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Australia

COVID-19 lab-leak theory debunked by Australian professor who has been dubbed ‘the virus hunter’

COVID-19 lab-leak theory debunked by Australian professor who has been dubbed 'the virus hunter'

Eddie Holmes can still remember the exact moment he first learned about COVID-19.

The University of Sydney virologist said it was New Years Eve, 2019, when he received a news alert that China had notified the World Health Organization of a strange new virus.

“It said four cases of an episode of pneumonia were found in a live animal market in Wuhan, China,” he said. “It immediately rang alarm bells.”

Professor Holmes told ABC News Daily the story jumped out because he had visited that very market, the Huanan seafood wholesale market, in 2014.

“While I was there, I noticed there were these live wildlife for sale, particularly raccoon dogs and… muskrats” he said.

“I took the photographs because I thought to myself: ‘God, that’s, that’s not quite right’.”

Animals caged in dirty, dark corner.
A photo taken in 2014 by Professor Eddie Holmes, showing animals caged in the Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.(Supplied: Eddie Holmes)

Raccoon dogs had been associated with the emergence of a different coronavirus outbreak, SARS-CoV-1, in 2002-04, which became known worldwide as the SARS virus.

Even in 2014, Professor Holmes believed the market could become a site of virus transmission between animals and humans.

“I said to my Chinese colleagues: ‘This is a really interesting situation here. We should do some sampling of the animal market to see what viruses these animals have got and if they’re going to jump,'” he said.

‘Engine room of disease emergence’

The monitoring that Professor Holmes suggested never took place but, in the early days of COVID-19, he was still convinced that a market like the one in Wuhan was the logical origin of the virus.

“They are the kind of engine room of [this sort] of disease emergence … because what you’re doing is you’re putting humans and wildlife in close proximity to each other,” he said.

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US

CDC drops quarantine, social distancing, school screening recommendations for COVID-19

CDC drops quarantine, social distancing, school screening recommendations for COVID-19

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation’s top public health agency on Thursday relaxed its COVID-19 guidelines, dropping the recommendation that Americans quarantine themselves if they come into close contact with an infected person.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said people no longer need to stay at least 6 feet away from others.

The changes are driven by a recognition that – more than 2 1/2 years since the start of the pandemic – an estimated 95% of Americans 16 and older have acquired some level of immunity, either from being vaccinated or infected, agency officials said.

“The current conditions of this pandemic are very different from those of the last two years,” said the CDC’s Greta Massetti, an author of the guidelines.

The CDC recommendations apply to everyone in the US, but the changes could be particularly important for schools, which summarize classes this month in many parts of the country.

Perhaps the biggest education-related change is the end of the recommendation that schools do routine daily testing, although that practice can be reinstated in certain situations during a surge in infections, officials said.

The CDC also dropped a “test-to-stay” recommendation, which said students exposed to COVID-19 could regularly test – instead of quarantining at home – to keep attending school. With no quarantine recommendation anymore, the testing option disappeared too.

Masks continue to be recommended only in areas where community transmission is considered high, or if a person is considered at high risk of severe illness.

School districts across the US have been scaling back their COVID-19 precautions in recent weeks even before the CDC relaxed its guidance.

Masks will be optional in most school districts when classes resume this fall, and some of the nation’s largest districts have dialed back or eliminated COVID-19 testing requirements.

SEE ALSO: Monkeypox patient speaks out about what it’s like to have the disease

Some have also been moving away from test-to-stay programs that became unmanageable during surges of the omicron variant last school year. With so many new infections among students and staff, many schools struggled to track and test their close contacts, leading to a temporary return to remote classes in some places.

The average numbers of reported COVID-19 cases and deaths have been relatively flat this summer, at around 100,000 cases a day and 300 to 400 deaths.

The CDC previously said that if people who are not up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations come into close contact with a person who tests positive, they should stay home for at least five days. Now the agency says quarantining at home is not necessary, but it urges those people to wear a high-quality mask for 10 days and get tested after five.

