‘It’s foolish to rule anything in or out’: Could Tasmania’s border close?
Tasmania’s border is well and truly open but as the Omicron variant rages interstate, the possibility of closing the border again could still be on the table. DETAILS >>
Tasmania
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Tasmania’s border is well and truly open, but whether it will stay that way could depend on the changing Covid situation, with the health minister not ruling out the possibility of the drawbridge once again going up.
Health Minister Jeremy Rockliff on Wednesday said Tasmania was as ready as it’s ever going to be.
“I understand people’s anxiousness around the borders opening but we’re ready,” Mr Rockliff said.
“We’re as ready as we could possibly be in terms of our hospital preparedness, but particularly our vaccinations rates.”
Tasmania is expected to reach a vaccination rate of 90 per cent for those over the age of 12 on Friday.
But the worsening situation around the Omicron variant interstate has raised red flags for some, including questions around the whether the timing was right.
Greens MP and epidemiologist Rosalie Woodruff said the move to reopen Tasmania’s border on Wednesday was a “political decision.”
“We remain concerned the Premier has had a fixed date for this opening and we have so much happening with Omicron around the planning, super spreader events are happening in NSW,” Dr Woodruff said.
“It’s clear the rapidly increasing number in other countries show us a virus which is highly contagious.”
Dr Woodruff said the Premier needed to be prepared to close the border.
“If we have rapid movement of the virus throughout the population to remote areas where there are not services that can cope, then yes the only safe thing to do to protect Tasmanians would be to close the borders,” Dr Woodruff said.
“We’d expect the Premier to make the decisions in the public health interest first.”
Labor Leader Rebecca White said Tasmanians needed to understand what circumstances the border could close.
“A lot of people are making decisions in an uncertain environment,” Ms White said.
“We need to understand what the thresholds are for when restrictions might be reimposed.
“That’s important for members of our community so we stay safe, it’s important for business so they can make decisions about how they operate.”
Mr Rockliff said Tasmanians needed to be mindful further restrictions could be applied, depending on the circumstance.
“What we’ve learned over the course of 20 months is it’s foolish to rule anything in or out, so I will not be ruling out any further restrictions,“ Mr Rockliff said.
“We always have to be mindful of the fact further restrictions could apply, depending on the circumstances at the time.
“We need to be ready for change of circumstances, we don’t know what the next variant will be around the corner or the severity of it.”
Covid safety plans under review as border opening nears
STEVE Longmore is one of many business owners re-engineering his Covid-safety plan ahead of border restrictions easing on Wednesday.
The Hill Street Grocer North CEO was confident his employees were up to the task of staying safe as mainlanders prepare to flock to Tasmania before Christmas.
“We do have a number of team members, we are highly serviced as a business and we believe that we will be in a good place to be able to manage through that,” he said.
Liberal Minister Roger Jaensch thanked business owners such as Mr Longmore for reviewing and updating their risk assessments and outbreak management plans before Wednesday.
“To those businesses who haven’t yet or who still have questions, we want to make sure that they understand that there is plenty of information and resources and advice available to them,” he said.
Mr Jaensch said fact sheets and videos were available via Business Tasmania at business.tas.gov.au and 1800 440 026 and ask@business.tas.gov.au, while the WorkSafe Tasmania website offered checklists and templates for businesses.
“There’s also advice available through the Tasmanian Chamber of Commerce and Industry,” he said.
Mr Jaensch said the government would continue reviewing funding requirements for people quarantining after coming into contact with a Covid case.
He encouraged locals to plan ahead for their booster shots, with new advice recommending a five-month gap between the second and third doses, and he reminded parents and guardians to book first doses for their children age five to 11 from Monday, with vaccinations beginning on January 10.
Coronavirus immunisation for childcare workers has not been made mandatory, but Mr Jaensch said that matter was under review.
He said the government would continue monitoring Omicron cases in Queensland and remains watchful of the Covid situation in other states.
Health leaders remain positive ahead of border reopening
TASMANIANS have the power not only to overcome anxiety about the state’s border reopening but to limit the transmission of Covid-19 when it inevitably arrives, say leaders in the private health and disability sector.
Days out from Tasmania’s border “D-Day”, chiefs of Hobart Private Hospital, health insurance company St. LukesHealth and disability service provider St. Giles joined to praise the community for its efforts so far and to push a positive message going forward – we can do this.
Hobart Private Hospital general manager Kathryn Berry said the facility and its 507 staff were well prepared for December 15, but alert to how rapidly things can change during Covid times.
Ms Berry encouraged Tasmanians to get vaccinated, maintain social distancing and good hygiene, and be kind to people doing routine Covid screening checks.
She said while people with cold and flu symptoms should isolate and be tested, patients needing hospital treatment for serious issues should not put it off for fear of the risk of Covid-19.
Ms Berry said the hospital was not expecting to manage positive Covid-19 cases, but stood ready to assist in the event of a large outbreak.
“If the Royal (Hobart Hospital) were overwhelmed, all private hospitals would help to make sure that we can care for patients who are non Covid-related,” she said.
St. LukesHealth chief executive Paul Lupo said it was remarkable Tasmania had so far largely avoided the worst effects of the pandemic.
“We thank Tasmanians for their massive Covid-safe efforts to keep the virus at bay, and for making the most of this fortuitous grace period to achieve one of the highest vaccination rates in the world,” he said.
Mr Lupo said there was understandable community apprehension about what was to come, but it was up to every Tasmanian to do their bit.
“That’s our call out to members and the community, keep doing the right thing and we’ll get through this.”
Mr Lupo said St. LukesHealth had experienced a record year for customer growth (8 per cent), and now provided health insurance cover for more than 80,000 people, with 85 per cent of its membership base in Tasmania.
St. Giles chief development officer Nic Stephen said the service had spent recent months preparing for the threat of Covid-19, including conducting scenarios on how to manage the risk.
Mr Stephen said it was particularly important to protect vulnerable Tasmanians who had underlying health conditions, which includes many of its clients.
The service supports 4000 Tasmanians in Hobart, Burnie and Launceston and employs more than 500 people.
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Originally published as ‘It’s foolish to rule anything in or out’: Could Tasmania’s border close?
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