Bi-weekly COVID-19 situation update 2025

Bi-weekly COVID-19 Situation Update 3 January 2025 SARS-CoV-2 laboratory surveillance in the Western Pacific Region As of week 52, 2024 (the week ending on 29 December 2024), a total of 516 specimens tested for SARS- CoV-2 were submitted to FluNet from one country in the Western Pacific Region. [...] Percent positivity is calculated using the numbers of samples positive and processed for SARS-CoV-2. [...] Countries in the temperate zone of the Northern Hemisphere China – severe cases and deaths (monthly update) There is no update for this reporting period. [...] The weekly number of severe COVID-19 cases including deaths with cause of death preliminarily assessed to be related to COVID-19 was one as compared to two in the preceding week (Figure 8). [...] COVID-19 Situation Update| 7 Figure 12: COVID-19 confirmed cases, deaths and ICU cases, 1 January – 29 December 2024 (Source: International Health Regulations (IHR) National Focal Point , Australia) Notes: Due to a reduction in case ascertainment, including changes in testing and reporting requirements, notifications of COVID-19 are underestimate of disease incidence in the community. [...] Summary of COVID-19 surveillance in countries and areas in the Western Pacific Region Countries/areas Case definition Surveillance system description Reference Case surveillance Australia Confirmed case: Newly diagnosed cases with laboratory definitive evidence • Laboratory definitive evidence: Detection of SARS-CoV-2 by nucleic amplification acid testing (NAAT); or isolation of SA [...] COVID-19 is a nationally notifiable disease; The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) coordinates national surveillance data for diseases on the National Notifiable Disease List. Every day, the state and territory health authorities report to the NNDSS about new cases of notifiable diseases. (Reporting) COVID-19 data includes both confirmed and probable cases reported to [...] (Clinical surveillance) Sentinel surveillance – positive cases from 5,000 sentinel sites at healthcare facilities for both Influenza and COVID-19; hospitalizations from 500 sentinel sites at healthcare facilities. (Virological surveillance) SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance is conducted every week by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in collaboration with commercial medical laborato [...] Death, not otherwise explained, in an adult with respiratory distress preceding death AND who was a contact of a probable or confirmed case or linked to a COVID-19 cluster Confirmed case: One of the following options A. [...] Confirmed case: one of the following options a) Laboratory confirmed cases using PCR b) Suspected case (described above) with a positive result of a positive SARS-CoV-2 rapid test kit antigen Since October 2023, COVID-19 has been classified as a group B notifiable disease and monitored through the Electronic Communicable Disease Reporting System (eCDS), managed by the Ministry of Health.