AMA Professor slams five-day Covid isolation change

Some of Australia’s top doctors have raised concerns over the Prime Minister’s latest move.

The Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called on the nation’s leader to release health advice supporting his decision to shorten the Covid-19 isolation period.

Following Wednesday’s national cabinet meeting, it was announced the mandatory isolation period for positive Covid cases will be reduced from seven to five days.

Acting chief medical officer Michael Kidd provided the Prime Minister, premiers and chief ministers with an update on the pandemic and briefed them on the impacts of shortening the country’s quarantine period.

The reduced isolation period only applies to those who have no symptoms after five days. Workers in high-risk settings must still isolate for seven days.

But the move has drawn criticism from sections of the health community, with AMA president Professor Steve Robson arguing people who are still infectious could be re-entering the community and passing the virus on.

AMA president Professor Steve Robson. Picture: AMA

“The AMA, like a lot of medical groups and doctors around the country, were puzzled by the decision yesterday; the political decision to reduce isolation,” he said.

“We’re puzzled they won’t release the health advice underpinning that … we’re calling for that to be released, so the politicians can justify to the public why they’re making this decision.”

Professor Robson went on to say the shortening would have “enormous potential ramifications” for Australia’s healthcare system.

“It really is a political decision that’s at odds with a lot of doctors’ thinking around the country,” he said.

“We’re seeing huge effects on the workforce from long Covid at the moment. So it’s very different to other infectious diseases, and it needs to be treated differently.”

But Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called reducing the country’s isolation period a “proportionate response” at this point in the pandemic.

“Clearly, if you have symptoms, we want people to stay home. We want people to act responsibly,” Mr Albanese said on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the changes reflected where Australia is at with the Covid pandemic. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“We had a discussion about people looking after their own health, being responsible for that and making sure that they look after each other.

“That is what has been happening. There aren’t mandated requirements for the flu or for a range of other illnesses that people suffer from.”

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet would not comment on whether he thought mandatory isolation would be scrapped by the end of the year, but said he was “pleased” with Wednesday’s changes.

“I do believe we need to move away from public health orders,” he told the ABC on Thursday.
“We need to move to a place where, if you’re sick, you stay at home; if you’re not sick, you go to work.

“That’s the cultural change that we need to get to, rather than having mandates in place.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet wants there to be no more public health orders. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“Yesterday’s announcement is very pleasing, reducing from seven to five, but ultimately the point we need to get to is less reliance on public health orders and greater reliance on people respecting each other.”

Victorian Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas did not reveal what her state’s chief health officer Brett Sutton’s advice was when asked by media on Thursday.

The changes to the mandatory isolation period will come into effect from September 9.

Originally published as AMA Professor slams five-day Covid isolation change