Why Health Minister Brad Hazzard won’t ease Covid isolation rules

Health Minister Brad Hazzard and chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant have ruled out relaxing Covid isolation rules. Here’s why.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard and chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant have ruled out relaxing Covid isolation rules because the true extent of Covid cases could be 50 per cent higher than what is reported.

Mr Hazzard said Covid cases were being reported in “very substantial numbers every day” but it was still a “big underestimate”.

“Covid continues in very substantial numbers every day. We are seeing somewhere between 15 to 20,000 positive cases everyday and we think that’s a big underestimate. Because many people it would appear are not actually reporting the positive cases,” he said.

“The Ministry of Health has started doing a more randomised selection of people who enter into our hospitals who may not be here because of Covid but may have had Covid in the past. Analysis of that … hopefully will give us greater clarity in the next few weeks and months.

“But I can tell you that the public health physicians are of the view that it’s at least 50 per cent more, even higher, than that we’re currently seeing in the numbers.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard said case numbers were a “big underestimate”. Picture: Christian Gilles

Mr Hazzard said he had spoken to Dr Chant daily and they both believed restrictions should not be relaxed despite the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee advising states to remove the seven day isolation period for close contacts. 

“The AHPPC obviously have given, if I can say, the lowest common denominator advice for every state and territory, but here in NSW, we have led the way in terms of the response to Covid and we’re currently seeing a good balance of life, which is what we want,” he said.

“We’re also seeing a substantial number of cases each day … I will be saying to the community at present that we still should exercise extreme caution. We shouldn’t be rushing forward to get rid of all of the safety issues that we know now,” he said.

His comments come after the public health order was changed last week to ease some isolation rules.

People who have been infected with Covid don’t need to isolate as close contacts for 12 weeks after they have recovered — up from eight weeks.

Originally published as Why Health Minister Brad Hazzard won’t ease Covid isolation rules