Prime Minister Scott Morrison has reconfirmed the National Cabinet’s primary goal for Australia is to ensure there is no community transmission of the virus – but says there would always be some outbreaks because “Australia has not completely shut itself off from the world”.
Mr Morrison told a post-Cabinet press conference yesterday that it would be dangerous for the country to shut itself off entirely but the “vast majority of states and territories” had recorded no community transmission “for some time”.
“That’s certainly where we want to get back to in Victoria and New South Wales, and that’s where our efforts are focused,” he said.
Acting Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly added that it was important for each new case to be chased down “aggressively” and isolated to prevent the further spread of the virus.
“That is a crucial component of our public health response,” he said. “It has been from the beginning. And what has happened in Victoria over the last few weeks has demonstrated, firstly how difficult that is, and also when you get a large number of cases, that really exacerbates it.”
Some experts have argued Australia should be pursuing an elimination strategy instead, stamping out the virus completely and preventing more lives being lost.
But as the Treasurer’s economic statement made clear this week, the Government will not put full lockdowns back in place because it would cripple the country’s even economy further.
Treasury estimates show another six-week lockdown would cost Australia’s GDP around $50 billion.
Sadly, as the 17 aged care deaths in Victoria’s second wave have shown, it will be the elderly who will pay the price.
