Covid Qld: Coronavirus to be treated like the flu in future

A Queensland virologist has forecast a future with coronavirus but without lockdowns – and it all hinges on vaccinations.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

Lockdowns will be abolished if authorities are able to start managing Covid-19 like the flu, with the country’s top doctor declaring Australians will need to learn how to live with the mutating virus.

But when this happens will depend on how many people get the jab, with officials yet to decide what the vaccination threshold will be.

Under the third phase of a new four-part plan to steer the country out of the pandemic, authorities are hoping to manage Covid-19 like infectious diseases next year – however this could take longer.

But University of Queensland virologist Professor Ian Mackay hoped this would be achieved by the end of the year, when larger quantities of vaccines arrive paired with a “contemporary” education campaign.

“I don’t want to see a guy with a stethoscope around his neck (in the campaign),” he said.

University of Queensland virologist Ian Mackay. Picture: Annette Dew

“It needs to have contemporary examples talking to people in various population groups.

“I want to see someone talking from the heart.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the third phase was called the consolidation phase.

“That is to manage Covid-19 consistent with public health management of other infectious diseases,” he said.

“What does that mean? It is likely we may be in that position in phase two but in phase three, that basically means that the hospitalisation and fatality rates that you would see from COVID-19 would be like the flu.

“Arguably, even better.”

It comes as Australia’s chief medical officer prof Paul Kelly warned new strains of coronavirus were likely but the country will need to “learn how to live” with it.

Describing the Delta strain as “difficult to control”, prof Kelly said it was important to note the highly contagious variant was not more severe than its predecessors.

“There will be more (variants), there will be different ones in the coming months and years, there’s no doubt about that,” he said.

“We need to learn how to live with those strains, learn about them, and modify our approaches as required.”

Prime Minister Scott Morrison

The Prime Minister said other jurisdictions were treating coronavirus like the flu.

“When it is like the flu, we should treat it like the flu and that means no lock downs,” he said.

Prof Mackay said moving forward, people will need to accept that there will be deaths from Covid-19.

“If they choose not to get vaccinated, that’s a risk as well,” he said.

He said it was important everyone had the vaccine offered to them.

And he said a strong education campaign for when more vaccines arrived was paramount to moving out of the pandemic.