Scott Morrison says we can’t go back to lockdowns amid rising Covid cases

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has responded to the increasing threat of Omicron in Australia with a strong message to premiers.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says “we can’t go back to lockdowns” amid a record day of case numbers in NSW and an increasing threat of Omicron.

Speaking from a sheet metal manufacturing plant in the western Sydney seat of Lindsay on Friday, Mr Morrison shot down any suggestion of lockdowns and restrictions after NSW recorded 2213 cases, the highest number since the pandemic began.

Scott Morrison is against any more lockdowns due to vaccination rates. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

“We can’t go back to lockdowns, we all know that. Right from the start of this pandemic, we have always sought to balance saving lives and saving livelihoods,” he said, in a strong message to state premiers.

“We must continue to listen carefully to the medical advice and we are doing that every day, but we are in a different phase of the pandemic.”

He said case numbers were no longer a metric or indicator and instead serious illness or hospitalisation should be the deciding factor.

The Prime Minister said that we should no longer measure risk by the number of case numbers. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

“More information will become clear about the severity of illness relating to Omicron, but so far, there is nothing to suggest it is certainly worse,” he said.

Mr Morrison also used a new slogan while spruiking the mid-year budget update’s forecast that there would be one million jobs created over the next four years.

“Jabs and jobs. That’s what our government is delivering. Yesterday, again, we had another record day on the booster shots for Omicron,” he said.

He said states and territories were being encouraged to keep their vaccination hubs open to help with the booster shot program.

Scott Morrison spruiked jobs while touring Opie Manufacturing with Member for Lindsay Melissa McIntosh. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

“It’s something we discussed at the last meeting between premiers and chief ministers and I,” he said.

“They were keen to get that advice and we’ve given that advice that we need to keep as much of this open and rolling.

“We are now almost up to 200,000 doses administered a day, again, because of the strong interest and response from the Australian public to the booster program.”

Originally published as Scott Morrison says we can’t go back to lockdowns amid rising Covid cases