Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison. PHOTO: REUTERS

Australia nears living with Covid like flu: PM Morrison

There are waivers now on quarantine for people returning, so we are pretty much in Phase D, says Morrison


Reuters March 12, 2022
SYDNEY:

Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the nation's political leaders want to move to a new phase of living with Covid-19 as though it were the flu, but would consult health experts.

A day after meeting with the national cabinet of state and federal leaders, Morrison told reporters on Saturday morning they had discussed moving to "Phase D" of the national pandemic response plan.

"Our airports are open again, international arrivals can come, there are waivers now on quarantine for people returning, so we are pretty much in Phase D," he said.

Read more: China daily local COVID cases hit two-year high of over 1,500

The leaders wanted to drop the isolation requirement for close contacts of Covid-19 cases and would seek further advice on this from an expert panel, he said.

The isolation rule was "starving businesses of staff", said Morrison, whose conservative government faces an election in May.

"We believe we are pretty much in Phase D now, there are a few exceptions to that. Phase D, remember, means living with the virus like the flu," he said.

Also read: China approves five COVID-19 antigen kits for self-testing - CCTV

Western Australia and the Northern Territory would lag the eastern states by a month in dropping restrictions, he said.

Health officials in New South Wales, the most populous state, this week flagged concern about a rise in the new BA.2 sub-variant of Omicron they said could bring a doubling of daily cases by the month's end from the latest figures around 15,000.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