PM: This weekend ‘critical’
AUSTRALIA faces an “explosive resurgence” of the coronavirus if unprecedented social distancing and self-isolation rules are relaxed.
Authorities are now on high alert for the Easter long weekend, with Scott Morrison warning the nation faces a “horror scenario” if people become complacent about the pandemic. Alarming modelling, released yesterday by the Prime Minister, showed about 30,000 critically ill Australians would be left to fight the coronavirus without intensive care if it was allowed to rip through the country.
The worst-case scenario model, based on international evidence, predicts an uncontrolled outbreak would infect almost 23 million Australians, 38 per cent of whom would need medical care.
At its peak, 35,000 people would need intensive care beds — and hospitals would have room only for 15 per cent, likely costing thousands of lives.
The national cabinet used the modelling to decide on quarantine, isolation and social distancing measures, with overseas experience suggesting that would reduce community transmission of the virus by a third, freeing up intensive care beds for all at-risk patients.
Mr Morrison said those measures meant Australia had managed to avoid tens of thousands of cases by slowing the spread of the virus even faster than expected.
“But we must hold the course. We must lock in these gains,” he said.
“We have so far avoided the horror scenarios that we have seen overseas.
“We have bought valuable time, but we cannot be complacent. This Easter weekend will be incredibly important.
“Stay at home. Failure to do so this weekend would completely undo everything we have achieved so far together, and potentially worse.”
Chief Medical Officer Professor
Brendan Murphy said the biggest concern was more than 500 people acquired the virus “from someone in the community that doesn't know they’ve had it”.
“That is why we cannot relax,” he said. “If we, in any way, lose that rigour that the Australian community has embraced, particularly over Easter, it could all come undone.”