By Bond Robertson 
Australia has been among the strictest infection control measures in the world during the Corona pandemic. The country, with a population of over 25 million, has “only” recorded about 363,000 cases and 2,225 deaths from the pandemic so far. These numbers are much lower than other similar countries.
The country has always had a strategy for eliminating all kinds of infections, and it has been given such nicknames as “The Castle” and “The Hermitage”.
Now, however, the situation has changed radically.
8000 year travel ban
double infection
The introduction of the omikron variable resulted in higher incidence curves. On Thursday, the news agency wrote, for the first time in the epidemic, more than 20 thousand new infections were reported Reuters. A month ago, that number was around 1,200.
And in New South Wales, Australia’s largest state, more than 12,000 new cases were recorded on Thursday. There was double the number the day before.
Currently, about 1.4 per 1,000 people are infected in the state Watchman.
Don’t take the vaccine – friends drop it
He must live with the virus
The high infection pressure means that the country’s population is experiencing for the first time in many ways living with the epidemic – almost two years after the outbreak.
Even the most ardent supporters of “zero covid” agreed that the population must learn to live with the virus.
Queensland’s health minister, Yvette Dutt, came on Christmas Eve with a warning to residents. Now they had to “prepare for Covid”. The authorities in the state of New South Wales stated that “everyone will get an Omicron”.
Prime Minister Dominique Perrottet said in a statement on Wednesday that residents must now adapt to the new reality.
We have to learn to live with the virus, he said, and we are doing just that.
Provide more comfort
Only in November, after the full vaccination rate approached 80 per cent, did the authorities begin to loosen many of the strict restrictions that have characterized daily life in the country for nearly two years.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said at the time: – Planes are back in the air, kids are back at schools, restaurants are opening, and a big Christmas celebration is ahead.
High infection rates are now the reason Australians are easing restrictions.
The heavy pressure on testing stations means that authorities are now working to change the definition of close contacts, in order to avoid more people getting tested than necessary. The rules are also changing for insulation. Asymptomatic infections can avoid isolation, especially if they work in health care, in hospitals, or in airlines.
It also facilitates PCR testing requirements to cross state borders.
“With Omikron, we cannot put hundreds of thousands of Australians out of work based on the rules set for the delta variable,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
Warnings: – Tsunami infection
less in hospital
From New Year’s Eve, only family members of the infected person will be identified as a close contact. They must self-isolate for seven days and should not have a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test unless they develop symptoms.
“If you are not in close contact and you do not show symptoms, then there is no need to be tested,” the prime minister told the press after a meeting with the government.
Although infection numbers are rising, the number of hospitalizations is far from levels below Delta’s peak earlier this year. Of the approximately 110,000 ongoing infections, only 120 are receiving intensive care in hospitals.
This is in line with figures from other countries with high vaccine coverage.
We assume that Omicron causes less serious disease. Health Director Paul Kelly tells the news agency that it is now much clearer.
Fear of infection
However, many Australian doctors have criticized the government’s changed close contact rules, believing it will only ensure an outbreak.
The Omikron variant does not care if you are a family member, colleague or guest at the bar, Australian Medical Association President Omar Khurshid wrote on Twitter.