Coronavirus: Australia first country in world to test 1 per cent of its population

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia is the first country in the entire world to pass a significant milestone for coronavirus testing.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia has become the first country in the world to test 1 per cent of its entire population for the coronavirus.

Mr Morrison touted the statistic at a press conference in Canberra this afternoon.

“Australia has now reached a testing rate of more than 1000 tests per 100,000 population. That is 1 per cent of the population. We are the first country, to the best of our knowledge, that has been able to exceed that mark,” he said.

“The testing resources that we are putting in place have been absolutely fundamental to our tracing, and other measures that we are taking at a state level, to ensure that we can contain the growth and spread of the virus.

“Those testing figures are the result of some incredible work that has been done by the health ministers, and the securing of the testing materials themselves and their application right across the country.

“It has been an extraordinary, mammoth testing effort, and that has put Australia on top when it comes to ensuring we have the best information on tracking the virus.”

Australia has now tested more than 260,000 people. The volume of testing has featured prominently in messaging from government MPs in recent days.

Only the United States and South Korea have completed more tests, but Australia is still ahead of both on a per capita basis.

#UPDATE Autralia’s testing regime continues to be a world leader#Covid_19australia #coronavirusaustralia #coronavirusaus pic.twitter.com/JLQBRBbEVZ

— Jane Hume (@SenatorHume) April 1, 2020

Our testing 🧪 rates for COVID-19 continue to improve and rank well internationally:
👉widespread testing an important part of our effort to contain coronavirus and flatten the curve. pic.twitter.com/Essm3bJWPI

— Dave Sharma (@DaveSharma) April 1, 2020

The Prime Minister delivered a lengthy preamble at his media conference, talking up Australia’s performance compared to the rest of the world.

“Ten weeks ago this week, ahead of the rest of the world, Australia listed the coronavirus as a disease with pandemic potential under our Biosecurity Act, following the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan, China,” he said.

“We set up quarantine facilities on Christmas Island, and ultimately in the Northern Territory, and repatriated families and individuals from Wuhan, China, who had been affected by that initial outbreak area.

“The expert medical panel was stood up and has met every day since January 31.

“On February 1 we started closing the borders to visitors coming from mainland China. We were one of the first countries in the world, indeed, to do so.

“Containing and limiting the spread of the virus that had come from China in those early days was incredibly important, and has put Australia in the position that we have been in now for these many weeks where we have been able to get ahead of this, more so than many other countries around the world.”

Mr Morrison pointed out that Australia had, in many ways, acted faster than the World Health Organisation.

“Five weeks ago, a fortnight before the World Health Organisation, we called out the coronavirus as a pandemic. We activated the emergency response plan on that basis. Further border closures and measures were announced and implemented,” he said.

“Three weeks ago, our first economic package was released, and that now has been scaled up, as you know, just in terms of fiscal measures of the commonwealth to some $200 billion, with the Reserve Bank and the Australian Office of Financial Management adding a further $105 billion to that total through the support of the liquidity and financial markets.

“The National Cabinet was formed soon after, and started to put in place the many social distancing and other restrictions. They have been upgraded ever since.”

Scott Morrison at today’s press conference. Picture: ABC News

He said the situation had been getting “very, very real for Australians” particularly in the last week, but the government had been clear-eyed about it long before now.

“We are one of the few, if only, countries that have been talking about the coronavirus pandemic as being one that we are going to have to live with for at least the next six months. I have been very clear about that,” said Mr Morrison.

“For a very simple reason – I really want Australians to understand that we need to be in this for that haul. It will be months. We need to make changes that we can live with and that we can implement day after day, week after week, month after month.”

Finally, the Prime Minister again pointed to data showing the spread of the virus was slowing as a result of Australia’s social distancing policies.

“We are slowing the spread. That is happening. That is saving lives and it is saving livelihoods and, again, I thank Australians for their support,” he said.

“The rate of growth, as we have seen, particularly over the course of this week, has fallen on a daily basis, to single digit numbers, and that is welcome, but it is still not enough.”

Put together, all those elements painted a picture of Australia as a country that has done better than most at fighting the pandemic.