The agency continues to say that people who test positive should isolate themselves from others for at least five days, regardless of whether they were vaccinated. CDC officials advise that people can end isolation if they are fever-free for 24 hours without the use of medication and they are without symptoms or the symptoms are improving.

Copyright © 2022 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

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Categories
Australia

CBD commercial occupancy rates have fallen across the country — so what will it take to get workers back into city offices?

Sydney skyline at night.

The early days of the COVID-19 pandemic triggered a mass exodus of workers from central business district (CBD) offices — but, from this, came a new, hybrid work model that accommodated for employees’ unique needs.

While remote work remains the preference for many, some offices have struggled to convince their staff to make the trek back into central business districts and, experts say, it has come at a cost to newcomers.

In almost every major Australian city, during the month of June, new data from the Property Council of Australia shows commercial occupancy rates fell.

That rate is the measure of the area of ​​rented space compared to area of ​​total space available.

Melbourne’s commercial occupancy rate dropped from 49 per cent to 38 per cent, while Sydney’s fell from 55 per cent to 52 per cent.

Brisbane’s fell from 64 per cent to 53 per cent, while Adelaide’s dropped from 71 per cent to 64 per cent.

The only markets to record an increase in commercial occupancy were Canberra and Perth, where the rate rose from 53 per cent to 61 per cent and 65 per cent to 71 per cent, respectively.

Is working from home to blame?

The main culprit, according to the Property Council’s chief executive, Ken Morrison, is illness.

Mr Morrison said the results were disappointing, but not surprising.

“Office occupancy numbers have gone backwards for the first time in six months as a wave of [COVID-19’s] Omicron and flu cases kept workers away from the office,” he said.

A man addresses an event in a ballroom at night standing at a glass podium
Ken Morrison says illness likely triggered the fall in occupancy rates.(Supplied: Property Council of Australia)

“We have been seeing a steady increase in the number of workers returning to offices, but this stalled in June and has now declined in most capitals.

With winter nearly over, he said, it was encouraging that the latest COVID-19 wave had nearly run its course and that “recovery momentum can resume.”

Remote work not a ‘zero-cost exercise’

When occupancy rates drop off, small businesses, such as cafes, can miss out on a vital revenue stream.

Mr Morrison said governments needed to be mindful that encouraging people to work from home was not a “zero-cost exercise”.

“The costs are real and we see them in the vibrancy of our CBDs,” he said.

“We know office occupancy has been slow to recover, unlike other indicators, which snap back quickly.”

Are falling occupancy rates here to stay?

Tom Broderick — who heads up CBRE’s capital markets research — doesn’t think so.

“I think this appears to be a bit of a blip, with these most recent figures,” he said.

A man with short gray hair wearing a black and white suit and tie smiling
Tom Broderick says having fewer people in offices makes it harder to collaborate. (Supplied: Tom Broderick )

The July survey found the preference for greater flexibility, including working from home, was a better driver of occupancy levels, but this decreased from 63 per cent to 48 per cent.

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Categories
Australia

Infectious disease experts warn Omicron wave not the last of Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic

An array of 3D molecule models, the largest to the left and in focus, the other three are out of focus behind it, to the right

Infectious disease experts have warned that, while Australia might have passed the peak of its winter COVID-19 wave, there could still be future surges and strains of the deadly virus in the future.

James Cook University’s Professor Emma McBryde told the ABC that, while she was “cautiously optimistic” about the latest Omicron wave being over, there was still a risk of new COVID-19 variants.

“We’re still seeing a lot of deaths, [more than] 100 a day across Australia, which is an alarming number,” she said.

“We should be concerned about it rather than just dismissing it, but we should be cautiously optimistic that, bit by bit, we’re going to see a decline in cases in the medium term.

“I’m much-less optimistic about it being all over, as in the whole COVID pandemic being over,” she said.

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“Because we’ve seen this virus mutate again and again, and some of those mutations make it milder and more infectious, and other mutations make it more severe and more infectious.

“So we don’t know what’s coming next.

“I wouldn’t be bold enough to make any statements on [the end of the pandemic].”

