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ABC News
7 days ago
- General
- 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.
ABC News
21-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
What you can do when feeling overwhelmed
When we live in a society where productivity is constantly praised, it's no wonder we often ignore the signals that we're stretched too thin. If you've been feeling numb, disconnected or foggy, you could be experiencing symptoms of overwhelm. Clinical psychologist Rebecca Ray says it is one of the most common issues she sees in her clinical practice on the Sunshine Coast/Kabi Kabi land. But it's not always obvious to those experiencing it, she told ABC Sunshine Coast Mornings. "It's not necessarily an all or nothing response, where you're lying on the couch wrapped in a blanket," Dr Ray says. There are many life pressures that can lead us to feel overwhelmed; relationship difficulties, family breakdown, illness or injury, work pressures, parenting and financial difficulties, to name a few. So, how do we recognise the signs of overwhelm? And how do we deal with it when we're at capacity? Stress and overwhelm are similar but distinct experiences. Stress is the feeling of being under pressure, while overwhelm is the state of feeling burdened by too many thoughts, tasks, or emotions, leaving you feeling stuck or out of control. That feeling of being stuck is what Dr Ray describes as a functional freeze response. "That's the part of our brain that kicks into a survival mode that helps us to manage really stressful or intense situations," she says. "[It's] your nervous system trying to protect you when you're in a state of overwhelm. "You might still go to work, you might still parent your children or pay your bills, but you feel numb or disconnected or foggy." Other symptoms include: • Feeling irritable or frustrated • Feeling helpless or hopeless • Panic or anxiety • Task avoidance • Appetite changes • Sleep disturbances • Struggling to make decisions Over time, overwhelm may increase the risk of anxiety and depression, making it even more important to address early on. Dr Ray says simply trying to be more organised is not the solution. "[Don't] write yourself a to-do list as long as your arm," she says. "Because in Western society … that operates at a very fast pace, we can [feel like] if we just do more, then we'll feel better. National crisis support service Lifeline recommends some practical strategies: • Identify the cause — write down what is contributing to you feeling overwhelmed and stressed. Prioritise the issues and leave smaller ones to be dealt with at a later time. • Review your current coping mechanisms — identify how you have been coping to date. What tools and strategies have you found helpful? What things are you doing that are not helpful? • Talk to a trusted friend or family member — talking through your issues with someone you trust can assist you to work through them and identify possible solutions. • Check your thinking — often we put pressure on ourselves to be a certain way. When our thoughts are negative and self-critical we may begin to feel overwhelmed. • Make a positive plan — work out ways to deal with the situation or how to approach it step by step. Start at the beginning and focus on one thing at a time. • Take care of yourself — we need to be healthy in order to meet life's challenges. Take time out to engage in activities you enjoy and find rewarding. If finding the time to implement these strategies feels hard, a good first step is a mental health day. Organisational psychologist Rachel Clements, from Sydney/Gadigal land, says taking a mental health day when you need it, from work or other commitments, demonstrates self-awareness. "That awareness of, 'When is my stress now shifting from helpful to harmful?' is a very good thing for people to be able to monitor themselves. "Taking a mental health day is a proactive thing … to get it before it becomes a mental health issue," Ms Clements says. Grant Blashki, a practising GP at Melbourne/Wurundjeri and former lead clinical advisor for beyondblue, says there's no one way to spend a mental health day. "People can take that time to nurture themselves, be kind to themselves and maybe get some exercise," he says. Journaling, talking to a trusted friend, or allowing yourself some decompression time for an activity that puts you in a "flow state" can also be helpful. If one or two mental health days isn't making a difference, it's important to come up with a long-term plan with work and/or a healthcare professional. "Having a good recovery plan is important," Ms Clements says. "Reach out for support and assistance. A lot of organisations have employee assistance programs where people can go at no cost to receive confidential coaching and wellbeing assistance." Our experts also recommend reaching out to a healthcare professional, like a GP who might recommend doing a mental health assessment and subsequent Mental Health Treatment Plan. To start with, the plan offers up to six subsidised psychological sessions. And remember that powering on can be counterproductive. "I think sometimes the desire to turn off the overwhelm makes the overwhelm even more intense," Dr Ray says. "Accept that the overwhelm is there, you don't have to approve of it but also understand that there are things that you can do to help manage it." This is general information only. For personal advice, you should see a qualified medical practitioner.
RNZ News
18-05-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
How often should you turn off your phone and devices?
