COVID-19, Australia: Epidemiology Report 17 (Fortnightly reporting period ending 24 May 2020).

Confirmed cases in Australia notified up to 24 May 2020: notifications = 7,135; deaths = 102. The incidence of COVID-19 has markedly reduced since a peak in mid-March. There have been no cases reported in SA, the NT or the ACT in the last four weeks. The numbers of new cases reported from other jurisdictions continue to be very low. Testing rates have been higher across all jurisdictions, with Victoria reporting an 85% testing rate increase and NSW a 40% increase over this period. The positivity rate nationally continues to remain very low at less than 0.1% over the reporting period. Continued high rates of testing are necessary to detect and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the community. Over the past fortnight, 45% of cases acquired their infection overseas. Of cases considered to be locally acquired over this period, most were associated with contacts of confirmed cases or were associated with known outbreaks. The highest rate of COVID-19 continues to be among people aged 65-79 years. Three-quarters of all cases in this age group have been associated with overseas travel, including several outbreaks linked to cruise ships. The lowest rate of disease is in children under 18, a pattern reflected in international reports. A small proportion of cases overall have experienced severe disease, requiring hospitalisation or intensive care with some fatalities. The crude case fatality rate amongst Australian cases is 1.4%. People who are older and have one or more comorbidities are more likely to experience severe disease. A combination of early case identification, physical distancing, public health measures and a reduction in international travel have likely been effective in slowing the spread of the disease in Australia. In addition, the median number of days between symptom onset and diagnostic testing has improved considerably from 7 days in the early phase of the outbreak to 1 day in the latest phase of the epidemic. Internationally, as at 24 May 2020, there have been recent increases in the number of daily cases reported globally. The largest numbers of both cases and deaths have been reported in the United States. Of the confirmed cases reported globally, the case fatality rate is approximately 6.5%. Countries in South America are starting to see rapid acceleration, while the United States is seeing a very slow decline in its daily new case numbers. In the South East Asia region, India and Bangladesh are seeing accelerating epidemics, compounded by the recovery from Cyclone Amphan. Increasing numbers of cases are also being reported in Africa, although the numbers are much smaller. In the Pacific there are very few daily new cases reported.

COVID-19 National Incident Room Surveillance Team 《-》

COVID-19, Australia: Epidemiology Report 18 (Fortnightly reporting period ending 7 June 2020).

Notified cases of COVID-19 and associated deaths reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) to 7 June 2020. Confirmed cases in Australia notified up to 7 June 2020: notifications = 7,277; deaths = 102. Over the past fortnightly reporting period, the number of new cases in all jurisdictions continues to decline, or remain very low, and testing rates continue to be high across all jurisdictions, with the positivity rate remaining very low at less than 0.1%. The incidence of COVID-19 has markedly reduced since a peak in mid-March. A combination of early case identification, physical distancing, public health measures and a reduction in international travel have been effective in slowing the spread of disease in Australia. Of the 147 cases notified between 25 May and 7 June, 63% acquired their infection overseas. The proportion of cases locally acquired has dropped substantially to 28% of new cases this period compared with 50% and greater observed since 30 March 2020. Of the cases considered to be locally-acquired over this period, most were associated with contacts of confirmed cases or were associated with known outbreaks. A small proportion of overall cases have experienced severe disease, requiring hospitalisation or intensive care with some fatalities. The crude case fatality rate amongst Australian cases is 1.4%. People who are older and have one or more comorbidities are more likely to experience severe disease. The highest rate of COVID-19 continues to be among people aged 65-79 years. Three-quarters of all cases in this age group have been associated with overseas travel, including several outbreaks linked to cruise ships. The lowest rate of disease is in children under 18, a pattern reflected in international reports. Internationally, as of 7 June 2020, the largest numbers of both cases and deaths have been reported in the United States. Of the confirmed cases reported globally, the case fatality rate is approximately 5.8%. Countries in South America are seeing rapid growth in case numbers, while the United States is seeing a steady decline in its daily new case numbers. Case numbers in Europe remain relatively steady, with several countries in Eastern Europe experiencing rapid growth. In the South East Asia region, India and Bangladesh are seeing accelerating epidemics, compounded by the recovery from Cyclone Amphan. Reported cases are increasing in Africa, although the numbers are much smaller. In the Pacific there are few new cases reported daily.

COVID-19 National Incident Room Surveillance Team 《-》

COVID-19, Australia: Epidemiology Report 16 (Reporting week to 23:59 AEST 17 May 2020).