On Wednesday, Australia recorded 27,263 new cases of COVID-19 and 133 deaths. There were 4,415 cases being treated in hospital.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler also said last week he was cautiously optimistic the most-recent wave had peaked.

“The data we’re seeing right now indicates we might have reached the peak earlier than we expected to,” he said on August 4.

A man in a dark suit and spotted tie speaks at a press conference while another man, head tilted back, looks on from behind
Health Minister Mark Butler has warned of the “school holiday effect” on case numbers. (ABC News: Matt Roberts)

“We’re being a bit cautious about that because what we’ve seen through the pandemic is the ‘school holiday effect’, which shows numbers and transmission takes a slightly different course because of different activity in the school holidays.”

Professor Robert Booy — an infectious diseases pediatrician at the University of Sydney — said there was a “lot of good news.”

“The possibility of a new variant remains there, but we don’t see one on the horizon,” he said.

“[The Indian sub variant BA2.75] has fizzled out and we’ve had BA5 now for six months without a new variant taking over.

“So our immunity to BA5 is getting better and better.

A bearded, brown-haired man in a maroon, checked shirt and maroon knitted vest in an office environment
Professor Robert Booy warns against complacency towards COVID-19. (ABC: 7.30)

“There isn’t a variant yet that looks likely to replace it, so there is hope on the horizon.”

However, I added, it was “no time for complacency.”

“We’re still seeing rampant deaths,” he said.

“It’s in front of our eyes and we’re looking at it with rose-tinted glasses. We’re seeing the positive and forgetting so many people are still dying and being damaged.”

He said the elderly and disabled were, “first of all”, precious people.

University of South Australia epidemiologist and biostatistician Professor Adrian Esterman said three key things needed to be done to improve case numbers:

  1. 1.Higher percentage of the population getting their booster shot
  2. two.Encouraging correct usage of face masks in the correct places
  3. 3.Better ventilation of indoor areas.

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Categories
US

CDC eases Covid guidance as US has more tools to fight the virus and keep people out of the hospital

CDC eases Covid guidance as US has more tools to fight the virus and keep people out of the hospital

A sign outside of a hospital advertises COVID-19 testing on November 19, 2021 in New York City. On Friday vaccine advisers to the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention voted unanimously in recommending a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccines for all adults in the United States six months after they finish their first two doses.

Spencer Platt | Getty Images

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention eased its Covid-19 guidance on Thursday, saying the virus now poses a much lower risk of severe illness, hospitalization and death compared to earlier in the pandemic.

The CDC is no longer recommending testing to screen people with possible asymptomatic infections in most settings, such as schools. However, screening is still recommended in certain high risk settings such as nursing homes and prisons.

And people who are not up to date on their vaccines no longer need to quarantine if they have been exposed to Covid-19, according to the new CDC guidance. Instead, public health officials now recommend that these individuals wear a mask for 10 days and get tested on day five.

Greta Massetti, a CDC epidemiologist, said the US has the vaccines and treatments needed to fight the virus. As a consequence, the virus now poses a much lower threat to public health, according to the CDC. But it remains crucial for everyone to remain up to date on their vaccines, according to the public health agency.

“This guidance acknowledges that the pandemic is not over, but also helps us move to a point where COVID-19 no longer severely disrupts our daily lives,” Massetti said in a statement.

People with healthy immune systems, regardless of vaccination status, should isolate for five days after testing positive for the virus, but you can end isolation at day six if you have not had symptoms or if you have not had a fever for 24 hours and other symptoms have improved, according to the guidelines.

After leaving isolation, you should wear a high-quality mask through day 10 after your positive test. If you have had two negative rapid antigen tests you can stop wearing your mask earlier, according to the guidelines. But you should avoid people who are more likely to get sick from Covid, such as the elderly and people with weak immune systems, until at least day 11.

People with weakened immune systems, those who have been hospitalized with Covid, or those who have had shortness of breath due to the virus should isolate from others for 10 days. But people with weakened immune systems and those who were hospitalized should also consult a physician before ending isolation.

