Australia second in the world for COVID-19 deaths and cases

Epidemiologist Professor Mike Toole said Australia ranked just behind Brunei for cases per million, just behind New Zealand for deaths, and just behind France for the number of hospital visits.

Australia recorded 695 deaths in the last seven days and 301,204 COVID-19 cases, according to COVIDlive.

While cases seem to have stabilised at a high number, we're still likely to see more hospital visits and deaths, Professor Toole said.

"Hospitalisations and deaths lag behind cases, so we'll probably sadly see high numbers of deaths in the coming weeks," he said.

While countries like South Korea and Singapore are also seeing high case numbers, their death rates are much lower.

Both countries have significantly higher booster rates than Australia, which ranks at number thirty five in the world, Professor Toole said.

He said the booster is vital in protecting people from the Omicron strain.

"If you've only had two doses, you're not protected from Omicron."

Professor Toole said a politicised conversation around mask-wearing had been harmful to public health. Australians should still be wearing masks, he said.

"It's the general narrative that the pandemic is over, that's the message we get from political leaders, and that applies to masks," he said.

"South Korea, Japan and Singapore, [have] had a long-standing culture of wearing masks, not just to protect themselves but to protect other people."

"We don't seem to have that culture here."

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Professor Toole said governments and leaders need to be showing the public the benefits of mask wearing.

He warned Australians should not be complacent, as the Omicron strain's reinfection rate was high.

"With Omicron, the chance of reinfection is ten times higher than it was with Delta," he said.

"There's no reason to believe the second time you get infected will be milder; some studies have found that the second infection is worse than the first and the third worse than the second."