Dominic Perrottet draws a line in the sand on Covid despite more cases

Premier Dominic Perrottet is holding the line on Covid, saying NSW will not move backwards and this is life in the state under the virus.

Facing down an astounding 11,201 daily cases, Premier Dominic Perrottet has drawn a line in the sand – this is life with Covid and NSW will not go back.

His declaration comes as the Daily Telegraph can reveal that NSW will use Thursday’s urgent national cabinet meeting to lobby for the removal of PCR testing for international arrivals -- and is willing to partner with Victoria if Canberra does not co-operate.

It comes as the Prime Minister flagged a national overhaul to the definition of a “close contact” to include only people living under the same roof as a Covid-19 case.

It will mean that people will no longer be forced into isolation if they are pinged for being at a public venue, such as a restaurant, with an infected person.

Premier Dominic Perrottet has drawn a line in the sand with Covid. Picture: Richard Dobson

“We just can’t have everybody just being taken out of circulation because they just happen to be at a particular place at a particular time,” Mr Morrison said. “The uncertainty of that, the impacts on the economy and particularly given the fact we are not seeing this impact on our hospital system means that it’s an impractical way to live with the virus in this next phase.”

Mr Morrison said Australia was going through a “gear change” as it moved away from reliance on PCR tests in favour of rapid antigen tests.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard welcomed Queensland’s decision on Wednesday to scrap PCR tests for NSW travellers but expressed the view that it’s time to drop the tests for travellers from overseas – another strain on the state’s stressed pathology facilities.

“It’s a topic the national cabinet really should consider but in the event it doesn’t agree then I’ll be putting it for discussion with the NSW Health team and Victorian Health teams,” Mr Hazzard said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia is changing gears when it comes to testing. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Also on the agenda for national cabinet is a push from Mr Perrottet to reduce isolation periods for positive Covid cases who are asymptomatic.

The Premier’s confidence was backed in by Mr Hazzard who told The Daily Telegraph that not one of the many NSW Health staff who were given additional training in intensive care to bolster the workforce’s Covid fighting capacity has had to be brought on.

“Not for one moment has NSW Health staff raised any concerns with me on hospital capacity,” he said.

“Health workers in theatres were given training to work in ICUs if needed. They’ve gone back to theatres, Health has not called any of them back to our ICUs.”

Of the 61 people in ICU with Covid-19, 41 are not fully vaccinated and just two have received all three doses, while most have underlying health conditions.

Mr Hazzard said his medical advisers have informed him that the evolution of the virus has meant fewer people had needed invasive intubation – common during the Delta outbreak – which also posed a greater risk of infecting staff members.

“As the virus has changed, so has the clinical model… the system and our frontline staff is under a lot of pressure, but we haven’t gone back to the more urgent stage we were in where we were taking staff from other areas,” he said.

Mr Perrottet wants a more “common sense” approach to people with no symptoms. Picture: John Grainger

Despite the confronting case numbers, analysis of Covid-19 infections in the past two weeks has also shown a promising trend: the percentage of daily cases who are landing in hospital is rapidly declining.

It’s a far cry from this time last year when NSW residents were being told to get tested or risk dying.

Residents bid 2020 adieu in fear with then-premier Gladys Berejiklian telling people to be on “high alert” over a cluster of 40 cases in Greater Sydney – an unimaginable statement in the era of Omicron.

The government tightened restrictions on New Year’s Eve celebrations last year due to the emergence of just six new cases in the inner west with households limited to only five visitors.

And even the most conservative authorities have relaxed with chief health officer Kerry Chant backing in Mr Perrottet’s proposal to national cabinet on Wednesday.

Mr Perrottet wants NSW to follow the “common sense” approach of the US and slash the isolation period for Covid cases with no symptoms.

Dr Chant said it was important to be open minded.

“We need to keep an open mind and look at the science and increasingly we need to work with the community to support them with their understanding (of the risks),” she said.