`Once we reach 70-80% of the eligible population to be fully vaccinated, we can plan to move forward, we cannot go back,` Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said today.
According to Morrison, leaders of states and territories should not be afraid of increasing nCoV infections once there is a sufficient proportion of the population vaccinated, and asked localities to be ready to allow infections to increase.
`Infections will no longer be an issue, but our goal is to focus on severe cases, hospitalizations, intensive care capacity (ICU), our ability to respond to
However, Morrison said there will not be a `day of freedom` in Australia like in the UK.
In an editorial posted on News.com.au on August 22, Prime Minister Morrison also said he recognized the `severe damage` that strict Covid-19 prevention measures caused to citizens and businesses.
`Unfortunately, the lockdown is necessary at this time. We will continue to provide medical and income support to help people get through, but the lockdown will not be necessary for much longer,` he said.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke at a press conference at the parliament building in Canberra on August 17.
According to Morrison, focusing on severe cases requiring hospitalization is `the way to respond to all other infectious diseases`, adding that the country’s public health system is currently strong enough to deal with rising cases.
In the editorial, Morrison did not give an exact timeline for implementing the new strategy, but asserted that the national vaccination target of 70-80% is when `we can start to reclaim what Covid-
`That is what is called living with Covid-19. Infections will likely increase when we start this strategy soon. It is inevitable,` he said.
Morrison’s editorial was published when Sydney, Australia’s largest city, recorded 830 Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, the highest number of daily infections even though the city has imposed a strict blockade since the end of June.
Australia is one of the countries applying a `zero Covid` strategy, imposing drastic blockade and tracing measures to stamp out the epidemic.
But several major Australian cities, including Sydney, Melbourne and the capital Canberra, are under lockdown to contain the outbreak caused by the Delta variant.
Morrison’s new approach is in stark contrast to neighboring New Zealand.
`Principle number one will remain to maintain the epidemic suppression strategy to destroy the virus, so that we can maintain the very difficult gains achieved, as well as consider other options,` Ms. Ardern said.
