Virus Covid-19 Wave: Stay alert and protect yourself if you are in a crowd

With the holiday season ahead, many people are in high spirits and looking forward to having a break over summer, despite the ongoing pandemic. According to official data from the website of the Ministry of Health and Elderly Services, the weekly average number of COVID-19 cases for the week of November 22, nationally there were 11,953 cases, 10.7% greater than the number of cases the previous week. The number of cases in NSW alone reached 4,280 cases, up 18.9% from the previous week. Is this increase due to a new sub-variant or are there any other causes?

Most Australians won't get access to a fifth COVID-19 jab before Christmas, in line with expert advice. (GETTY). Credit: Morsa Images/Getty Images

Dr. Dicky Budiman, is an epidmiologist from Bandung who is currently completing his PhD study program at Griffith University focusing on Global Health Security and Pandemics. He believes that in order to prevent infection or reinfection of COVID-19 with its sub-variants, vaccination and booster vaccines are still needed and people also need to observe health protocols, such as wearing masks. Even though the rules have been relaxed.

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