The Delta variant is putting young, healthy people at risk of fatal cardiac complications. Professor Jason Kovacic, from the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute, explained that the Delta variant appears to be causing more serious infections and complications in young people. Myocarditis (inflammation of the heart), and blood clots are some of the most concerning side effects seen with Delta. Prof Kovacic predicts, “It may be inevitable that more young people die as this outbreak is set to get worse, but hopefully it’s a very, very, very low number.”
New modelling from the Burnet Institute shows that NSW could exceed 500 daily cases as early as Friday, despite the lockdown. The modelling, based on data from Melbourne’s second outbreak, shows that whilst cases in South Western Sydney are decreasing, cases throughout the rest of Sydney are doubling every 4-5 days. The experts behind the model are therefore calling for stricter restrictions across all Sydney. “Not only is this the equitable approach, but epidemiologically sound.” Even with these restrictions, it could take until the end of September to reach a 7 day average of 5 cases a day.
Want to know what protection you’ll have after your COVID-19 vaccines? Here are answers to 3 of the most common questions.
Ever woken up from a vivid dream and wondered what your brain was actually doing while you slept? That dream almost certainly happened during rapid eye movement sleep, one of the most fascinating and important stages of your nightly rest. While all sleep matters, REM sleep does some particularly heavy lifting when it comes to keeping your brain sharp and your mood steady.
What Actually Is REM Sleep?
Do you find it difficult to fall asleep at night or suffer from daytime tiredness due poor sleep? Here are some common reasons you may want to consider to help you sleep better:
Australia’s approach to COVID hasn’t changed much since 2020. We are still heavily reliant on lockdowns, on the zero cases target, without a clear path to reopening Australia. Unfortunately, with our vaccinations rates still so low and the Delta strain running rampant, Sydney cannot afford to come out of lockdown right now. But how are we planning to reopen once our vaccination rates do catch up?
112 of the 467 COVID-19 exposure sites listed on NSW Health as of Wednesday are supermarkets or grocers. 47 Woolworths, 21 Coles, 14 Aldis, 12 IGAs and another 18 miscellaneous fruit and veg shops have made the list, composing around 24% of all exposure sites. Supermarkets have been a mix of close contact and casual contact venues, with varied risk, and sites have stretched from the central coast to the Central Tablelands to the Illawarra.
A new study published in the Lancet has found that people who have recovered from COVID-19 tend to score significantly lower on an intelligence test than those who have not contracted COVID-19. Cognitive underperformance was also associated with illness severity, with those hospitalized on a ventilator performing worse.
Epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman from the University of South Australia has said NSW lockdown strategy “is simply not working.” NSW recorded 163 new cases on Saturday, 141 on Sunday, and 145 on Monday, with the five-day moving average still going up. Prof Esterman explained, “Clearly, it is either not hard enough, or there are too many Sydneysiders not complying with lockdown.”
