Concomitant marked decline in prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses among symptomatic patients following public health interventions in Australia: data from St Vincent’s Hospital and associated screening clinics, Sydney, NSW.

Abstract

Our Australian hospital tested almost 22,000 symptomatic people over 11 weeks for SARS-CoV-2 in a multiplex PCR assay. Following travel bans and physical distancing, SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses diagnoses fell dramatically. Increasing rhinovirus diagnoses as social control measures were relaxed may indirectly indicate an elevated risk of COVID-19 resurgence