Date published:

Type: News

Intended audience: General public

The Australian Government has released modelling on the impact of COVID-19 in Australia.

If we continue with our strategy of isolation, quarantine and social isolation, we expect that our health system will cope with the projected peak in cases.

The Australian Government is boosting our intensive care unit (ICU) bed capacity to around 7,000 beds.

The modelling compares the peak daily ICU bed demand under 3 different scenarios:

uncontrolled spread – 35,000

isolation and quarantine – 17,000

isolation, quarantine and social isolation – below 5000

Australia will continue using the tools we have to control the disease:

social distancing

isolating people who have contracted the virus

tracing and quarantining their contacts

practising good hygiene

The more effective these measures are, the slower the spread of the disease. This means care will be available when and where Australians need it.

For more, read the modelling papers from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity.

Read the Prime Minister's update on coronavirus measures, including Theoretical modelling of how the health system can respond