The UK farewelled all Covid restrictions last month with its Freedom Day and the US has ramped up vaccinations with more than 300 million people getting the jab.Overseas, people are holidaying, attending concerts and sporting events, and masks and social distancing are a thing of the past. Yet doubt has been cast over Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s four-phase “road map” out of Covid-19, with concerns that opening up too soon would result in higher daily cases, hospitalisations and deaths.Here’s how Victoria and Australia compares to life in the US, UK and other countries with at least 70 per cent vaccination rates — and what that means for daily Covid cases, hospitalisation and deaths. VICTORIAVaccination rate: 31.4 per cent fully vaccinated, 51.8 per cent first dose. Hospital admissions: 34, nine in ICUVentilator cases: 7Restrictions: Stage 4 lockdown restrictions,including mandatory masks, 5km radius, curfew.AUSTRALIAVaccination rate: 30.9 per cent fully vaccinated, 53.6 per cent first dose. Restrictions: NSW and Victoria under stage 4 lockdown restrictions. Masks mandatory.ScoMo’s road map to Covid normal is based on Doherty Institute modelling. Under the national cabinet backed plan, when 70 per cent of people aged 16 years and over are double jabbed, we will enter Phase B “Vaccination Transition Phase”— where restrictions and lockdowns are still possible but less likely.At 80 per cent, under Phase C “Consolidation”, lockdowns will only be targeted and vaccinated residents will be exempt from domestic restrictions.New Doherty modelling is expected to be presented to national cabinet on Friday, which will consider the soaring daily case numbers in New South Wales.UNITED STATESVaccination rate: 51 per cent fully vaccinated, 60 per cent first dose.Hospitalisation rate: 77,727 rolling seven day average.Restrictions: Little to no infection control.The highly infectious Delta variant is behind the United State’s fourth wave.A whopping 43,222 new cases were recorded on Monday — with states such as Florida and Texas leading the charge.Florida had 149,077 new cases and 263 deaths in the last week, while Texas had 117,306 cases and 903 deaths. Florida was one of the first US jurisdictions to wind back initial restrictions to combat the virus, while cases were still rising, in a bid to return to normal life.Face masks mandates were lifted and other restrictions disregarded.Now it’s one of just three US states to hit three million total cases. If Florida was a country, it would now rank 16th in terms of the most infections in the world.Fatalities are up 190 per cent to an average of 170 per day. About 41,000 people in Florida have died since the start of the pandemic.While the US’s strong vaccination numbers sound impressive — only 51 per cent are fully vaccinated and 60 per cent have received at least one dose. The rolling seven-day average for US Covid hospitalisations is 77,727 — down almost 40 per cent from the peak average of 123,865 in January, according to Centre of Disease and Prevention Control Covid Data. Demand for ICU beds has increased, with about one in four intensive care units across the country having at least 95 per cent of beds occupied, according to the New York Times. Hospitals are also facing a nursing shortage. UNITED KINGDOMVaccine rate: 76.9 per cent fully vaccinated, 87.7 per cent first dose. Hospitalisation: 6441 peopleRestrictions: No mandated infection control. The UK has been living restriction-free since its controversial Freedom Day on July 19. Masks are not legally required to be worn, social distancing has gone and sporting stadiums and nightclubs can run at full capacity. More than one month later, daily case numbers have jumped but are not nearly as bad as they were in January. On Monday the daily cases were 31,914, compared to 68,192 in January.More than 75 per cent of the adult population is now fully vaccinated, deaths have remained steady and hospitalisations have slightly increased. A total of 948 people are in hospital with Covid, according to Public Health England figures.This pales in comparison to the UK’s worst day on January 12 — when restrictions were still in place — which saw 4583 people admitted daily.Deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test have decreased significantly since January — down from 1359 to just 14 on Sunday. Although, the number of people on ventilators has climbed since Freedom Day.A few days after restrictions were scrapped the number of Covid patients on ventilators increased by 41 per cent to 227, the Guardian reported. One month later, 928 people are on ventilators. UNITED ARAB EMIRATESVaccine rate: 74 per cent fully vaccinated, 10 per cent first dose. Restrictions: Compulsory mask wearing, social distancing of two metres, hotels can be fully occupied and live entertainment and activities are permitted in restaurants, cafes and shopping malls.BAHRAINVaccine rate: 63 per cent full vaccinated, 67 per cent first dose. ISRAELVaccine rate: 63 per cent fully vaccinated, 5.3 per cent first doseHospitalisation: 1124 people in hospital. Restrictions: Masks indoors, proof of vaccine. The UAE is among the top 10 vaccinated countries in the world. Along with Israel and Bahrain, it’s in the top three Middle Eastern countries with high vaccination figures. On Monday there were only 1060 cases in the UAE and four reported deaths. In Bahrain only 84 cases and one death were reported and in Israel, which has experienced another wave of cases, thanks to the Delta variant, recorded 8586 cases and 26 deaths, on August 23. Remarkably, the three Middle Eastern countries have high daily testing rates — the UAE’s seven-day rolling average was 300,803 tests.Much like the UAE, Israel’s daily testing numbers are also high with a rolling seven-day average of 124,933.Israel, which has a population slightly larger than NSW, reopened completely in June after reaching the 80 per cent mark (inclusive of fully and partially vaccinated people)— a move that has since backfired. A surprise Covid-19 resurgence saw daily cases soar. Hospital admissions are up, with 1386 admissions in the last week, up from a mere 18 in June. One hundred and sixty-eight people are in ICU.Israel is also the first country in the world to administer a third booster shot to the elderly and healthcare workers, after reports some people were still experiencing serious symptoms after two jabs. Bahrain is also offering boosters. In Israel, masks have been reintroduced indoors and proof of vaccination is required to enter some venues.
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