Prime Minister Scott Morrison addressed the Australian public today following an emergency national cabinet about Omicron and the national response.
Greeting the public the PM said the emergency meeting was “positive, practical and cooperative,” with Morrison confident that Australia can continue to face down the challenges, including Omicron, that the pandemic presents.
As Omicron continues to surge in the eastern states, Morrison highlighted that while case numbers are rising nationwide, hospitalisation has not seen a dramatic increase.
“Despite those rising cases, hospitals and health systems remain in a strong position,” said Morrison. “Our shared goal is that they remain that way.”
“Omicron we all agree presents another new challenge, but we have faced so many challenges already during this pandemic.”
Regarding face masks, the Federal government did not announce that they would implement a national mandate, with Morrison stating that each state and territory will be making their own decisions based upon the health advice.
The Prime Minister said that mask-wearing inside is highly recommended – whether it is mandated or not – likening it to the “slip, slop, slap” common sense sun safety Australians partake in each summer.
“People following common sense is very important… just like it has been since the beginning of the pandemic,” said Morrison.
“Australians are common sense people, and they know what to do to protect their own health.”
Regarding the national vaccination rollout, the Prime Minister stated Australia needs to return to the vaccination rate levels previously held – which Morrison described as world best practice – announcing the restoration of state hubs to allow the booster program to move forwards as planned.
The Prime Minister noted the discussion about the booster program moving forwards to four months instead of five, but Morrison said that decision lies with the vaccination and immunisation experts, not the Federal or State Governments. Vaccinations however are not in short supply, and it is planned to deliver 2 million vaccinations a week. The current vaccination rate nationally sits at over 90 per cent for individuals 16 and over.
“There are plenty of vaccines,” said Morrison. “There’s 20 Million in fact in Australia right now.”
Further, Morrison stated that the national response will continue to focus on the following three areas:
- Public Health Social Members
- Basic rules of behaviour that help us moderate the pace of infection across the community
- Vaccination Program
- TTIQ
- Test, trace, isolate and quarantine
A quarter of the people waiting for tests are asymptomatic, and instead are seeking a test to travel interstate. Just like South Australia’s response yesterday, this has put a greater, unnecessary strain on the health system and testing responses.
Currently, 60 per cent of current COVID cases have been identified to have the Omicron strain. The variant has only been in Australia for four weeks. More than 1.7 million Australians have received their booster shot.
Further, the national meeting came to an agreement that Australia must define what a casual contact is nationally, with the definition not to differ from state to state.
“We cannot have different rules for different places…what matters is how you’re managing those close contact and how they’re defined.”
Looking forward, QR codes will hold “a different role”, and will not be utilised to enforce sanctions on people, instead ensuring that people can be notified if they have attended the same location as a positive case. In places with high case numbers, with will allow casual contacts to self manage.
The Federal Government will also increase payments for GPS and pharmacies for vaccination appointments an extra $10 a day in addition to the payment they are receiving. Morrison said the government believes this is important for when GPs and medical staff, like the rest of the country, are seeking to take annual leave.
Finally, Morrison announced his clear stance that Australia will not return to lockdowns, thanks to the national response.
“We’ve agreed today we are not going back to lockdowns,” said Morrison. “We’ve worked together to ensure our response had been able to deliver the lowest death rates and one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.”