By Amy Sheehan , ABC Lifestyle Switching devices off and on is a reset, and can also improve battery life. Photo: Public domain Explainer: When was the last time you powered down your phone or laptop? If you're like me, the work laptop is switched off at the end of most workdays, unless I'm rushing out the door. When it comes to the phone, not so often. We asked two technology experts how often we should be turning off our phones and devices, and the risks to battery life and our data if we don't. Senior lecturer in computer sciences at the University of the Sunshine Coast Dr Erica Mealy explains we can think of device shutdowns like cleaning a messy car - relatable. "It's a bit like, you have your kids in the car, and they eat in the car and crumbs start getting everywhere," said Dr Mealy, who is from the Sunshine Coast /Kabi Kabi land. "That turn-off is like a reset, getting the vacuum [cleaner] in there and it's just getting all the crumbs out of the way. "When we reset, and turn off and turn on, generally, all of that gets cleared out." Switching devices off and on can also improve your battery life , according to Dr Mealy. "[Your device can be] running lots of things all the time and it switches in between all of those," she said. "You might notice your computer or your phone gets more sluggish, and that's just because it's trying to keep doing all of these things. "If we can shut that down, and some of the extra bits and pieces get shut down with it, then the computer can go, 'Oh, I've got less going on'." She said turning off phones and devices at least weekly was recommended to maintain good digital hygiene. "[Digital hygiene] is this idea that you don't store information you don't want to have accidentally leaked." School of Computing and Information Systems lecturer at Melbourne University Dr Suelette Dreyfus said restarting your devices at least once a week could prompt important software updates such as "patches". Patches are small bits of software that stop malware from getting into your iPhone or Android or desktop. For Windows machines, these are generally released on the second Tuesday of each month, known as 'Patch Tuesday'. "Some software checks for updates [patches] and downloads them, when the device is powered off and on, particularly when you've enabled auto-updates," Dr Dreyfus said. She said sometimes patches were released in response to an identified threat. If you want to check your device is up-to-date, Dr Dreyfus said to go to your system control panel and look for updates from your device maker - and run them. The experts say closing apps and browsers before turning off a phone or device may also be helpful for security. This also applies to private or incognito browsing, which doesn't guarantee that your data can't be found. "Your machine can keep this information temporarily in memory, while your browser window is active, even if your device is 'asleep',' Dr Dreyfus said. "Fully powering off a device should remove this material by wiping that volatile memory. "If you just put your machine to sleep... and then you never close the incognito browsing window, then third-party tracking may be alive and well." Dr Mealy said this was when you could be susceptible to hackers and data breaches. "If you've got multiple tabs open and your browser's set to reopen them when you come in [or turn it back on], sometimes it might not completely clear everything out," she said. We should change our passwords as often as we're changing our toothbrushes, every three months or once a season, Dr Mealy says. "It's annoying, and it's the kind of thing you have to set a reminder for but it can really help in making sure that passwords [which] have been leaked aren't being reused," she says. Dr Dreyfus also recommended changing your device settings to auto-install manufacturers' patches/updates as soon as they were released. "That simple tweak can save you weeks of heartache from having to clean up device infection," she said. It is also recommended to set up multi-factor authentication - a security measure that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource, such as an online account or application. "You need to dip into the settings for all your valuable online accounts and turn it on," she said. "Yeah, it's going to take you 15 minutes to set up but then smooth sailing." - ABC
ABC News
18-05-2025
- Health
- ABC News
How often should you turn off your phone and devices?
When was the last time you powered down your phone or laptop? If you're like me, the work laptop is switched off at the end of most workdays, unless I'm rushing out the door. When it comes to the phone … not so often. We asked two technology experts how often we should be turning off our phones and devices, and the risks to battery life and our data if we don't. Dr Erica Mealy explains we can think of device shutdowns like cleaning a messy car — relatable. "It's a bit like, you have your kids in the car, and they eat in the car, and crumbs start getting everywhere," says Dr Mealy, who is from the Sunshine Coast /Kabi Kabi land. "That turn-off is like a reset, getting the vacuum [cleaner] in there, and it's just getting all the crumbs out of the way. "When we reset and turn off and turn on, generally, all of that gets cleared out." Switching devices off and on can also improv your battery life, according to Dr Mealy. "[Your device can be] running lots of things all the time, and it switches in between all of those," she says. "You might notice your computer, or your phone gets more sluggish, and that's just because it's trying to keep doing all of these things. "If we can shut that down, and some of the extra bits and pieces get shut down with it, then the computer can go, 'Oh, I've got less going on'." She says turning off phones and devices at least weekly is recommended to maintain good digital hygiene. "So [digital hygiene] is this idea that you don't store information you don't want to have accidentally leaked," she says. Dr Suelette Dreyfus, from Melbourne/Wurundjeri lands, says restarting your devices at least once a week can prompt important software updates such as "patches". Patches are small bits of software that stop malware from getting into your iPhone or Android or desktop. For Windows machines, these are generally released on the second Tuesday of each month (known as "Patch Tuesday"). "Some software checks for updates [patches] and downloads them when the device is powered off and on," Dr Dreyfus says. "Particularly when you've enabled auto-updates." She says sometimes patches are released in response to an identified threat. If you want to check your device is up-to-date, Dr Dreyfus says to go to your system control panel and look for updates from your device maker — and run them. Our experts say closing apps and browsers before turning off a phone or device may also be helpful for security. This also applies to private or incognito browsing, which doesn't guarantee that your data can't be found. "Your machine can keep this information temporarily in memory while your browser window is active, even if your device is 'asleep',' Dr Dreyfus says. "Fully powering off a device should remove this material by wiping that volatile memory. "If you just put your machine to sleep ... and then you never close the incognito browsing window, then third-party tracking may be alive and well." Dr Mealy says this is when you can be susceptible to hackers and data breaches. "If you've got multiple tabs open and your browser's set to reopen them when you come in [or turn it back on], sometimes it might not completely clear everything out," she says. We should be changing our passwords as often as we're changing our toothbrushes, every three months or once a season, Dr Mealy says. "It's annoying, and it's the kind of thing you have to set a reminder for but it can really help in making sure that passwords [which] have been leaked aren't being reused," she says. Ms Dreyfus also recommends changing your device settings to auto-install manufacturers' patches/updates as soon as they are released. "That simple tweak can save you weeks of heartache from having to clean up device infection," she says. And it is also recommended to set up multi-factor authentication (a security measure that requires users to provide two or more verification factors to gain access to a resource, such as an online account or application). "You need to dip into the settings for all your valuable online accounts and turn it on," she says. "Yeah, it's going to take you 15 minutes to set up but then … smooth sailing."
