Albany GP urges West Australians to consider masking up as hospital system comes under unprecedented pressure

An Albany GP has urged people to keep getting tested and to consider wearing masks as new COVID variants and the flu season combine to put hospitals under renewed pressure. Pioneer Health practice owner Dr James Turner — who also runs the practice’s respiratory clinic — said local flu cases were on the rise. “If there is an increase in the number of cases of COVID, it’s going to put an increasing strain on our hospital,” he said. “I know the hospital has contingency plans, but my understanding is that they are pretty much at capacity. “It can be tricky with flu because even young kids can end up needing a bit of time in a hospital. “With COVID, it’s more likely to be the elderly — that all puts the system under pressure.” The number of people in hospital with COVID in WA rose to an all-time high as of 6pm on Sunday, with 411 people in hospital among a relatively low 36,630 active cases. That topped the previous record of 327 people in hospital on May 18, when there were 71,655 active cases. Active cases in the Great Southern reached 655 on Sunday, the region’s highest caseload in a month. Dr Turner said testing remained a vital tool in the fight in against COVID as there was no list of symptoms that was a clear indication of the virus. “COVID can equally be like the common cold — a runny nose, a sore throat and mild — but similarly COVID can be more nasty, with muscle aches, headaches, fevers and significant lethargy,” he said. “At the end of the day the RAT testing might not be as good with these new variants in terms of false negatives, we saw that even with (the) BA2 (variant) where people got a false negative early on. “There’s nothing you can say based on symptoms to know for sure, the only way is to test, and the best way to test is a PCR.” The eligibility for COVID winter booster dose was expanded on July 11, with the fourth jab made available for anyone aged 30 and over. Dr Turner said there was growing complacency in the community because there were fewer restrictions and because most people who have had COVID experienced minor symptoms. He encouraged people to do what they could to protect the community and reduce pressure on the health system. “Those who are vulnerable will be wearing masks, but even then, it’s a bit tricky to be the only person in a room wearing a mask — socially it’s a little bit awkward, even I feel that myself some times,” he said. “People have to figure it out for themselves but mask-wearing definitely helps. It is the best defence we have in terms of infection. “It is the one thing that everyone can do.”