New South Wales has changed the way it handles positive COVID-19 cases after a massive rise in infections.
People confirmed to have the virus in the state are now being asked to fill out a form and told to only expect a phone call if they work in or have visited a high-risk environment.
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The reduced approach to managing COVID comes as NSW battles by far its most widespread outbreak, spurred by the highly transmissible variant of Omicron.
Daily case records were broken again on Thursday as the state reported 5,715 new cases.
As part of the new approach to contact tracing, people who test positive receive a text message from NSW Health asking them to complete an online questionnaire.
About four in five people fill it out, NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Thursday.
The results are then used to focus NSW Health resources so that the most vulnerable cases are interviewed.
Those who are contacted only by text message are asked to inform their contacts of their diagnosis, a task that was once carried out by bureaucrats
People with COVID-19 are advised to self-isolate at home and seek treatment if necessary.
“Most people under 50 can recover safely at home, but it is important to keep track of how you feel,” NSW Health said on Thursday.
Previously, positive cases had to receive “medical clearance”, including a negative PCR test, before they could return to the community.
Now, some people may only need to wait ten days.
“You can leave self-isolation 10 days after your positive test, as long as you haven’t had any symptoms for 72 hours.”
Omicron now accounted for around four in five new cases in New South Wales, Dr Chant said.
Nearly three out of four new cases are in people aged 10 to 39.
This was partly due to the higher transmissibility of the Omicron variant, and it overcame the transmission prevention benefit of vaccines, she said.
– With PAA
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