers to go up in coming weeks.

“We have influenza, we have respiratory illnesses prevalent throughout the community, it’s a difficult period for our hospital system and lots of people are furloughed because they are Covid-positive or close contacts,” he said.

“What I find with modeling is it’s often inaccurate, so you just watch and see what occurs.

“Generally it’s trending up because we are in winter. There’s more infectious strains out there.

“It will probably get worse before it gets better.”

Originally published as ‘Red zone’: Record number of people in hospital with Covid-19 in Western Australia