Top doc says it’s time to drop pandemic death reports
Australia may shift to reporting 'excess deaths' from COVID-19 instead of total numbers, CMO Professor Paul Kelly says
Australia may soon move away from reporting the total number of people who die from COVID-19 each day.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly says it is time for Australia to move towards the concept of “excess deaths”.
He said in simple terms this was the difference between the number of people expected to die over a period of time, or as a result of an event like a pandemic, and the actual number of deaths recorded.
“On this metric, Australia has performed extremely well throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,” Professor Kelly told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday.
