The AHPPC and the National Cabinet of State and Federal leaders formed to tackle the spread of COVID-19 in Australia are only addressing “urgent unintended matters … through ongoing reviews undertaken twice weekly”, according to the AHPPC’s latest statement.
The AHPPC – which is made up of all the State and Territory Chief Health Officers and led by the Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy – advises the National Cabinet on what measures should be taken in response to the coronavirus outbreak.
Their most recent statement from Monday – following the Cabinet’s decision to restrict at non-essential gatherings – concludes that Australia’s needs to “do more now”.
“There is a strong argument to do more, at least in the short term, to enforce the new way of life in social distancing that we will have to endure and to adapt the Community mindset. This will also allow more time to consolidate health system preparations and evaluate measures already implemented in Australia, and to learn from interventions in other countries,” it reads.
Yet the AHPPC and the Cabinet are only dealing with “urgent” issues twice a week?
Given the rapid response to the virus in other countries – see the UK’s move from relative freedom to complete lockdown in the space of days – surely the Australian response should be moving faster?