If you end isolation but your Covid symptoms worsen, you should return to isolation and follow the guidelines from scratch again, according to the CDC.

The US is currently reporting more than 107,000 new cases a day on average, according to the CDC. That’s likely to be a significant undercount because many people are now testing at home and results are not picked up in official data.

About 6,000 people with Covid are admitted to the hospital a day on average, according to the CDC data. Nearly 400 people are still dying a day on average from the virus.

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Categories
Australia

The COVIDSafe app is dead – but was it ever really alive?

a hand holds a screen showing the message on the covidsafe app that it will no longer be collecting data

The federal government’s COVIDSafe app has been scrapped just over two years after its launch.

But the $21 million platform, designed to trace close contacts of people who tested positive for COVID, had problems from the start.

What was COVIDSafe?

When COVIDSafe launched in late April 2020, it was touted as a critical part of the government’s plan to reopen the economy.

The app relied on a bluetooth signal which transmitted at regular intervals to make contact with other users nearby.

If a person tested positive for COVID-19, state and territory authorities could request access to the phone log to work out who else may have been infected.

But the lower the number of people actively using it, the less effective it was – and it wasn’t guaranteed to work for those who did.

So, did COVIDSafe work?

When it was launched, Australians were told they didn’t have to do anything special to get COVIDSafe to work.

But the then-government’s own testing showed that when it went live, COVIDSafe only worked effectively about a quarter of the time or less on locked iPhones.

Communications between locked Androids and iPhones was also poor – although this later improved.

The app’s effectiveness was hampered by bugs which had the potential to limit its core function – particularly at big events, according to experts.

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It also took until late 2021 for COVIDSafe to be updated to track the more infectious Delta variant.

Months before, experts had warned the app’s 15-minute exposure window – the time frame used to define a close contact – was “very useless” in tracking the more transmissible variant.

In December 2021 Mark Butler — who was then the shadow health minister — called for it to be scrapped after it was revealed to have identified just two close contacts nationally in six months.

Mr Butler is now the Health Minister, and figures released by his office on Wednesday show just 17 close contacts that had not already been picked up by manual contact tracers were identified in more than two years.

In its lifetime, the app clocked just two unique COVID cases.

Did anybody use COVIDSafe?

At its launch, the government said it would need 40 per cent of Australians – 10 million people – to use COVIDSafe for it to be a success.

But that number has rarely been mentioned since.

By the time of its decommissioning, there were 7.9 million registrations, according to Mr Butler, who called it a “failed app”.

The vast majority of sign-ups – more than 6 million – were in the first few weeks.

But the app relied on active users, and people consenting to their positive test results being used, to work.

Illustration of someone holding a phone with the government's COVIDSafe app open with parliament house in the background.
The app cost $21 million but detected only two unique COVID cases.(ABC News: Emma Machan)

Fewer than 800 users consented to their data to be collected, according to Mr Butler’s office.

In September 2021, as COVID cases spiked in New South Wales, Victoria and the ACT, the ABC revealed the app had not uncovered any close contacts in those outbreaks.

In fact, the ACT never used data from the app at all, instead opting to rely on its own contact tracers.

How much did taxpayers pay for COVIDSafe?

The previous federal government entered into contracts worth nearly $10 million for work on the app until the end of 2021.

It refused to join Apple and Google’s joint contract tracing system, which was adopted by more than 50 jurisdictions around the world.

The total cost of the Australian app, which had a monthly operating price tag of $100,000, now sits at $21 million.

Of that, $10 million went to develop the app, a further $7 million on advertising and marketing, $2.1 million on upkeep and more than $2 million on staff.

What happens now?

Users are now being asked to uninstall COVIDSafe.

Doing so will delete all their data, according to a message on the app.

The Health Department will no longer gather personal data, and the data gathered via the app so far will be deleted as soon as possible, Mr Butler said.

The app will be formally decommissioned on August 16.

