Another COVID-19 wave is coming. Here’s how case numbers are trending and who needs a booster – ABC News

The era of lockdowns, mandatory mask wearing, and daily case number updates seems long gone, but COVID has not yet left our shores.

Case numbers have increased in every state and territory in the last reporting period, with health authorities saying it marks the beginning of a new wave of infections.

Here'sthe latest on COVID in Australia and how the government will be releasing figures from now on.

COVID-19 cases havebeen gradually increasing since mid to late August, according to the federal health department.

National data tracks cases on a rolling seven-day average which is calculated by dividing the week's figures by seven rather than reporting daily totals.

In the week ending October 24, 6,550 cases of COVID-19 were reported across Australia, an average of 936 cases aday.

This marked an increase of 23.6 per cent on the previous week.

Here's a rundown of the latest COVID advice.

The graph below shows a snapshot of what's happening right now with COVID case numbers in Australia.

Federal health figures show new case numbers taking a sharp dip at the end of September before bouncing back, with numbers rising throughout October.

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But, when you compare that to the graph below which reports the numbers from January 2022, it's clear to see the number of recorded cases are much lower than they werelast year.

However, it's also important to note that these graphs only chartconfirmed COVID-19 cases, which may be much lower than the actual number of cases due to a drop in mandatory reporting.

National COVID-related hospitalisations have also begun climbing since late August.

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In mid-October, health officials announcedCOVID-19 was no longer a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance (CDINS).

Shortly after the federal governmentdecided to end the country's COVID-19 emergency response, announcing nationalCOVID-19 reporting would shift from weekly to monthly.

"The removal of the CDINS declaration will not have any significant impact on the ongoing management of COVID-19 in Australia, given that most of the national coordination and response measures have already ended," Australia's chief medical officer Paul Kelly said.

The final weekly COVID update was from October 24.

In a statement, the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee said "the availability and reliability of particular metrics, such as case information, has decreased".

Week-to-week changes in data "do not demonstrate clear trends" and a reduced reporting frequency would allow "more meaningful assessments" of disease transmission and impact over time.

New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria COVID updates are reported monthly via the Federal Department of Health and Aged Care website.

That depends on a few things:

The advice on boosters comes from the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

In September, ATAGI recommended all adults aged 75 and over get another booster if they hadn't had one in the past six months.

It also advised the following groups to talk to their doctor about whether they needed a second booster for the year:

It said it didn't recommend another booster shot for younger people or older adults who'd already had a booster this year.

Before September, ATAGI put out a booster reminder in February.

Back then, it recommended all adults aged 65 or older get a booster dose if it had been six months since their last vaccine or infection.

The same advice was put out for adults aged 18 to 64 who had medical comorbidities that increase their risk of severe COVID-19, or disability with significant or complex health needs.

At the time, it only advised people in the following groups to consider a booster shot:

On October 26, Victoria's acting chief health officer Christian McGrath announced community transmission of COVID-19 had increased to levels not observed since May.

Dr McGrath has suggested all Melburnians consider donning masks again in public places.

According to NSW Health, Sydney could be facing a "COVID Christmas" for the third year in a row.

Data shows COVID is currently circulating at moderate levels across the state, but wastewater surveillance, emergency department presentations, and outbreaks in aged care facilities suggest the virus is on the rise again.

NSW Health's director of Communicable Diseases, Dr Christine Selvey, says modelling suggests a new wave of COVID will peak into December.

Dr Selvey only went as far as recommending face masksin public if symptomatic.

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Another COVID-19 wave is coming. Here's how case numbers are trending and who needs a booster - ABC News