Aussies warned against 'honourable' winter trend: 'Doing a great disservice'
As the weather remains cold and wet in many parts of the country, doctors are reporting an uptick in cases of common winter illnesses, including cold and flu.
Several Queensland hospitals were forced to pause non-urgent surgeries last month due to a surge in influenza and COVID cases, taking up hospital beds and aged care facilities nationwide are battling with Covid outbreaks.
Now, a prominent doctor is warning Aussies that a noble trend among Australia's workforce is contributing to the spread of many common winter illnesses.
"It's that concept of soldiering on," Dr Chris Moy, former Vice President of the Australian Medical Association, told Yahoo News Australia.
Those who carry on about their everyday lives by going to work and being out and about in the community, while it "does appear quite honourable", could be costing those around them.
"They are more likely to pass it on to other people," he explained.
Warning as Aussies 'falling back into bad habits'
It's now been five years since the Covid-19 pandemic hit Australia's shores, sending many people's daily habits into a tailspin.
Suddenly, we were wearing masks and squirting hand sanitiser with reckless abandon. For a lot of the year, we dutifully sat at home with many working remotely, and picking up new hobbies like sourdough making and doing trivia over Zoom over the weekend, to prevent the spread.
But a growing number of Australian bosses are ordering staff back into the office, and in doing so, Dr Moy warns we've gone back to our old ways. "We're falling back into bad habits," he said.
"During Covid, we were very clear that we had to stop, we needed people to stay away from work when they were sick to minimise the spread, but we've reverted back to a great degree."
He's urged Aussies to "think about the consequences" of their illnesses on those around them.
The return to office working, which he in part attributes to cost-of-living pressures and maintaining employment, has resulted in "presenteeism".
"Winter is always worse," he said, explaining that the cold brings people into closer proximity, but also because "it does appear that some viruses are more stable in the cold and can spread more easily."
According to Dr Moy, there is concern that vaccine fatigue, with many not getting their flu jabs or Covid boosters, as well as the fact that "we've dropped back in terms of good hygiene," he explained.
What should I do if I get sick?
Dr Moy said that if Aussies are experiencing respiratory symptoms, including coughing, sneezing, a runny nose or a sore throat, they should "be staying home as soon as they develop symptoms and for several days after".
He encouraged those who are unwell to do several rapid antigen tests. "Sometimes the first test is negative, so do another one 48 hours later," he said.
If Aussies experience high temperatures, shortness of breath, they should contact their doctor, Dr Moy said.
He added that Aussies should get their Covid booster vaccines and flu jabs, adding "we're seeing tonnes of influenza".
"Just make sure that you are practising good hygiene and basically, try and get out of the mode of soldiering on, presenteeism might appear to be honourable, but you may be doing a great disservice to others."
Young Aussie reports 'scary' symptoms after contracting flu
Earlier this year, as flu season kicked off, one young Aussie dutifully rolled up her sleeve for her annual flu vaccination. But weeks later, Mikaela was struck down by influenza, and despite having had the flu several times before, this would prove to be by far the worst.
'It was quite shocking how bad it was,' the 23-year-old told Yahoo News. 'I've never been sick like that before.' She described her symptoms as "scary", with "really bad sinus pain, and terrible fatigue."
But when she went to see her doctor, the next available appointment was days away. Her experience highlights just how unpredictable the flu can be, with this year's season kicking off earlier than expected.
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