‘We’ll co-operate where we can and disagree where we must but engage in our national interest’
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he’s not afraid to take a firm stand on some issues with China, including Covid, and is watching emerging variants closely.
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Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has reassured Australians the government will keep a close eye on new Covid strains entering the country - including the super-spreading XBB.1.5 - and “take every best advice from the health authorities” regarding their management.
It comes as the highly transmissible Covid Omicron strain XBB.1.5 - dubbed ‘The Kraken’ in the United States where it is wreaking havoc - is detected in Victoria and New South Wales.
Speaking in Geelong on Saturday morning, Mr Albanese said he was willing to take a hard line on China if needed, including with the implementation of Covid tests for travellers.
“We made it clear that this was a precautionary issue and that it was about being consistent with governments in the U.K, Japan, U.S. ... these countries, who have all made similar announcements,” Mr Albanese said, adding he did not believe it would damage the relationship between the two countries.
“What I have said about our relationship with China is that we will co-operate where we can and disagree where we must but we will engage in our national interest ... it is in Australia’s national interest to have a better relationship with China, it is in China’s national interest to have a better relationship with Australia ... I look forward to further constructing development in our relationship this year.”
Mr Albanese said he was keeping a close eye on the mutant Covid strain XBB.1.5.
“We receive ongoing advice from the Chief Medical Officer (and) also the state health officers who meet regularly and provide advice to the government. There are a range of these variants developed and we can expect that it is something that will continue into the future,” he said.
“Australians need to be aware that Covid is still out there ... I, myself, isolated for a week in December when I got Covid a second time ... we will continue to take every best advice from the health authorities.”
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton on Friday afternoon revealed the highly transmissible Covid Omicron strain XBB.1.5 had been detected in Victoria.
It is already in NSW.
“This will be monitored for expansion and clinical impact over coming weeks. It is clear that XBB.1.5 has shown competitive advantage over other variants and is predominating in the U.S. and likely to impact case numbers and hospitalisations there as a result,” he said.
“With Australia’s most comprehensive wastewater surveillance, Victoria is well-placed to monitor the emergence of this variant locally.”
XBB.1.5 was first detected in India in August last year but has since been found in more than 25 countries and has created a healthcare crisis in the United States, where it has spread like wildfire.
The XBB.1.5 Omicron sub variant is now the fastest spreading Covid strain in the U.S., accounting for 40 per cent of new cases in the country overall, and 75 per cent in its northeast.
It comes as 12,349 new Covid cases were reported in Victoria over the past week; a figure experts say is nowhere near the real number as most people have stopped reporting illness.
There are 545 Covid patients in Victorian hospitals, with 35 in intensive care and nine on a ventilator.
And tragically, 108 Victorians have died from Covid in the past week - an average of 15 deaths each day - representing an 8.4 per cent rise on last month.
Prof Sutton said there had been 734 Covid deaths in Victoria over the past three months, of which 44.3 per cent of people were unvaccinated and 50.8 per cent had not received a third vaccine dose.
“The current Covid wave is being driven by multiple Omicron variants. The most recent wastewater analysis shows the recombinant strain XBF makes up the highest proportion of detections (29 per cent), followed by BQ.1/BQ.1.1 (18 per cent) and BA.2.75 and its sub lineages (22 per cent),” Prof Sutton said.
“A group of variants that cannot be classified due to new mutations made up 21 per cent of wastewater detections. Separately, the BR.2.1 variant has shown rapid growth in sequenced case samples.
“The genomic outlook is rapidly changing and is difficult to predict with evidence of newer sub variants, in particular XBF, out competing other sub variants over several weeks. This has contributed to hospitalisations, putting continued demand on the health system.”
When asked in Geelong about Australia’s decision to impose mandatory Covid testing for Chinese travellers - and if the decision would harm the relationship between the countries - Mr Alabanese said it would do nothing of the sort.
“Not at all, that is why it is perplexing some of the commentary of our opposition essentially saying this is a bigger deal than the fact that Australians have to get tested to go to China, that is already in place,” he said.
“We have dealt with and notified the Chinese administration before the announcement was made, we were transparent about the announcement and released CMO (Chief Medical Officer) advice.”
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