SARS-CoV-2 & VARIANTS/COVID-19
According to the World Health Organisation, currently the only SARS-CoV-2 variant of concern (VOC) is Omicron B.1.1.529. This designation includes BA.1, BA.2, BA.3, BA.4, BA.5 and descendent lineages. It also includes BA.1/BA.2 circulating recombinant forms such as XE.
As of Monday 23 May 2022, the national Communicable Diseases Genomics Network (CDGN) VoC Working Group has downgraded B.1.617.2 (Delta) to a Variant of Interest. No Delta sequences having been identified from samples collected in the 12 weeks to 23 May. Previously on 31 January 2022 Alpha, Beta and Gamma variants were de-escalated from VoCs. The only current Variant of Concern within Australia is Omicron B.1.1.529 and sub-lineages BA.
By 6 June 2022 CDGN - Aus Trakka had reported that public health laboratories had identified 10,066 B.1.1.529 genetic sequences in the New South Wales.
According to NSW Health, as at 4pm on 10 June 2022 there were 85,665 active confirmed COVID-19 cases across the state, with 1,219 hospitalised of which 41 were in intensive care including 14 requiring ventilation. In the 24 hours up to 4pm on 10 June 24 people had died as a result of COVID-19 infection.
In the last four weeks to 4pm 10 June 2022 NSW Health has recorded 92,994 confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the state. However this is an incomplete record of the number of person who actually contracted COVID-19 as NSW Health only records the results of Polymerase Chain Reaction tests (PCR) and omits results of Rapid Antigen tests (RAT).
Blacktown Local Government Area recorded 5,074 confirmed cases and Central Coast Local Government Area 4,157 confirmed cases in those 4 weeks.
The following local government areas (LGAs) recorded over 2,000 and under 4,000 confirmed COVID-19 during this period:
Bayside, Campbelltown, Canterbury-Bankstown, Central Coast, Cumberland, Georges River, Inner West, Ku-ring-gai, Lake Macquarie, Liverpool, Northern Beaches, Parramatta, Penrith, Ryde, Sutherland Shire, Sydney, The Hills Shire and Wollongong.
Those LGAs which recorded confirmed COVID-19 cases numbering between 1,000 but below 2,000 during this period were:
Camden, Canada Bay, Dubbo Regional, Hornsby, Maitland, Newcastle, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional, Randwick and Shoalhaven.
When it comes to the 7 local government areas comprising the NSW Northern Rivers region, in the four weeks to 10 June 2022 the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases recorded were:
Tweed Shire – 512 cases
Kyogle Shire – 19 cases
Lismore City – 208 cases
Byron Shire – 111 cases
Ballina Shire – 279 cases
Richmond Valley – 148 cases
Clarence Valley – 124 cases.
TOTAL 1,401
Remembering of course that all these figures are a significant under reporting by NSW Health because the Perrottet Coalition Government ceased to care about accurate public health recording by the last quarter of 2021.
For North Coast Voices readers who live in NSW LGAs I have not mentioned, a full list is at:
https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/covid-19/Pages/stats-local.aspx.
INFLUENZA
According to the Australian Dept. Of Health, in the year to 5 June 2022, there have been 87,989 notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza. Some 47,860 of these notifications had a diagnosis date in the last two weeks up to 5 June.
These numbers represents a national notification rate of 341.8 per 100,000 population.
There have been 27 influenza-associated deaths notified to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS).
Since commencement of seasonal surveillance in April 2022, there have been 733 hospital admissions due to influenza reported across sentinel hospitals sites, of which 6.1% (est. 45 people) were admitted directly to an Intensive Care Unit.
People aged 5–19 years and children aged younger than 5 years have the highest influenza notification rates.
In the year to first week of June 2022 NSW Health has recorded est. 44,080 Influenza cases in New South Wales.
From 1 January to 31 May 2022 there were only 635 Influenza cases officially recorded in the NSW Northern Rivers region.
