The Prime Minister has announced non-urgent surgery will restart after Anzac Day, including procedures like IVF.
Following a meeting of National Cabinet, Scott Morrison said recommencing elective surgery was an important part of “the way back” to normality.
“This is an important decision because it marks another step on the way back,” he said.
“Priority will be given with this reopening, on the basis of clinical determinations by the relevant health professionals and that will occur in both the public and private system.”
The decisions would mean a spike by 25 percent of activity in elective surgery.
Restrictions on small-scale sports could begin to roll back
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said community sport would be “considered” as part of the next stage of progress against the virus.
“Of course things like community sport and those sorts of things will be considered, and the National Cabinet will be given a range of potential options that can be looked at once we feel the situation is safe,” he said.
“We don’t want to pre-empt any decisions… they have asked for a long list of the risks and benefits that could be considered at the end of this four week period.”
Baseline restrictions need to stay in place
Mr Morrison said “the baseline restrictions remain in place”.
“You’ve got to keep them (restrictions) going and stick to the plan,” he said.
“Looking at overseas experience – even the most cautious and careful of nations – such as Singapore, demonstrates that none of us can be complacent about the issues and we need to maintain the efforts that we’re putting in place.”
Aged care facilities need to allow visitors in
Mr Morrison said there was a “great concern” for the isolation of elderly people in residential care facilities where they had been prevented from having any visitors.
“National Cabinet agreed that there needs to be a strong reminder that the National Cabinet decision was to not shut people off or to lock them away in their rooms,” he said.
“That was never the recommendation nor the advice of the National Cabinet. I think the advice was very clear about ensuring that there could be visits of two per day, close relatives and support people, and this would be undertaken in the resident’s rooms but otherwise residents would be able to be in other parts of the facility.
“We would like as many freedoms to be extended to residents in aged care facilities as is possible and there is no recommendation from the medical expert panel that they should be confined in such a way.”
Update on contact tracing app
Mr Morrison said the National Cabinet were briefed today on the app Australians will be asked to download on their phones to track them and any contact they have had with coronavirus.
“There are still a few more hurdles for it to clear as we address the many issues associated but it was seen as an important tool for many to help health workers in states and territories in the important work of determining contacts of those who may have been in close proximity to people who have contracted coronavirus,” he said.
“This does three things, firstly it protects Australians in their own health and those of their own family by participating in this process, secondly, it helps other Australians to keep them safe and, thirdly, it ensures that we can more effectively get back to a more normal setting where we have widespread take-up of this app and we will say more about that when we are in a position to launch the app in the not-too-distant future.”
It comes amid reports of numerous MPs voicing concern for the app – including Barnaby Joyce – and refusing to download it.
JobSeeker claims pass 500,000
Mr Morrison confirmed there had been 517,000 JobSeeker processed so far.
“By the end of this week we will have processed as many JobSeeker claims in six weeks than we would normally do in the entirety of the year,” he said.
“I think that is an extraordinary effort by those working in the Department of government services and Centrelink to see some 6000 people in addition to being put in that program, to ensure they were able to move through their work.”
Further coronavirus updates on SoPerth.com.au:
- Only 1 new case in WA overnight
- Metronet still going forward
- Virgin Australia goes into voluntary administration
Australians slammed for racist behaviour
The Prime Minister hit out against reports of Australians firing off on racist rants or even spitting on people of Asian descent.
“Stop it, that’s my message,” Mr Morrison said.
“Now is a time to support each other and I would remind everyone it was Chinese Australians in particular that provided one of the greatest defences we had in those early
weeks. They were the ones who first went into self-isolation, they were the ones who were returning from family visits up into China and they were returning home.”
“Absolutely I deplore that sort of behaviour against any Australian regardless of their ethnicity or their religion or whatever it happens to be and I think that is the view of all Australians, so we have to call that sort of thing out. It’s not on”.
PM doubles down on need for an independent inquiry into China’s handling of coronavirus
Mr Morrison said since the virus began in Wuhan, an inquiry into how it was handled in the beginning was important.
“So it’s not pursued as an issue of criticism, it’s pursued as an issue of importance for public health,” he said.
“I think it’s important that all countries co-operate with that regardless of who they are, and we would certainly be pursuing something along those lines.”
