COVID-19

Novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19)

COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first discovered in December 2019. On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organisation (WHO) announced that the outbreak is characterised as a pandemic. On 18 March 2020, in response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Australia, the Governor-General declared that a human biosecurity emergency exists. For official updates and information regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19), please visit the Australian Government Department of Health and relevant State or Territory Government websites.

ACOLA and the learned academies of Australia are providing expert advice to support decision-makers and the Australian public during this national health emergency.

Rapid Research Information Forum (RRIF)

The Rapid Research Information Forum (RRIF) is a forum for rapid information sharing and collaboration within the Australian research and innovation sector. It is convened by Australia’s Chief Scientist, Dr Alan Finkel AO FTSE FAA FAHMS, and its operations are led by the Australian Academy of Science.

RRIF provides a mechanism to rapidly bring together relevant multidisciplinary research expertise to address pressing questions about Australia’s response to COVID-19, as they emerge.

RRIF enables timely responses to be provided to governments based on the best available evidence. RRIF also informs the Chief Scientist’s interactions and collaboration with other national chief scientific advisers. It demonstrates the critical value of research and innovation in driving societal as well as economic progress now and into the future.

Rapid research information forum members

Australia’s Chief Scientist (Chair)	Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA)
Australian Academy of Science	State and Territory Chief Scientists and representatives
Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences	Chief Science Advisor to the Government of New Zealand
Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering	Scientific expert members of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC)
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia	CSIRO
Australian Academy of the Humanities	Universities Australia (UA)
Royal Society Te Apārangi (New Zealand)	Science & Technology Australia (STA)

Rapid research information forum members

The Rapid Research Information Forum (RRIF) has provided the following responses:

Seasonality of COVID-19: Impact on the spread and severity [15 April 2020]
Re-infection with SARS-CoV-2 [19 April 2020]
Monitoring wastewater to detect COVID-19 [21 April 2020]
The predictive value of serological testing during the COVID-19 pandemic [Updated 30 April 2020]
Differential learning outcomes for online versus in-class education [1 May 2020]
Impact of the pandemic on Australia’s research workforce [6 May 2020]
The most promising vaccines for COVID-19 [Updated 17 June 2020]
The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women in the STEM workforce [17 May 2020]
The most promising therapeutics for COVID-19 [Updated 6 July 2020]
Viability of SARS-CoV-2 on surfaces [27 May 2020]
What motivates people to download and continue to use the COVIDSafe app? [17 May 2020]
Morbidity, mortality, and sex-specific impacts of COVID-19 [31 August 2020]
Changes in public sentiment in relation to data privacy during COVID-19 [28 November 2020]

Australia’s Learned Academies

ACOLA’s members, the Learned Academies of Australia, provide evidence-based research and resources to all Australians.

Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering •

Investing in a post COVID-19 tech boom

The economic pause created by Australia’s approach to COVID-19 presents an opportunity to focus government investment on a post-pandemic tech boom that is integrated and opens new pathways to build Australian health, wealth, resilience and wellbeing.

atse.org.au

Using technology to get through the pandemic

Technology has played, and will continue to play, a critical role in supporting efforts to track, identify and combat this virus; and in keeping connections, business, homes and education functioning while travel and face-to-face meetings are constrained.

Identifying outbreaks, tracking the disease and minimising transmission

Australian Academy of the Humanities •

Call for humanities expertise on COVID-19 and pandemics

Pandemic humanities expertise

Call for humanities expertise to inform policy directions.

To inform the Australian Academy of the Humanities’ policy advice in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, we are compiling a database of humanities expertise in this space.

humanities.org.au

Australian Academy of Science •

Episode 013: Professor John Shine

science.org.au/covid19

Watch other episodes

Episode 014: Professor Ian Frazer

Episode 012: Professor Michael Kidd. Healthcare at home?

Episode 011: Professor Fiona Stanley. 'Indigenous health impacts?'

Episode 010: Professor Peter Doherty. 'I'm not concerned at this stage about high mutation rates.'

Episode 009: Professor Raina MacIntyre. 'We can be pretty hopeful that we could achieve elimination'

Episode 008: Professor Carola Vinuesa. 'How do we test for COVID-19'

Episode 007: Professor Raina MacIntyre. 'Has the curve flattened?'

Episode 006: Doctor Asha Bowen. 'Children in day care centres are safe to be there.'

Episode 005: Professor Peter Doherty. Is an immunity passport the answer?

Episode 004: Professor Ian Frazer. Should we all wear masks?

Episode 003: Professor Eddy Holmes. The origins of COVID-19

Episode 002: Professor Peter Doherty. Wondering about the risk of food deliveries during the COVID-19 crisis?

Episode 001: Professor Ian Frazer.

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia •

S1E4 - Planes, trains and a whole lot of pain: Tourism and COVID-19

Cruise ships stuck at sea, airlines going into voluntary administration, borders closed and travellers racing deadlines to get home. There’s no doubt the travel and tourism industry was an early victim of COVID-19. But what does recovery look like? Tourism expert Professor Sara Dolnicar from UQ’s Business School explains what the tourism industry of the future might look like.

socialsciences.org.au

Listen to Seriously Social Podcasts

Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia •

Seriously Social S1E1 - Spanish Flu to Social Distancing: What can history teach us about the pandemic? •

Seriously Social S1E2 - Gender and the pandemic •

Seriously Social S1E3 - Money fight: Public health VS the economy •

Seriously Social S1E4 - Planes, trains and a whole lot of pain: Tourism and COVID-19 •

Seriously Social S1E5 - Generation COVID •

Seriously Social S1E6 - Menace or Saviour? Artificial Intelligence and coronavirus. •

Seriously Social S1E7 - Indigenous Might VS COVID. •

Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences • COVID-19: AAHMS Webinar. Where to from here? Charting a course for resilience and recovery.

The webinar featured Fellows and other experts from infectious diseases, epidemiology, intensive care, mental health and economics, who discussed what can we expect over the coming weeks and months, and considered how Australia can chart a course for resilience and recovery.

aahms.org

More AAHMS resources

COVID-19: AAHMS Information hub

Australia and the world are facing an extraordinary challenge as the burden of COVID-19 rises. The pandemic is a rapidly evolving situation and we are working with our Fellows to monitor and respond to the outbreak and we are liaising with the Chief Medical Officer and others as they work to manage it effectively.

Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering •

Coronavirus reveals the need for a healthcare transformation

Academy report recommends rapid transition of medical sector to meet future challenges.

Australia’s healthcare system must quickly incorporate technologies including remote consulting, wearable monitors and full digitisation if it is to meet the challenges of the coming decade, an investigation by the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) has found.

atse.org.au

Australian Academy of Science •

Isolation and anxiety: strategies to cope during COVID-19

COVID-19 is primarily a concern for our physical health. But the precautions needed to slow the spread of the disease, such as isolating yourself from others, may make you feel anxious and stressed, even if you’re not ill from the virus.

Australian Council of Learned Academies •

The Future of Precision Medicine in Australia

Recent technological advances have enabled assembly of a wide range of data about an individual’s genetic and biochemical makeup, as formed by their genes, environment and lifestyle. While medicine has always had personal and predictive aspects, precision medicine allows health and disease to be viewed at an increasingly fine-grained resolution, attuned to the complexities of both the biology of each individual, and the variation among the population.