An Omicron subvariant of COVID-19 that can evade vaccine immunity is on the rise in Victoria, with authorities warning it is on track to be the state’s major strain in line with virus spread in NSW and Queensland.

Traces of BA.4/BA.5 in Victoria’s metro and regional wastewater have “risen significantly in recent weeks, indicating increasing transmission”, says Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton.

In August 2020, staff at the Menarock Rosehill aged care facility in Melbourne told Kam Atkins that his 92-year-old mother had contracted Covid and was very unwell.

There were 34,931 new COVID cases reported in the past 24 hours and COVID-related deaths across the nation had steadily increased over recent months, with the daily death count reaching its highest level since February.

The latest statistics show the number of people infected in the UK has more than doubled since the start of June with around 2.3 million people testing positive. You probably know someone who’s had it.

It’s summertime and the living is easy… or, at least easier than it has been for the past two years. As a global society, we are weary of lockdowns and lonely for lost companionship. We are fed up with this pandemic and all the restrictions that go with it. Chronic uncertainty, grief, and stress have left us threadbare and gasping for normality. Reconnecting with friends and family is on tap, masks are off, and it seems like all the world is on vacation.

The latest high-profile poster child for a COVID superspreader event was the playdate of the powerful — the storied Gridiron dinner in Washington, DC, that infected New York’s mayor, the US attorney general, and at least 70 others this month.

One of the most important things is to do your research before you go anywhere. Make sure you know what the local guidelines are and follow them closely.

COVID-19 cases are increasing again in the United Kingdom, potentially signalling a future surge in infections in the United States and other countries.

People who caught Covid during the first wave of the pandemic get no boost to their immune response if they subsequently catch Omicron, a study of triple vaccinated people reports.

Due to the global increase in coronavirus cases caused by the BA.5 subvariant, the World Health Organization (WHO) currently classifies it as a “variant of concern.” Experts at Germany’s top health agency have warned that infections will likely increase this summer.

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The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Waterloo, found that individuals who contract COVID-19 often experience memory, attention, and concentration problems, and as a result, experience “significantly more” cognitive failures at work following infection.

Holland America Line’s Rotterdam VII departed Amsterdam, the Netherlands, on May 29 on its christening cruise. The naming ceremony is scheduled for the following day in its namesake city, Rotterdam, from where the company’s first-ever voyage departed in October 150 years ago.

If you’re an American flying to another country, you will need to show proof of a negative COVID-19 test (or documentation of recent recovery from COVID-19) before you can board a plane back to the United States.

It’s time for governments and the community to consider what measures can be reintroduced to reduce COVID transmission and deaths, particularly during waves of infection.

For about three weeks the country has seen increasing numbers of new cases and somewhat higher hospitalizations, but not increases in severe cases and deaths, said Professor Marta Nunes, a researcher at Vaccine and Infectious Diseases Analytics at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto.

For some, they’re still suffering symptoms months after first being diagnosed while others have never contracted the virus.

In a Today special investigation, a group of various ages were gathered to see what their blood shows about their COVID-19 antibodies.

Both COVID-19 and influenza are now circulating in the community, and health authorities are pleading with people to get their flu shot to reduce the “life-threatening” risk of having both at the same time.

Here is what you need to know about reducing your risk of catching influenza or the flu/COVID combo — dubbed “flurona” — this winter.

For two years, we’ve been hearing about symptoms, testing and quarantine protocol, but what about after you’ve had the virus?

But this winter, we’re looking down the barrel of an unusual flu season.

Why is it, in some cases, one member of a household tests positive to Covid-19 while those living with them may develop symptoms yet return negative tests?

It’s a common scenario for anyone who has tested positive for COVID-19 and spent several days in isolation.

A new variant of COVID-19 has been detected in Australia, which is a hybrid of two previous strains.

For most of this year, I have decided to not comment further on Covid-19. Given the lack of appetite for truth about the pandemic, I have declined all media requests. There seems to be a dogged determination to pretend everything is okay. Anyone who suggests otherwise is shot down in flames.

From all outward appearances, air travel looks like it’s back to normal after Covid-19.

From the way political leaders in many high-income nations are talking and acting, it would be easy to think that the COVID-19 pandemic is no longer worth keeping track of…