National Cabinet Needs Low-Covid Strategy

The national cabinet meeting is the new Prime Minister’s opportunity to take Australia’s moribund Covid response and refocus our efforts towards collective responsibility and collective benefit, to protect us from the acute and long-term social damage of unchecked respiratory viruses.
 
The serious impacts of debilitating mass Covid infection and reinfection on hospital and workforce function, chronic and long-term diseases, and social well-being cannot be avoided by the current failed focus on individual responsibility.
 
The ripple effect of a single person’s infection on their absence in the workplace or the loss of a hospital bed is having damaging effects in Tasmania. Elective surgeries are being cancelled at major hospitals, and businesses and events are being forced to shut their doors.
 
The Premier’s current limp ‘recommendation’ to wear a mask indoors has had no meaningful effect on levels of mask wearing in the community. Even health, aged care and disability facilities are not being formally protected. Covid cases are avoidably high as a result.
 
The Premier needs to lead by explaining the value of protecting ourselves and others by wearing a mask – and the ratcheting up of health risks from continued virus reinfection if we don’t.
 
Today’s cabinet meeting is a critical point in our national Covid response, and we desperately need a low-Covid strategy, supported by our Premier, to protect vulnerable Tasmanians, and everyone.