A sort ofIn the fight against the particularly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus, Australia is bidding farewell to its previous zero-coronavirus strategy.After the Prime Minister Scott Morrison After announcing that Australians would “have to coexist with the virus,” the heads of government of the two most populous states admitted that so far they have barely achieved the goal of zero cases.
“It is impossible to eliminate the Delta variant,” the British Prime Minister said. New South Wales, Gladys Berejiklian, the youngest. The radical new variant is the turning point of the pandemic: “Sooner or later, every state in Australia will have to coexist with Delta.”
Corona is a matter of the country
Fighting the virus in Australia is first and foremost a matter for the states. Compared with some of her colleagues, the head of government of New South Wales dared to take further risks in her statement. This is not surprising, as the number of new infections in their state is currently around 1,300, which is much higher than the number experienced in Australia since the beginning of the pandemic.
Berejiklian was supported by Daniel Andrews, the head of government of neighboring Victoria. Under his leadership, Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, has been closed for 200 days. His opponents insulted him as a “dictator”, and his fans regarded him as “Dan, the strong.”
Even one-third of people are not fully vaccinated
Melburnians, as the residents of this metropolis call it, are exhausted, and there is increasing criticism in business and the media. Sharon Lewin, an epidemiologist at FAZ’s Peter Doherty Institute in Melbourne, said that in Australia, zero Covid is no longer a realistic goal for two main reasons. They are the trap of the Delta variant and the slow vaccination campaign.
In Australia, only 28% of residents were fully vaccinated and 48% received the first dose. “Most people think they have time and don’t need to be vaccinated,” Lewin said. In addition, Australians initially did not trust the AstraZeneca vaccine, which the government relied on, and there was a supply bottleneck.
Canberra is accused of failing to obtain the vaccine. At the same time, Daniel Andrews also made it clear that he no longer insists on the Covid zero goal. Despite strict lockdown measures, his government reported 176 new infections on Thursday, the highest number in a year.
Planned to open
“It seems unlikely to go back to zero from here,” said epidemiologist Lewin. The states of New South Wales and Victoria have approximately half of the 25 million inhabitants and occupy an important position in Australia. Therefore, she hopes that other regions in Australia will follow their example, said President Berejiklian.
She was referring to the other four states that wanted to maintain zero Covid due to lack or few new infections. But Berejiklian and Andrews are now Prime Minister Morrison’s successors.That refers to the idea of staying away from it forever coronavirus In order to be able to block, it has recently been called “ridiculous”. “We can’t hide in the cave anymore,” Morrison said.
Blockade prevented worse
His Canberra government has long relied on a tough zero coronavirus strategy. Through strict entry and exit bans, strict quarantine regulations, close contact tracing and local blockades, Australia has successfully controlled the virus. As of May this year, the number of cases was less than 30,000. The death toll just exceeded 1,000.
In Germany, this value was exceeded in April 2020. Therefore, Australia has also been cited as a model for Germany by supporters of the Zero Covid Strategy. In fact, these measures have prevented thousands of patients and dead. Daniel Andrews cited estimates that the recent lockdown in Victoria alone prevented 6,000 infections.
70% vaccination rate
Sharon Lewin said that Victoria managed to suppress the Delta variant in July. But: “In order to keep Covid-free, you must make Australia a fortress. As a result, every small outbreak and every infiltration will lead to a lockdown,” the epidemiologist said in an interview. In the long run, this kind of life is unsustainable.
Therefore, the Australian government hopes to gradually open the country when at least 70% of adults are fully vaccinated and to a large extent exempt from the blockade. Canberra and the states have agreed on the plan. When 80% of adults have been vaccinated, further liberalization measures should be taken, including international travel.
Advancing the vaccination campaign
“Now there is finally momentum,” said Lewin, an epidemiologist. “When vaccination reaches a high level, people will have more freedom.” Therefore, Australia is now doing its best to increase vaccination rates. After the chaotic vaccination campaign, Morrison hopes to portray himself as a driving force for normalization.
But it will take some time to wait for the opening. Victoria just extended her lockdown period. Sydney will also have to endure restrictive measures for a period of time. After all, the idea is not just for the virus to take over, Lewin said.