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Categories
Australia

Christmas could be in jeopardy for a third year as COVID-19 waves set to continue indefinitely, experts warn

Christmas could be in jeopardy for a third year as COVID-19 waves set to continue indefinitely, experts warn

COVID-19 threatens to thwart many Queenslanders’ Christmas plans for a third consecutive year, but the New Year brings the hope of next generation vaccines that may better dampen virus transmission.

With experts predicting COVID waves to roll on indefinitely, Queenslanders are being urged to prepare for a “new normal”, with mandatory mask wearing expected to continue in “vulnerable” settings, such as hospitals and aged care.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard this week tentatively forecast the next COVID wave to begin in December, although he said it was impossible to predict its severity.

While the third Omicron wave has peaked, Princess Alexandra Hospital Director of Infectious Diseases Geoffrey Playford called on the public to remain vigilant by continuing to wear masks when unable to socially distance and to stay up to date with their COVID-19 vaccines to protect themselves and “keep our healthcare system going as best as it can”.

“We’re all aware in other societies, particularly in South-East Asia, and North Asia, that mask wearing has been a part of normal business, normal society for quite some time – well before COVID-19,” Dr Playford said.

“It may well be that’s where the rest of us go as well.

A young woman wearing a mask.
Masks will be the norm for the foreseeable future. (ABC News: Elizabeth Pickering)

“Humans are incredibly adaptable, and I suspect we will just get to a new normal that we’ll accept as the normal moving forward and we will adapt to that.

“I doubt it will get back to the old normal.”

Hospital balancing act an ‘enormous challenge’

As the fourth year of the pandemic looms in 2023, Dr Playford said the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic had left healthcare workers concerned about the management of other diseases, unrelated to COVID, moving forward.

Dr Geoffrey Playford stands in a hospital corridor.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital’s Dr Geoffrey Playford says hospitals have grappled with enormous challenges.(ABC NewsEmma Pollard)

“People’s cancer screenings, people’s cancer management, all the other non-COVID-related health conditions need to be managed as best as we can side by side with the COVID response,” he said.

“Patients who have COVID need to be managed in specific areas of the hospital and that’s over and above all the other pressures upon our healthcare system and our hospital beds.

“That’s been an enormous challenge trying to balance both.

“Although COVID is circulating within the community and will always circulate within the community … we shouldn’t just be accepting transmission without trying to reduce it as much as possible.

“That takes the pressure off the healthcare system and allows all the non-COVID-related conditions to get the appropriate management that they deserve.”

People in COVID face masks at the Brisbane Cultural Center
Queensland’s third Omicron wave is in decline.(ABC NewsAlice Pavlovic)

In Queensland on Tuesday, 710 people were taking up hospital beds with COVID – down about 36 per cent from the third wave peak of 1,123 on July 26.

The state also recorded 24 COVID deaths in the previous 24 hours, taking the total since the pandemic began to 1,677.

‘Variant-specific boosters’ and nasal vaccines set to roll out

Federal Health Department data shows 65.81 per cent of Queenslanders aged 65 and older have received four doses of a COVID vaccine – just above the national average of 64.87 per cent.

While the first generation of vaccines have not generated herd immunity – creating immunity within the population to effectively quell the spread of COVID – they have been highly successful in reducing hospitalization and death.

A man wearing a shirt, blazer and blue glasses standing in front of ferns.
Infectious diseases specialist Paul Griffin says more than 100 COVID vaccines are undergoing clinical trials.(Supplied)

Infectious disease physician Paul Griffin said 2023 should see the availability of second-generation COVID jabs, including a “variant-specific booster”, that may be better at hosing down infections.

“We’re going to get improved tools to combat this virus,” he said.

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Categories
Australia

WA COVID hospital rules ease as state passes Omicron peak

WA Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson

Mandatory COVID testing of visitors to WA hospitals will soon be scrapped, as the state begins scaling back pandemic protocols and returning health staff to other clinical duties.

The state government has released its plan to shift into a “new phase of pandemic response”, which will begin on August 15, and see the state’s protocols shift from a red alert level to blue.

