Warning as Aussies face Covid Christmas

Aussies are being warned to keep taking Covid seriously, as cases sparked by a multitude of variants rise across the country, with experts predicting an eighth wave ahead of summer.

New data shows there are a number of Covid strains floating around communities, including the current Omicron sub variants EG.5 (Eris) and BA 2.86 (Pirola).

Pirola was declared a “variant under monitoring” by the World Health Organisation on August 19, due to its number of mutations.

It has been detected in 11 countries including Australia, the UK, the US, South Africa, Thailand, Japan, Switzerland and South Korea.

One case has been detected in Western Australia.

The latest health warnings come as NSW Health confirmed cases had increased in the community and transmission was rife on Thursday.

There were 6550 cases reported across Australia in the week ending October 24, with an average of 936 cases per day.

NSW recorded the highest number of daily cases in the week, with 273 cases recorded, according to the country’s live Covid tracker.

Victoria closely followed with 201 cases recorded in the same week, while South Australia and Queensland recorded 153 cases and 133 cases respectively.

The federal health department will change its reporting of Covid-19 trends from weekly to monthly on November 10, with October 27 being the final weekly update.

Australia’s chief medical officer, Professor Paul Kelly, said the strategy involved a “business as usual” approach.