Susie O’Brien: Dan Andrew’s silence on our Covid future is deafening

Victorians need to know the Andrews government has things under control and will not burden us with unnecessary restrictions just to look purposeful in an election year.

Daniel Andrews should come back from holiday and manage Victoria’s response to the Omicron variant.

The people of this state, who have been through so much, need to know the Andrews government’s intentions over the coming days and weeks.

We need calmness and clarity in this rapidly changing situation.

We need to know the government has things under control and will not burden us with unnecessary restrictions just to look purposeful in an election year.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison is at work, and has convened a meeting with state leaders on Tuesday. So is NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, who has reassured his residents that he will not return to lockdowns.

Where’s Andrews? He’s on holiday and going to parties.

While I don’t begrudge him some festive fun, he needs to be on deck as the situation unfolds, not handing the reins to Education Minister James Merlino, who’s never had any real authority.

The post-Covid era we were promised is not eventuating – at least not in terms of case numbers.

With 1302 locally acquired cases in the past 24 hours (as of December 20), 13,000 active cases, 406 people in hospital and 81 in ICU, things are not at crisis point.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is on holiday. Picture: Luis Enrique Ascui

But they are uncertain and unsettled. For every new case every day, there are dozens of close contacts who have to cancel their Christmas plans and isolate.

The holiday plans of thousands of Victoria are in disarray due to the unexpected maintenance of isolation restrictions in other states.

People are nervous about what the next few days and weeks will bring, and we do not need a government in holiday mode.

Morrison has made it clear that “we’re not letting Omicron take us back” but we need to know the Victorian government is monitoring the situation and doing what it needs to.

In the absence of clear guidance from the government, people are making their own decisions to avoid crowded places and scaling back plans to socialise.

People need to have their fears managed and nerves calmed.

The only way this can happen is to know what the government’s approach is going to be.

With the expiry of the state emergency powers last Wednesday night, and a new pandemic declaration taking its place, Victorians want to know what to expect next.

We must ensure there is no kneejerk return to a wider wearing of masks in all settings, or other measures that take us back.

The Premier should also be ensuring all adults get their booster shots, given that there are signs Omicron is less responsive to double-dose vaccines.

Experts agree that boosters restore a vaccine’s effectiveness to 98 per cent protection from severe disease.

The government should also be looking at making rapid tests, which can cost up to $14 each, free to facilitate their use.

We also need the government to boost capacity at the 1000 state-run testing clinics, which are becoming overwhelmed by demand.

And we need Andrews to be ensuring the rollout of vaccines for five to 11-year-olds which is due to start in early January, runs smoothly.

Above all, we must not be alarmed at the rising case numbers of a variant people have trouble distinguishing from a common cold.

Many Victorians are keeping a low profile to avoid testing positive to Covid over the holiday period. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

A US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention study shows most Omicron sufferers report coughs, tiredness and runny noses. Only 8 per cent lose their smell or taste. Few get really sick and only a handful end up in hospital.

Rising case numbers overseas are mostly still from the Delta variant. Omicron is responsible for only 3 per cent of cases in the US.

Regardless of this, people are confused about where we stand because research in Omicron is in its infancy, and there is no consensus among scientists as to what the next step should be.

Melbourne University epidemiologist Nancy Baxter says health authorities should prepare for the worst.

But University of Melbourne epidemiologist Tony Blakely says the hospital admission rate will be much less under a dominant Omicron strain.

Deakin University’s chair in epidemiology Catherine Bennett even says there could be some advantages if Omicron were to displace Delta as Victoria’s dominant strain.

Indeed, a big South African study based on more than 211,000 positive Covid-19 test results, 78,000 of which were Omicron, suggests hospital admission rates will be one third lower as Omicron spreads.

This is reassuring, but we need clarity from the state government, and more indication about how this will play out.

Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist