What happens if Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese get Covid, how voting will work, how to enrol

Experts have revealed what the two leaders should avoid to stop Covid-19 spreading on the campaign trail, as rules for voting were confirmed. See what it means.

Covid-19 is the campaign calamity threatening to derail the vote gathering of both major parties but Labor’s Anthony Albanese is most at risk.

Mr Albanese hasn’t had Covid and while Prime Minister Scott Morrison fought off an infection early last month health experts say it doesn’t mean he can’t be reinfected.

Covid infections have surged in recent weeks with 63,600 new cases per day, more than 2,746 people are hospital and ambulances and health services are under pressure.

Typical electioneering sees politicians shaking hands, meeting voters and kissing babies and these are all high risk activities for a Covid infection.

Already Labor campaign headquarters has been struck by a major Covid outbreak as Omicron BA.2 infections sweep the country.

ALP campaign director and National Secretary Paul Erickson along with a swag of people in the Labor campaign media unit have the virus.

Labor’s industrial relations spokesman Tony Burke is fighting off the infection and an Albanese staff member in charge of scoping out the campaign venues is reported to have come down with Covid.

Opposition leader Anthony Albanese speaks to the media in Sydney on Sunday after the election is called. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

To protect its leader Labor is taking a much tougher approach to infection control on the campaign trail requiring all journalists on the bus accompanying Mr Albanese to show proof they have been tripled vaccinated.

The journalists will also have to wear a P2 mask on the bus, do a rapid antigen test every three days and show the results to Labor staffers.

“Your results will be recorded via electronic form,” the advice to journalists specifies.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison last week called for close contact isolation rules to be scrapped and last month he said close contact isolation was “redundant”.

The infection control rules on his campaign bus are not as strict as Labor’s.

“We will follow state and territory health rules. We don’t have any further requirements of the media on our bus/plane outside these rules,” a spokesman for Mr Morrison said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison holds a press conference at Parliament House, Canberra on Sunday April 10th after announcing the next federal election will be held on May 21st. Picture: Toby Zerna

This will still mean people on the Morrison bus have to wear masks on planes and buses as most states require mask wearing on aircraft, public transport and ride sharing.

Neither side would explain what their contingency plans were if the leader was infected with Covid but it is expected other senior party members would take over the leaders’ public appearances.

The leaders could also hold press conferences and make announcements electronically while they are in isolation.

ANU infectious diseases expert Professor Peter Collignon said it was possible for the Prime Minister to get infected again.

“Yes, you can” (get Covid a second time). But generally, if you get it a second time, it’s much, much milder than the first time you’ve got it,” he said.

Professor Peter Collignon from the Australian National University Medical School.

Deakin University epidemiologist Professor Catherine Bennett said the PM had his Covid infection at the start of March, so it was most likely to be either the circulating B. A. 1 or B. A. 2 Omicron subvariant.

It was “not advisable for either candidate to be holding babies on this campaign trail!” she said.

Professor Catherine Bennett, Chair in Epidemiology at the Faculty of Health at Deakin University.

Professor Colliginon said it “was a good idea” for journalists on campaign buses to be vaccinated and wear masks because it reduced the risk of infection but he is not a fan of mandates.

“Mask wearing probably decreases your risk personally 10 or 15 per cent. But, if you look at mandates around the world, they don’t seem to stop the epidemic curve all that much,” he said.

RAT tests were worth doing if people had symptoms when they were 80 or 90 per cent accurate but if a person was asymptomatic,” they probably pick up half the cases now that might be better than nothing … RAT tests are not as accurate as people generally believe they are,” he said.

The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) on Sunday released its Covid safety measures that will be place when Australians go to the polls on Saturday May 21.

No proof of vaccinations will be required to vote although those working as polling booth officials must be vaccinated.

“We’ve been planning the many and various scenarios of running a federal election with COVID-19 safety measures in place since the pandemic began, and we’ve run two federal by-elections in that time as well,” Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers said.

“We’ve been in regular contact with federal, state and territory health departments regarding our planning and have learnt valuable lessons from recent elections run both here in Australia and internationally.

“Many of the safety measures in place are things that Australians will be very familiar with by now – social distancing, the use of hand sanitiser and the work of our hygiene officers at every polling place,” Mr Rogers said.

Given Covid-19 infection rations, the AEC confirmed it will most likely not be able to visit all aged care facilities, or hospitals. Instead, those voters will be able to apply for postal voters or visiting nearby in-person centres if able to do.

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