How do we get out of this? The government outlines three steps to end lockdown in Australia
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15.04.2020

How do we get out of this? The government outlines three steps to end lockdown in Australia

Image by Weyne Yew/Unsplash
Words by Tom Parker

The Federal Government has given us the clearest indication yet of what needs to happen.

Life is not normal. When was the last time you got told you couldn’t leave your home? Yes, it probably hasn’t happened but ‘staying home’ is all for good reason. Coronavirus has been a lesson in humility and perspective – we can often take things for granted and maybe it’s time we were brought back down to earth.

As we digest the prospect of a further month of lockdown, what needs to happen before we can get ourselves out of this predicament? Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has just given us the clearest indication of the steps that need to be taken before we can tip-toe back into normality.

Praising the efforts of all Australians over the Easter weekend, which was always going to be a test given the family pull of the holiday, Hunt applauded our diligence to stay home.

“Australians have done what we had hoped – and more. They have stayed at home. They have self-isolated. They have responded with the best sense of Australia imaginable,” Hunt said in a press conference.

“That doesn’t mean we’re out of the challenge,” he continued. “There is still growth and there could, at any time, be outbreaks and spikes. But this is a cause for real hope and real aspiration.”

It is important that we don’t get complacent however and after Premier Daniel Andrews announced that the current restrictions would be extended until May 11, Hunt outlined three steps that need to be taken before the restrictions can end.

Test one – a sustained decrease in cases

The welfare and stimulus packages have been announced so now the attention shifts towards how Australia bounces back. It comes down to numbers – while Australia has managed to flatten the infection curve, recording fewer than 100 new cases a day for the past week which is well down from weeks ago, further falls in cases are required.

“One [test] is a clear indication that we are suppressing the case numbers in Australia – it could be case numbers, the re-transmission rate, that’s all being developed into an assessment protocol,” Hunt said.

To this date, more than 6,300 cases of coronavirus have been found with more than half of that number already having recovered.

Test two – our response capabilities

The demand coronavirus has put on Australia’s healthcare system has been unforeseen. We’ve rapidly being trying to keep up and it isn’t until we have caught up and are confident in our response capabilities that steps can be taken to ease lockdown.

“If there were individual cases which broke out into a local spike, then the ability to respond, contain and to isolate will be absolutely critical to Australia’s capacity to, further down the track, progressively lift restrictions on a step by step basis,” Hunt said.

Ventilators have been a big aspect of this. Until hospitals are confident they have enough ventilators to cope with a spike in coronavirus cases then the government can’t afford to alleviate restrictions.

It also comes down to the capabilities of our healthcare workers and whether they are prepared and able to quickly respond, contain and isolate infected people.

Test three – our exit strategy

From there, the government can strategise around a plan to phase out, gradually reopen businesses and slowly encourage normal activity.

But Hunt has said that social distancing measures could remain in place for at least six months until researchers develop a vaccine. The models of Japan, Singapore and South Korea have been integral to Australia’s coronavirus exit plan.

“We’ve seen from really sophisticated, successful countries in coronavirus management such as South Korea, Japan and Singapore that they’ve had to tighten measures in different ways,” Hunt said. “So, we want to make sure that the more we do now, the greater our ability to manage it in the future.”

While the current restrictions are in place until May 11, it could very well be the case that this is extended.

And then what?

Well it’s difficult to say but it’s clear that restrictions will be eased one at a time and gradually. International travel is the big one.

“This is a time where, unfortunately, people can’t undertake holidays and they won’t be able to go overseas for some time to come,” Federal Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said.

“There may be a slightly earlier point in time where it becomes feasible to think about domestic travel again – we’re not there yet.”

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