Confirmed cases in Australia notified up to 17 May 2020: notifications = 7,075; deaths = 100. The incidence of new cases of COVID-19 has reduced dramatically since a peak in mid-March. Social distancing measures, public health action and the reduction in international travel have likely been effective in slowing the spread of the disease, in the Australian community. Testing rates over the past week have increased markedly, with a continued very low proportion of people testing positive. These low rates of detection are indicative of low levels of COVID-19 transmission. It is important that testing rates and community adherence to public health measures remain high to support the continued suppression of the virus, particularly in vulnerable high-risk groups and settings. New cases of COVID-19 are currently being reported by by only some jurisdictions, albeit at relatively low rates. Although case numbers are low, new cases tend to still be a mix of overseas-acquired and locally-acquired infections. Most locally-acquired cases can be linked back to a known case or cluster. Although the proportion of locally-acquired cases has increased, the overall rate of new cases, regardless of place of acquisition, continues to decrease. The crude case fatality rate in Australia remains low (1.4%), compared with the WHO reported global rate (6.9%). The low case fatality rate is likely reflective of high case detection and high quality of health care services in Australia. Deaths from COVID-19 in Australia have occurred predominantly among the elderly and those with comorbidities, with no deaths occurring in those under 40 years. The highest rate of COVID-19 continues to be among people aged 60-79 years. One third of all cases in this age group have been associated with several outbreaks linked to cruise ships. The lowest rate of disease is in young children, a pattern reflected in international reports. Internationally, while the number of new cases each day remains relatively stable at the global level, some areas such as Brazil and India are showing a dramatic rise in reported cases. Although some low-income countries have so far reported few cases, it is possible that this is due to limited diagnostic and public health capacity, and may not be reflective of true disease incidence.

COVID-19 National Incident Room Surveillance Team 《-》

COVID-19, Australia: Epidemiology Report 19 (Fortnightly reporting period ending 21 June 2020).

Notified cases of COVID-19 and associated deaths reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) to 21 June 2020. Confirmed cases in Australia notified up to 7 June 2020: notifications = 7,491; deaths = 102. The incidence of COVID-19 has markedly reduced since a peak in mid-March. A combination of early case identification, physical distancing, public health measures and a reduction in international travel have been effective in slowing the spread of disease in Australia. Of the 215 cases notified between 8 and 21 June, 75% (163 cases) were notified from Victoria. Most of these cases were acquired locally. In contrast, cases notified from other states (NSW, Qld and WA) over this period were mostly overseas-acquired. Of locally-acquired cases in Victoria in this period, 51% were associated with contacts of a confirmed case or in a known outbreak, while 49% were unable to be linked to another case or were under investigation at the time of reporting. There are several clusters across a range of settings, including extended families, hotel quarantine facilities and a retail store, with most cases limited in geographic spread to a number of Local Government Areas around Melbourne. In response, the Victorian Government has re-introduced restrictions for household and outdoor gatherings, has delayed plans to ease other restrictions and has implemented enhanced public health response activities, particularly with regard to testing and contact tracing. A small proportion of overall cases have experienced severe disease, requiring hospitalisation or intensive care, with some fatalities. The crude case fatality rate amongst Australian cases is 1.4%. People who are older and have one or more comorbidities are more likely to experience severe disease. The highest rate of COVID-19 continues to be among people aged 65-79 years. Three-quarters of all cases in this age group have been associated with overseas travel, including several outbreaks linked to cruise ships. The lowest rate of disease is in children under 18 years, a pattern reflected in international reports. Internationally, as of 21 June 2020, the largest numbers of both cases and deaths have been reported in the United States. Of the confirmed cases reported globally, the case fatality rate is approximately 5.3%. Other countries in the Americas region, such as Brazil and Chile, are seeing rapid growth in case numbers. Case numbers in Europe remain relatively steady, while there is significant growth in the South East Asia region, including in India and Bangladesh. Reported cases are increasing in Africa, although the numbers are much smaller. In the Pacific region there are few new cases reported daily.

COVID-19 National Incident Room Surveillance Team 《-》

COVID-19, Australia: Epidemiology Report 20 (Fortnightly reporting period ending 5 July 2020).

Notified cases of COVID-19 and associated deaths reported to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) to 5 July 2020. Cumulative confirmed cases in Australia notified up to 5 July 2020: notifications = 8,566, deaths = 106. Over the past fortnightly reporting period (22 June to 5 July), 897 cases were notified, with 4 deaths. The national incidence of COVID-19 remained low, with very few cases reported by most jurisdictions in this reporting period. The majority of the current cases reported over this fortnight are from Victoria, with an increasing number and proportion of cases reported as being locally acquired. Total case numbers have increased with an average of 54 cases reported on any one day, more than twice the average number reported in the previous reporting period. The number and proportion of deaths associated with COVID-19 remains low and it appears that vulnerable populations have not been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 overall. Testing rates continue to be high across all jurisdictions, with the nationwide positivity rate remaining very low at less than 0.3%. In this reporting period, the number of cases reported nationally has increased from 214 (8 June to 21 June) to 897 (22 June to 5 July). Of the cases notified in this reporting period, 87% (781 cases) were notified from Victoria and 89% of these cases were acquired locally. Of the remaining 116 cases reported from other jurisdictions only 6% were locally acquired. The increase in Victoria is attributable to multiple epidemiologically linked outbreaks across a range of settings and locations. A small proportion of cases have experienced severe disease, requiring hospitalisation or intensive care, with some fatalities. The crude case fatality rate amongst Australian cases is 1.2%. People who are older and have one or more comorbidities are more likely to experience severe disease.

COVID-19 National Incident Room Surveillance Team 《-》