ABC News
09-05-2025
- General
- ABC News
Can you cut your neighbour's overhanging trees? Here are the rules
Do you have branches that hang over your property boundary but the tree itself is not on your land — it's on your neighbours? It may not bother you, but if the tree is dropping leaves or debris in your yard or pool, it can quickly become a problem. This is a common scenario, according to arborists who say it's important to take the right steps to address it. So how do you go about removing encroaching branches? And can you trim a neighbour's trees if they're hanging over your yard? We asked arborist Clive Woodnutt and solicitor Frank Higginson to explain what your rights are. States and territories in Australia, and even the council areas within them, have differing rules and regulations when it comes to trees. But one thing they all say is that the first step in this situation is approaching your neighbour directly (if you're on friendly terms). Queensland solicitor Frank Higginson, on Kabi Kabi lands on the Sunshine Coast, says talking to them in person first is recommended. "It really starts with, basically, go and have a conversation with your neighbour, rather than go through formal legal stuff and that sort of thing," he says. Again, it's best to check your local rules and regulations. Mr Higginson says in definitional terms, you're either the "tree keeper" or you're the "neighbour". "The tree keeper is ultimately responsible for the maintenance of their tree," he says. Mr Woodnutt says while it might seem like a simple rule, in his experience it very rarely is. Most weeks he is called to attend to a tree that's encroaching on a boundary, whether that's branches or roots. "In most cases, I have to tell you, it does boil down to money," Mr Woodnutt says. "So, if someone has a tree that is poorly maintained, that's impacting you, most of them don't maintain it because they haven't got the money to in the first place." He says sometimes it's the neighbour, not the tree keeper, who ends up putting "their hand in their pocket" to get the issue fixed. Our experts recommend people avoid trying to trim tree branches themselves, even if they have permission from the neighbour. "If you're not completely sure about the structural integrity of what it is that you're doing, I'd probably be very cautious," Mr Higginson says. "Get an arborist, perhaps. Go to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal and have a third party make a decision on it." Mr Woodnutt says it can be dangerous if you're working from height and using sharp tools. "I can catalogue a list of disasters," he says. "It is dangerous to perform the task. Go and find a qualified arborist that adheres to rules and legislation. "Generally speaking, we use a product called a silky handsaw, a Japanese handsaw specifically designed for pruning trees." In some jurisdictions you can also be liable for costs if you damage the tree while removing branches. The Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria recommends that before you cut back a neighbour's tree you: Mr Higginson says if your neighbour won't remove the branches, you can seek professional help. "The formal process is you, as the neighbour, say to the tree keeper, 'Here's a quote that I've got for the removal,'" he says. "You can come in in the next 30 days and do it. Just give me 24 hours' notice, please. "If they then don't do anything, you've actually got still at common law the right of abatement, which is the ability to remove the branches yourself." The right of abatement means that, under common law, a neighbour has the "right to abate the nuisance". That is, the right to prune (abate) the encroaching branches (from their neighbour's tree or hedge) to remove the nuisance. In some jurisdictions if you pay for an arborist yourself you can seek to recover the costs from the tree keeper. Most states and territories have third-party dispute resolution services that can help resolve the issue. In Victoria, trees are governed by general property law and common law, according to a Department of Government Services spokesperson. "Anyone requiring information about private tree removal can contact Dispute Settlement Centre of Victoria (DSCV)," the spokesperson says. If a tree is simply blocking light or views but not encroaching on your boundary, those matters need to be negotiated privately. If an agreement cannot be reached, mediation is recommended. For more detailed information you can visit your state- or territory-based Legal Aid websites, such as Queensland Government, NSW Land and Environment Court, Legal Aid NT, ACT City Services, Tasmania Legal Aid, Legal Services Commission SA and WATCA. This article contains general information only. You should consider obtaining independent professional advice in relation to your particular circumstances.
