Expert Believes 60% Of Australia Will Be Infected With Covid-19 Within The Next Three Weeks

There's no denying coronavirus has well and truly kicked off in Australia.

Victoria reported more than 14,000 new cases today (January 4), followed by Queensland with nearly 5,700 infections and New South Wales' 23,000 cases.

It has pushed the nation's total new infection number to a little more than 44,400, which is a hell of a lot compared to previous waves we have experienced during the pandemic.

However, an expert worries that the actual number of people who have tested positive for the virus is much, much higher.

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Whether people aren't doing PCR tests because of long wait times, or simply isolating at home because they know they have the virus and can't access a rapid test, there are loads of reasons why the actual number of people who are positive is higher than the official count.

If the current rate of infections continues to rise at the rate it's been going then we could see up to 60 per cent of the country afflicted with coronavirus by the end of January.

Epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely reckons Australia's infection rate could be in the hundreds of thousands right now.

The public health medicine specialist and academic from the University of Melbourne told the Sydney Morning Herald Australia's actual infection rate is 'between five and 10 times the daily confirmed cases'.

If we push over into the 50,000 confirmed case number then we're looking at 250,000 to 500,000 actual current cases.

Prof Blakely said it won't be long before that spreads rapidly through Australia.

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"It's only going to take about three weeks at those sorts of numbers before 40, 50, 60 per cent of the population has been infected," he explained.

But there was a tiny upside to this situation, even though it appears to be grim AF.

He added that after we hit that three week part, the Covid-19 wave could 'run out of steam'. You know how they say a candle that burns twice as bright only burns for half as long?

Well, it could pass through the community at such a rate that it fizzles out. That's still a big 'could' and we will have to see how the next few weeks track with the pandemic.

In the meantime, everyone is focused on rapid antigen tests and how they can get their hands on them.

The seemingly short supply and high prices at some outlets mean many people are worrying that they could be positive with coronavirus without getting a quick answer.

The federal government has agreed to subsidise them for vulnerable communities and individuals, however Prime Minister Scott Morrison ruled out paying for everyone to access a test.

Topics: Australia

Stewart Perrie

Stewart Perrie is a Trending Journalist at LADbible. His first job was as a newsreader and journalist at the award winning Sydney radio station, Macquarie Radio. He was solely responsible for the content broadcast on multiple stations across Australia when the MH17, Germanwings and AirAsia disasters unfolded. Stewart has covered the conflict in Syria for LADbible, interviewing a doctor on the front line, and has contributed to the hugely successful UOKM8 campaign.

@stewartperrie