Business leaders have raised their “duty of care” for all staff to endorse the prospect of mandatory vaccinations, which could lead to sackings for recalcitrant employees, as executives prepare to “live with the virus” amid rising infections in NSW.

Graham “Skroo” Turner, chief executive of travel outfit Flight Centre, has backed NSW’s bid to suppress, rather than eliminate, the virus and declared he can “see nothing wrong with mandatory vaccinations” if it meant freedom for Australians.