Xinhua
15 May 2022, 15:05 GMT+10
CANBERRA, May 15 (Xinhua) -- Australia's peak health body has warned that coronavirus cases will continue to rise due to community complacency.
Australia reported more than 50,000 new COVID-19 infections for three consecutive days between Wednesday and Friday, and as of Friday, the death toll has reached 7,721, more than 800 up from three weeks ago.
It takes the number of cases recorded so far in May past 500,000 and the number of deaths past 500.
Australia's per capita infection rate is now among the highest in the world, with an expected spike in cases during the looming winter.
Chris Moy, vice president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA), said that freedoms across Australia after almost two years of strict restrictions have "a price."
"Across Australia we are getting about 40,000 cases a day, and there are 350,000 people with COVID at any moment ... and 3,000 people in hospital," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio.
"We are up there with the very largest case numbers in the world, partly because we didn't have so many cases earlier but the complacency, the freedom has a price."
Moy said that with new Omicron variants continuing to emerge Australians could not rely on previous infection for immunity.
"We really need people vaccinated and not just relying on the fact that they may have had COVID previously, because obviously if you look at that logically the concern is there could be a surge from BA4 and BA5 at some stage," he said.
Get a daily dose of Sydney Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Sydney Sun.
More InformationSYDNEY, NSW, Australia - Stocks in Asia generally moved higher on Monday despite continuing concerns over a potential global recession.U.S. ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to surging food prices, summer cookouts for the U.S. Independence Day holiday are more expensive, forcing Americans ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a cardboard box factory outside Baltimore, people have been walking into the office of Paul Centenari, chief ...
DELFT, Netherlands: IKEA officials said this week that the furniture retailer's warehouses in Europe are as full as they were ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: After the first six months of 2022, the S&P 500 recorded a loss of 20.6 ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to the record high trade deficit and a resurgence in COVID-19 infections that curbed spending on services, ...
BRUSSELS, Belgium: Negotiations on a free trade agreement between the European Union and New Zealand ended successfully this week, paving ...
CAIRO, Egypt: Egyptian authorities have prohibited swimming in a stretch of the Red Sea after an Australian woman was killed ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Bette Nash, age 86, has been named the longest serving flight attendant in the world, ...
LONDON, England: A UK parliamentary committee has told lawmakers that they may not bring babies to parliamentary proceedings and debates.The ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Hershel "Woody" Williams, the final surviving Medal of Honor recipient from World War Two, has died at a ...
SEATTLE, Washington: A Norwegian cruise liner has canceled its sailing and returned to port after damage was discovered following its ...