It will see reduced screening requirements to enter hospitals, targeted testing, and changing mask rules for hospital staff.

“In a time when WA has passed its most recent peak of COVID-19, it makes sense to take practical, reasonable measures to free up some burdens,” health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said.

WA recorded 2,965 new COVID infections on Tuesday, with 358 people in hospital and 11 in intensive care.

The state’s caseload has been trending downwards for weeks after passing a winter peak last month.

Key changes implemented as part of the blue alert level include extending visiting hours, and asymptomatic visitors no longer being required to produce a negative RAT unless visiting high-risk areas or vulnerable patients.

Visitors to hospitals will still need to be vaccinated, or have proof of an exemption, but staff will only be conducting spot checks.

“This is a measured approach to scaling back the COVID response in hospitals, which has been endorsed by the Chief Health Officer, and expert infection control teams from the WA health system,” Ms Sanderson said.

“This is, of course, balanced appropriately with the need to protect our staff, and our most vulnerable patients from serious illness.”

The scaling back of COVID measures comes after WA broke new records in ambulance ramping last month.

Ambulances were parked outside hospitals waiting to transfer patients for 6,983 hours throughout July.

Some COVID measures will remain in place at hospitals, including the two visitors per patient rule, testing of symptomatic patients presenting in emergency departments and for elective surgeries.

A well dressed man and woman wearing face masks walk down a hospital corridor.
Mark McGowan and WA health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson at Rockingham Hospital on Monday. (ABC News: James Carmody)

All staff will also still need to wear at least a surgical mask, but those working in high-risk areas or caring for vulnerable patients will need to wear particulate filter respirator masks.

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COVID-19 cases peak in Victoria.

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Australia

Queensland’s latest COVID wave has passed, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says

Palaszczuk wearing a hat at the Ekka.

Queensland has passed the peak of the third COVID wave with it expected to end in the coming weeks, Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says.

Ms Palaszczuk made the announcement at the Ekka today with hospitalization numbers falling steadily since last month.

“We actually peaked around July 25… that’s excellent news,” she said.

Chief Health Officer John Gerrard said the news came much earlier than national modeling had predicted.

“We believe this fantastic result is because Queenslanders have responded to national advice. Namely to get heir boosters, stay at home when sick, take anti-viral medicines and wear a mask in indoor crowded environments,” he said.

Queenslanders are still being urged to get their booster shots and wear a mask when they are indoors.

He said main indicator numbers – including hospitalizations and active cases – had fallen by 45 per cent or more since July 26.

COVID wave ‘every three months’

Dr Gerrard said the wave was expected to end in the coming weeks but another wave was expected in December.

“The virus is not going to go away. We are going to continue to have ongoing transmission,” he said.

“The current pattern we have seen in Queensland and worldwide is a wave every three months.

“We still believe it is likely there will be a further wave this year, but it is likely as time goes by, these waves will become milder in severity.

“Everyone now knows what they need to do.”

Currently 667 people are in hospital with the virus; compared with 1,123 at the peak of the wave.

“There are still 26 patients in the intensive care unit,” Dr Gerrard said.

There were just 2,504 new cases today and there are 35,482 active cases.

That’s a 47 per cent decrease from the peak of 66,569 on July 26.

Monkeypox vaccine available soon

The initial supplies of monkeypox vaccine will arrive in Queensland this week.

The vaccine will be targeted to very close contacts and high-risk cases.

“Initially the numbers of doses will be small and that will escalate in coming weeks and months,” Dr Gerrard said.

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COVID-19 cases peak in Victoria.

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Australia

Going to the Ekka? Here are the best ways to avoid getting sick with COVID-19, monkeypox or the flu

A big crowd of people at the Ekka.

As throngs of people flock to the Ekka showgrounds, authorities are concerned about a potential spike in COVID-19 and influenza cases in the Queensland community.

A string of illnesses remain in the community with COVID cases still high, the flu season not yet over and cases of monkeypox being reported interstate.

With some 1,300 head of cattle at the showgrounds, health authorities have also added a potentially devastating foot-and-mouth-disease outbreak to their list of concerns, though the risk remains low.

