National Cabinet to meet as Vic, NSW in lockdown and Qld on brink
Thousands of pharmacies could be activated early to speed up the Covid-19 jab rollout and emergency payments for lockdowns made easier to access when National Cabinet meets on Friday.
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Thousands of pharmacies could be activated early to speed up the Covid-19 jab rollout, and emergency payments for lockdowns made easier to access, when National Cabinet meets on Friday.
The meeting of National Cabinet comes as two of Australia’s most populous states have been plunged into lockdown, with Queensland on the precipice of a fresh coronavirus outbreak.
The Prime Minister has already flagged plans to make emergency lockdown payments bigger and easier to access, though stay-at-home orders will still need to last longer than a week.
Under the proposal, emergency payments would begin at $375 for people losing eight to 20 hours of work, and $600 to those losing more than 20 hours of work.
People would be able to apply for the payment once a lockdown begins though funds would only flow if the lockdown extends out to a second week.
People would also no longer be forced to prove they had less than $10,000 in liquid assets.
The business support offered to NSW would also be offered nationwide.
National Cabinet will be informed that the vaccination status of incoming travellers would now be recorded, after the collection system was completed ahead of schedule.
“That will help with the triaging of quarantine arrangements and that data will start to flow once it reaches a critical mass,” Mr Morrison said.
Leaders will also discuss a proposal to activate pharmacies sooner than expected, a move the sector’s peak body has been fervently calling for.
More than 3900 pharmacies around the nation have been approved to deliver Covid jabs, though the Government’s latest data shows just 65 are administering the vaccine.
As of July 15, a total of 12.7 per cent of Queenslanders aged 16 or older had been fully vaccinated.
The total number of Covid-19 vaccine doses administered in the country tipped over 9.6m, though 12.5 per cent of the population aged 16 or older have been fully vaccinated 20 weeks into the rollout.
Mr Morrison admitted the government was “two months behind” where it hoped to be on the nation’s vaccine rollout due to the changing medical advice about the AstraZeneca jab.
“We’ve been catching up ground on that and that’s welcome,” he said.
The Prime Minister confirmed he had also lined up a call with Pfizer’s chief executive, days after revelations his Labor predecessor Kevin Rudd had spoken directly to the head of the pharmaceutical company as a concerned citizen.
Apart from National Cabinet, Mr Morrison will also attend a virtual emergency meeting of the 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation, called for by NZ Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
APEC brings together Pacific Rim countries ranging from the United States to Papua New Guinea, collectively accounting for about 60 per cent of global GDP.
The meeting will be used to discuss how to improve the Asia-Pacific region’s response to COVID-19 and its economic impact.
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