National cabinet confirms Covid isolation period reduces to five days

Anthony Albanese has revealed a series of big changes on Covid restrictions in Australia, including the iso period and mask use. See what the new rules are.

Australians will soon only have to isolate for five days after national cabinet agreed to slash the quarantine period from seven days.

The changed settings will not apply for people in “vulnerable settings”, meaning aged care workers may still need to stay at home for seven days.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said change would only apply to people who were asymptomatic.

“Clearly, if you have symptoms, we want people to stay home. We want people to act responsibly. Seven days isolation will remain for workers in high-risk setting including aged care, disability care, home care is important as well,” he told reporters in Sydney.

The change will come into effect from September 9.

Mr Albanese said the mandatory wearing of masks on domestic flights was being removed.

“This change will also come into effect from Friday September 9,” he said.

The Australian Health Protection Principal Committee (AHPPC) revised its directions on mask mandates in airports in June.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese annouced the Covid isolation changes. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

The Prime Minister flagged national cabinet will meet again in a couple of weeks to discuss the future of $750 payment for people for those who have to stay at home but are not eligible for sick leave.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet had been leading the charge for isolation to be cut to five days but was last month overruled by the Professor Kelly as the Omicron cases continued to surge.

Speaking after the meeting on Wednesday, Mr Albanese said the change was now “appropriate” based upon the “weight of evidence”.

“We had a discussion about people looking after each other. People looking after their own health, being responsible for the and making sure that they look up to each other,” the Prime Minister said.

He said it was now appropriate to make the switch. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“There aren’t mandated requirements for the flu or for a range of other illnesses that people are from.”

“What we want to do is to make sure that government responds to the changed circumstances … Covid likely is going to be around for a considerable period of time.”

With Australia emerging from its winter peak, national cabinet’s approach softened. But not enough to scrap mandatory quarantine all together.

Health Services Union boss Gerard Hayes, who had been vocal in his opposition to keeping the isolation period, said the announced changes didn’t go far enough.

“It’s how we walk and chew gum at the same time. If we do that, in a logical sense, with personal responsibility being paramount, well, then we can start to move forward, very quickly and very safely,” he told ABC radio.

However, with another meeting flagged the next fortnight, the Prime Minister signalled a scrapping of quarantine altogether could be on the cards in the future.

CALLS FOR CHANGE

The changes come after some of Australia’s state and territory leaders called for the isolation period to be reduced to allow people to return to work faster.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet put forward a proposal to reduce the amount of time in isolation from seven to five days, and called for a nationally consistent approach.

“We will naturally discuss and debate those things … and hopefully we will have a strong outcome,” he said, reports The Australian.

His Victorian counterpart, Daniel Andrews, said it was the right time to be reconsidering the rules.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet believe its worth reconsidering the mandatory isolation period. Picture: David Crosling

Victoria’s isolation rules could change in the coming days, but it looks like masks are here to stay on public transport.

Mr Andrews on Wednesday said the government will change isolation rules in Victoria “as soon as possible”, if National Cabinet agrees to reduce the mandated isolation period from seven to five days.

“I’d be hopeful that we can make a nationally consistent decision and I think that’s exactly what will happen,” the Premier said.

“Obviously there’s a process to vary orders and there’s an Act of Parliament that speaks to all of that. I don’t want to be speaking on behalf of the (health) minister, but I think we would move to that as fast as we possibly can.

“I think (we’d) probably announce it to take effect in a few days’ time.”

Mr Andrews reaffirmed his stance that people forced to isolate should continue to receive pandemic support payments.

“My position is very clear on this. If you’re going to continue to ask people, in fact, require people to isolate, then those who don’t have sick leave, those who are in insecure work, those who qualify for that payment, now that payment should continue,” he said.

“I very much support continuing that pandemic payment. It doesn’t expire until the end of September, but I would be very strongly of the view that our partnership with the Commonwealth Government should in fact continue.”

While the Premier is open to changing isolation rules, he thinks masks should remain on public transport.

“I looked at some trams the other day on the way to the footy…we’re going into finals. People are going to be in very, very close proximity,” he said.

“I think people should still wear masks on public transport.

Mr Andrews added it made sense for passengers to continue masking up on planes.

“If I were on a plane, whether it was a rule or not - it’s a pressurised cabin, you’re in with people you don’t know for an extended period of time - you would wear a mask.”

Leaders are expected to reach a decision on mandated isolation periods at the National Cabinet meeting this afternoon.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said he was “open-minded to this change, subject to the health advice”, and also stressed the need for “national consistency”.

However, not everyone is convinced.

Australian Capital Territory chief minister Andrew Barr was not in favour of changing the isolation period at this stage, saying any reforms might still be a month away.

Scott Connolly, of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, said the Covid-19 isolation period was “unlikely” to change.

“The Covid crisis remains a big big challenge for us all,” Mr Connolly told a Kingston Reid employment conference on Wednesday morning.

“The reality is the pandemic is still here, it shows no real signs of going away in any significant way, no matter how much we would like.

“The most tangible outcome to that is from national cabinet this afternoon, where we’re unlikely to see change to isolation rules.”