'WORST tackle team'
AFL: Jay Clark has slammed the Hawks for becoming the "worst pressure team" in the competition as they slide down the ladder.
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ABC News
44 minutes ago
- ABC News
Here are the current rules on isolating when you're sick this flu season
I don't know about you, but the times of having to quarantine due to COVID-19 feel like a distant memory. But around this time each year, we're reminded that the virus is still active, as are many other serious respiratory illnesses during "flu season". There have been more than 65,000 cases of COVID-19 so far this year nationwide, more than 81,000 Influenza cases and 50,000 cases of Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), according to the Australian Respiratory Surveillance Report. The World Health Organization (WHO) has also designated a new strain known as NB.1.8.1, which is now the dominant variant in China and Hong Kong, as a "variant under monitoring". So, what has changed when it comes to quarantine rules? And do you still have to isolate if you or a family member has a respiratory illness? Advanced epidemiologist Anne Maree Baldwin says we're in a different situation now than five years ago when COVID-19 first arrived in Australia. "We had a new virus in a population without immunity, which was expected to have devastating impacts," says the public health expert from the Sunshine Coast/Kabi Kabi lands. "But now all or almost all of the population has some immunity to COVID through vaccination and having the disease." We are no longer required by law to quarantine or isolate when we have COVID-19. But Ms Baldwin says it is recommended. "Stay home and away from others when you have symptoms, irrespective of whether it's COVID or another respiratory illness," she says. "If you must go out, we ask people to wear a mask, avoid indoor or crowded situations, and keep away from others as best you can." Dr Libby Sander is an associate professor of organisational behaviour at Bond University on the Gold Coast/Kombumerri. She says there has been a culture shift since the pandemic back to a place where some employees feel obligated to go back to work even if they're unwell. "I'm often hearing [about instances] where people are being expected to go to work when they're sick because of staff shortages or they just feel obliged to go in because of the workload. "If you are sick, you shouldn't go to work, no-one wants you to make them sick." You can be infectious with respiratory illness from up to 48 hours before your symptoms start. So, if you've had a loved one or housemate at home who's been unwell, should you go to work? Ms Baldwin says it comes down to organisational policy. "Just communicating first and foremost, so everyone's aware," she says. "In general, quarantine isn't needed if exposed to COVID, we just ask that you stay away from others if you develop symptoms." She says it's particularly important to avoid people more likely to get severely sick, including immunocompromised people, older people, infants, and pregnant women. Dr Sander says working from home arrangements can provide people with security and flexibility. "If you're not really unwell you can keep working, you're not worrying about infecting other people … so I think flexibility is really important." In general, you don't automatically need to take a rapid antigen tests (RAT) after being around someone who's been sick. But it is recommended if you start developing symptoms or are planning on visiting a high-risk setting like aged care facilities, disability care, hospitals, or other healthcare settings. Ms Baldwin says testing is important for people who are either very sick or need antiviral medicine. "We have the RAT tests and they're widely available now in supermarkets and pharmacies, often for about $10," she says. "Some can test for four viruses, Influenza strains A and B, COVID and RSV. "The RATs are helpful for a quick result, which is important when the COVID and influenza antiviral should be started in a day or two of symptom onset." A diagnosis for whooping cough requires a PCR test (polymerase chain reaction) from a GP to receive the necessary antibiotics. Chief medical officer at Healthdirect Australia, Nirvana Luckraj, says if you have tested positive for respiratory illness, "you should stay at home until all of your acute symptoms have gone". She says acute symptoms include sneezing, coughing and a sore throat. "If you still have acute symptoms like a cough after seven days, you may still be infectious. You should continue to wear a mask and physically distance whenever possible." Our experts say it's important to prepare yourself each year. "We see COVID waves and whooping cough at any time of the year and most RSV is actually at this time of year," Ms Baldwin says. "So being prepared is important and the best way to do that is vaccinate." You can get both the COVID and influenza vaccines at the same appointment — the Australian Department of Health advises that it is safe to do this and doctors and pharmacists will now allow this. This is general information only. For personal advice, you should see a qualified medical practitioner.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Reigning horse of the year Pride Of Jenni to visit Yarraman Park stallion I Am Invincible this breeding season
Yarraman Park has confirmed that its three-time champion stallion I Am Invincible will be the first mating for reigning horse of the year Pride Of Jenni this breeding season. I Am Invincible, who will command a $220,000 service fee this season, leads this year's sires tables for both individual winners (180) and two-year-old stakes winners (5). He's the sire of champion sprinter Imperatriz and this year produced Vinrock, the winner of the Group 1 Sires Produce Stakes in Sydney. It looks a match made in heaven with Pride Of Jenni, a winner of 10 races – including her dashing victory in the 2024 Group 1 Queen Elizabeth Stakes – and more than $10 million in prizemoney. Pride Of Jenni's owner Tony Ottobre said in a Yarraman Park announcement that he was 'in awe' of what I Am Invincible had done in his stallion career so far. 'I did look at the top stallions that were already here and I Am Invincible came up as a really good cross with her line of Street Cry, but also the fact that it's doubling to a superstar broodmare, Eljazzi,' he said. 'Eljazzi being the mother of Rafha, being the mother of Invincible Spirit. And Eljazzi, who's the mother of Al Anood who's the mother Pride Of Dubai (Pride Of Jenni's sire).'
