Australia News – Mesrena Elyoum
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed Australia’s path out of lockdowns and closures after national cabinet meeting.
“The excellent news I’ve got for Australians who are subject to restrictions today is we’ve agreed with a replacement deal for Australians on the pathway out of Covid-19,” Mr Morrison said.
“A pathway from a pre-vaccination period which is targeted on the suppression of the virus, on community transmission cases, to 1 that sees us manage Covid-19 as a communicable disease like all other in our community.”
Mr Morrison said state and territory leaders had agreed to a four-phase plan tied to vaccination thresholds for over-16s: Reaching a specific vaccination threshold after offering all Australians the prospect to urge the vaccine Post-vaccination phase where focus shifts from suppressing the virus to minimising serious illness and death Consolidation phase where health authorities manage Covid-19 kind of like other infectious diseases just like the flu Complete return to normal with no lockdowns or border closures, and quarantine just for unvaccinated travellers
“The first phase is that the one we are in – vaccinate, prepare and pilot,” he said.
We still suppress the virus.
That involves the implementation of the national vaccination conceives to offer every Australian a chance to be vaccinated with the required doses of the relevant vaccine as soon as possible.”
The PM said Australia’s vaccination program was ramping up, with the milestone of eight million doses administered to be reached today.
Meanwhile, the centralized has agreed to state leaders’ demands for a 50 per cent reduction in international arrivals “to reduce the pressure on quarantine facilities, thanks to the increased risks of the Delta strain of the virus”.
“While the reduction of these caps will, right across the system, obviously take some pressure off, as we’ve observed for those past 18 months, that alone doesn’t provide any fail-safe regarding any potential breaches,” Mr Morrison said. “Because of the actual virulence of the Delta strain, it’s believed that’s a prudent action while we remain during this suppression phase of the virus. Lockdowns within the current phase to be only used as a final resort. That was agreed today.” Vaccination passports are introduced for international travellers.
“We will recognise and adopt the Commonwealth’s existing digital Medicare vaccination certificate that’s automatically generated for each vaccination,” Mr Morrison said.
“Those are a few things that are already there now.
By the top of the month, it’ll be at another level which might see it having the ability to be incorporated in things like Apple Wallets and also the like. we’ll put in situ a digital vaccination authentication at the border.” The second phase of the plan will begin once an unspecified vaccination threshold is reached.
“The post-vaccination phase is going to be entered once we reach a threshold of vaccination to be determined by the modelling process we’re currently engaged in,” Mr Morrison said.
“This is going to be a scientific number. It won’t be a political number, it won’t be an arbitrary number. (It) may include specific targets on vaccination of vulnerable populations, like those over 70, and that we are at 70 per cent now, I think, on vaccination of the primary dose for those over 70. that’s the gate we’ve got to induce through.” After that point, “then we are going to enter a phase where we seek to minimise serious illness, hospitalisation and fatality as a result of Covid-19”, and lockdowns would “only occur in extreme circumstances to stop escalating hospitalisation and fatality”.
In the third “consolidation” phase, authorities will “manage Covid-19 in step with public health management of other infectious diseases”.
It is probably going we are also in this position in phase two but in phase three, that means the hospitalisation and fatality rates that you simply would see from Covid-19 would be just like the flu,” Mr Morrison said. “So what it means is, Australia gets vaccinated, Australia is in a position to measure differently.
Winning within the post-vaccination phase looks very different to winning within the phase we’re in how. Winning now means we suppress the virus as best we will, which suggests that from time to time, like we’re experiencing in NSW, we’ve to travel through these experiences.”
The fourth and final phase is “complete back to normal”. Measures may include “uncapped inbound arrivals for all vaccinated persons without quarantine”.
“You should still have at that time unvaccinated people coming to Australia at that final phase if they’re picked au courant testing, there would be pre-and post-flight testing,” Mr Morrison said.
The PM wouldn’t be drawn on how long it’d want to reach that time. “We believe we’ll be in a very position by the top of the year to own provided every Australian who wants a vaccine to be able to have received one,” he said. “If Australians reply to that, then I think that we might be in an exceedingly position to satisfy a selected target.
At this stage, it’s hard to offer you a definitive answer because we haven’t set what that concentrate on is.
I hope we’re living in this second phase next year.”
Federal opposition leader Anthony Albanese knowledgeable Mr Morrison’s announcement on Twitter.
“Lockdowns will continue as long as Scott Morrison fails to try to do his two jobs – the rollout and quarantine,” Mr Albanese said.
Speaking to reporters earlier, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said lockdowns were “always the last resort” which she hoped today’s national cabinet decision was the “turning point”. “I broadly support the way forward,” she said.