Modelling by the Doherty Institute projects Australia could have 200,000 cases of COVID-19 a day by early February under a 'worst case scenario' if further measures are not taken to slow Omicron's spread.
The figures come ahead of an emergency cabinet meeting to be held on Wednesday afternoon where Prime Minister Scott Morrison will address the vaccine booster program along with the state and territories' rules around indoor mask use.
Masks are likely to be reinstated for indoor settings, with Paul Kelly, Australia's chief medical officer calling for the return of mask mandates indoors including retail and hospitality businesses.
The Doherty modelling suggests that without low-to-medium restrictions, Australia could reach 200,000 cases a day in just over a month's time, according to reporting from Nine newspapers on Tuesday night.
However these figures reflect an outcome based on people not altering their behaviour, no change to the booster schedule and only basic public health restrictions being put in place.
Responding to the modelling Morrison told 7 News Sunrise on Wednesday morning it was "very unlikely" cases would reach these heights.
Morrison said the numbers reflect a situation that assumes that "nobody does anything, nobody gets boosters, there are no changes that take place, no one exercises common sense."
"We saw similar numbers at the start of the Covid pandemic which were never realised," he said.
The Prime Minister reiterated that from the government's perspective this modelling reflected the most extreme scenario around the country's response to the new variant.
Kelly called the modelling "selective and misleading"
While modelling "presents a range of potential scenarios as a result of the Omicron variant" the worst case presented in the recently-released figures should not be viewed in isolation or considered the likely outcome, Kelly said.
"None of these five assumptions represent the likely state of events, let alone all of them together, therefore presenting that scenario as the likely scenario that will occur is highly misleading," Kelly said.
Richard Marles, deputy Labor leader, told ABC Radio National Wednesday morning that the government needed to "guarantee there is going to be supply" to allow the 7.2 million Australians eligible to get a booster shot to do so to ensure the country avoided the worst case projections.
"All of this scenario should have been foreseen, we've known for months the country is going to be opening up.we've known for months a proper booster rollout is critical in this time," Marles said.
The assurances from the Prime Minister come after NSW recorded a staggering 3,057 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, increasing pressure on NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet to reintroduce restrictions.
Perrottet will push for the interval between COVID-19 booster shots to be brought forward at today's cabinet meeting.
Dr Omar Khorshid, president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) on Tuesday called for the reintroduction of some restrictions to deal with the new variant including the reintroduction of density limits and mask wearing
The ACT on Wednesday joined Queensland and Tasmania in reinforcing indoor mask restrictions.
The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) indicated on Tuesday it may update the interval period between the second dose of a vaccine and booster shots from five months to four or potentially even three.
Sharon Lewin, director of the Doherty Institute told ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday that ATAGI was analysing overseas data to help it decide if COVID-19 booster doses should be brought forward.
The current five-month interval "may well change" in the days to come, she said.
The post The Doherty Institute predicts 200,000 daily cases by February. Morrison says this is 'highly unlikely' as he heads into emergency cabinet meeting to address Omicron appeared first on Business Insider Australia.