Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan is urging the NSW government to take an even tougher stance on eradicating the coronavirus for the sake of the country.
NSW has now gone into state wide lockdown after reporting a 466 new cases on Saturday and four new deaths, although NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has spoken in the past about easing restrictions when vaccination rates reach 50 per cent.Â
But Mr McGowan said NSW needs to adopt the approach to “crush and kill” the virus that was taken by his state, in South Australia, and as Victoria and Queensland are still doing.
“We just want them to get it under control for the sake of the people in NSW and also for the sake of the rest of the country,” Mr McGowan told Sky News’ Sunday Agenda program.
“NSW delayed putting in measures that worked, they obviously believed all that stuff written about them being the ‘gold standard’ and all that sort of stuff, which was clearly a mistake.”
He expects WA to reach an 80 per cent vaccinate rate by the end of this year or early next, but he will still reserve the right to have strict borders in place if necessary.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie believes the virus will end up becoming like the flu over time.
“We will never be able to eradicate this virus from our country or indeed from the globe,” she told Sky News.
“That is a scientific reality of pandemics.”
Victoria, which remains in another snap lockdown, recorded 25 new cases on Sunday, with more than half having been in the community while infectious.
Senator McKenzie is fully aware of the impact of lockdowns, both on the economy and on an individual’s mental health, being a senator for Victoria .
“I think it is heart breaking to know that we are trying to stop the spread of this Delta variant and look at scenes at Bondi beach or people from Sydney gathering in the open without masks,” Senator McKenzie said.
“But at the end of the day it is up to each premier to make those decisions.”
Meanwhile, the federal government will start rolling out a fast COVID-19 screening program for NSW aged care residents and visitors that will be done on site and more regularly.
The COVID-19 rapid antigen testing (RAT) program will begin on Monday at the Uniting Bankstown Aged Care Facility, and then progressively roll out to other facilities who have expressed interest in participating.
“Given the rate at which we know the Delta variant can be spread between people, the very fast turnaround of RAT – around 15 minutes – makes these tests useful in preventing asymptomatic transmission and outbreaks as they can be used on a daily basis,” federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said.
He said the pandemic’s toll in Australia last year was highest among aged care residents.
“That is why, along with the increased infection control training and vaccinations, we are looking at further innovations such as RAT to provide an additional layer of protection for the most vulnerable Australians,” he said.
By Colin Brinsden in Canberra, AAP