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
A peak in the solar cycle means we're getting spectacular aurora australis sightings — for now
We've been treated to some stunning aurora australis light displays over the past few days, but don't expect the glow to last forever. The Sun's 11-year cycle means we're currently in the midst of an explosion of aurora activity. But that'll simmer down soon. It's a phenomenon when the sky in the Southern Hemisphere is lit up by glowing whirls of colour. You'll also hear it referred to as the southern lights. "Australis" comes from the Latin word for "southern". In the Northern Hemisphere, it's called the aurora borealis, or the northern lights. Geomagnetic storms. It's triggered by something called coronal mass ejections. "A coronal mass ejection is the literal ejection of material from the Sun out into space," Australian Space Weather Forecasting Centre (ASWFC) forecaster Andrew Jackling says. This sends charged particles from the Sun towards Earth, causing geomagnetic storms that can disrupt Earth's magnetic field. "Kind of like in a normal thunderstorm, your shutters on your house would get a bit rattled by the wind and the rain," he said. In a geomagnetic storm, the disruption can cause atoms of oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere to emit bright, colourful light. "There was a large solar storm on the 31st of May," Australian National University astrophysicist Brad Tucker says. "The storm was large enough to trigger a G4 storm on Earth. "The scale is 1-5, like cyclones, with G5 the largest." Here are some of the latest photos, posted to the ABC's Weather Obsessed Facebook group: While auroras are usually limited to the southernmost parts of the country, there were sightings as far north as Tamworth in New South Wales. And a big part of this is because of where we are in the solar cycle, which goes for roughly 11 years. "The current solar cycle began in 2019, since which time solar activity has generally increased as the Sun progresses toward solar maximum, which officially began in October 2024," Mr Jackling says. And that means spectacular auroras. "During solar maxima, which we are at, the Sun produces more storms, and more extreme storms," Dr Tucker says. "The activity is stronger so it is producing more of these." But it's not just the individual storm from the past few days. We've had some fairly spectacular aurora displays over the past year — check out the ABC's collection of photos from January, October, September and last July. However, the most notable aurora displays happened in May 2024, when a G5 storm hit Earth. It was the biggest geomagnetic storm we'd seen in 20 years, NASA says. While it didn't cause any catastrophic damages, the event was so big it was given a name — Gannon storm — and was the subject of a big NASA study. The solar maximum may continue for another year or two, Mr Jackling says. "By 2027, solar activity is likely to have reduced from present levels, making geomagnetic storms and subsequent auroral displays less likely to occur," he says. However, it's hard to tell exactly how long the aurora boom will last. "Every 11-year period of maximum activity varies in strength," Dr Tucker says. "Just like summers vary in how hot they are, or how wet/cold winters are, same, with the Sun, so some periods are better and others are less. "This has been a good period." No, they could still happen. "Significant space weather can occur at other times in the cycle too," Mr Jackling says. However, aurora australis activity during this time might not be visible as far north as we've been enjoying lately. So aurora chasers may have to travel much further south. "There is still an often low level of activity in the quiet years that you can get, but you need to be very near the south or north pole, which is why people make trips to the Arctic circle to see them," Dr Tucker says. Also, it's important to remember that the solar cycle means we'll come back around to another solar maximum — we'll just have to wait about a decade. Yep. "The northern and southern lights are affected equally so they will reduce as well," Dr Tucker says. However, people in the Northern Hemisphere have a better chance of seeing an aurora. "It is generally easier to see the northern lights than the southern lights due to the geographic distribution of land in the northern hemisphere, where there are more populated areas closer to the northern polar region," Mr Jackling says. "This is true at all times of the solar cycle." The ASWFC, which is part of the Bureau of Meteorology, sends out geomagnetic storm alerts via email. If you sign up to the ASWFC alerts via this online portal, you'll get an email when there's an alert.