Back after a two-year COVID-induced hiatus, Ekka crowds have exceeded expectations with people steadily streaming through the gates.

Virologist Lara Herrero said the Ekka event would inevitably lead to a spike in transmission of both COVID and the flu.

“I have absolutely no doubt there will be an increase in transmission for an event like that — it’s simple mathematics,” she said.

Dr Lara Herrero in the lab wearing a lab gown.
Lara Herrero says the Ekka is likely to cause a jump in cases. (Supplied: Griffith University)

So how can you safely hit the Ekka to devour a dagwood dog without getting sick?

Here are Dr Herrero’s five key pieces of advice:

1. Don’t get slack

Dr Herrero reminded those hitting the show to stay vigilant by employing all the usual tactics.

“Monitor for any symptoms at all,” she said.

“Try your best to keep that 1.5 meters of social distancing where you can.

“Bring your own alcohol wipes and hand sanitiser.

“Avoid shaking hands and hugging — I would still opt to first bump or wave.”

2. Wear a mask

People stand in front of toys at a show.
Queenslanders at Brisbane’s Ekka Show — some masked up and others not.(ABC News: Marton Dobras)

You know the drill.

Free masks will be available upon entry to the showgrounds. If in doubt, mask up.

Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said he was impressed with the “reasonable amount of people wearing a mask”.

“Bring your mask along or get one on entry, make sure your protected and you’ll have no issues,” he said.

Queensland Health has encouraged everyone at the Ekka to wear a face mask, “not only for themselves but for every other person who is there to celebrate safely”.

Dr Herrero said she had no doubt people who live in the regions that come to the Ekka and return home to regional and rural areas will bring infection back with them.

“We have more cases in the city because we have more people, we’re living in a high-density community with more cases.

“So by sheer numbers, I have no doubt transmission on the regions will go up.

“It’s a good idea for those people returning to regional and remote areas to wear a mask for 24-48 hours to stop transmission to vulnerable people”

3. Stay away if unwell

“The Ekka is all about community spirit so if you have any symptoms, no matter how mild, have a bit of community spirit and stay at home,” Dr Herrero said.

Mr Furner advised anyone feeling under the weather to stay well away from the showgrounds, get tested and isolate.

“We don’t want people coming here spreading illness, whether it be the flu or COVID,” he said.

“Keep away if you’re feeling unwell and get tested.”

4. Wash your shoes and clothes of foreign dirt

People look at animals at royal show.
Ekka show visitors should maintain good hand hygiene when playing with the agricultural animals amid fears of a foot-and-mouth-disease outbreak.(ABC News: Marton Dobras)

The Ekka show is the largest showing of stud beef in the southern hemisphere with some 1,300 head of cattle at the showgrounds.

This has sparked fears of a foot-and-mouth-disease outbreak that could cost the industry an estimated $80 billion.

Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Wyatt estimated there was an 11.6 per cent risk of a potentially devastating outbreak occurring which would trigger a 72-hour national livestock standstill and longer-term movement controls on animals.

A preventive task force has been established with border security on-site.

Dr Herrero strongly advised people who live in agricultural areas to wash their shoes and clothes of dirt or mud from any other agricultural region to avoid an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.

With one case of monkeypox recorded in Queensland, authorities are also asking patrons to stay vigilant and monitor for symptoms.

5. Get vaccinated

A vial rests on a gause swab with monkeypox written on it
Monkeypox vaccine is not yet available to the Australian public.(Reuters: Given Ruvic)

With a little more than three weeks of winter remaining, most of you would have had your COVID and flu vaccines by now.

the fourth COVID vaccine or “winter shot” is available for all Australians over the age of 30, as well as:

  • People aged 16 years and above who are severely immunocompromised
  • People aged 16 years and above who have a medical condition that increases the risk of severe COVID-19 illness
  • People aged 16 years and above who have disabilities with significant, complex, or multiple health issues, which increase the risk of poor outcomes from COVID-19 infection.

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