Friday 24 June 2022 01:36 AM Covid Australia: Queensland CHO says we should 'absolutely' treat flu like ... trends now
Spiralling flu numbers have sparked an urgent warning from one of the nation's top doctors that Australians need to treat the disease as seriously as Covid.
An influenza epidemic is ripping through the country after Covid lockdowns and precautions kept the disease at bay for more than two years.
But now, with mask mandates lifted and no natural immunity after years of isolation and protection from flu outbreaks, the disease is making a devastating comeback.
Spiralling flu numbers have sparked an urgent warning from Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard that Australians need to treat the disease as seriously as Covid
In Queensland, there are almost twice as many seriously ill patients in intensive care with the flu as there are with Covid.
And in NSW, flu numbers are continuing to rise, with more than 200 rushed to hospital last week - with one in seven of those in children under four.
Almost 1300 people in NSW have been admitted to hospital with the flu this year, with nearly 9,500 turning up at A&E struggling to breathe with flu-like symptoms.
'The number of full respiratory virus infections we've seen so far this year has been unprecedented,' Queensland's Chief Health Officer Dr John Gerrard said.
'We have not been exposed to this virus for the last two and a half years.'
He said Australians 'absolutely' need to treat the disease in the same way they do Covid, both in trying to avoid it and stopping its spread.
He stressed that anyone struck down by the flu need to stay at home while they recover.
'That will be the way we go moving forward,' he
