Coronavirus: Chief Medical Officer blames quarantine dodgers for spread of virus

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer has lashed the “irresponsible” people who ignored self-isolation rules and spread COVID-19.

Australia’s Chief Medical Officer has blasted quarantine dodgers who ignored their self-isolation period and spread the virus, putting vulnerable residents at risk.

Speaking from Canberra in a press conference on Sunday evening, Professor Brendan Murphy said the “irresponsible” actions of some people had forced the government to crack down on the entire population, particularly those in self-isolation.

“We’ve seen some irresponsible behaviour from people who were told to quarantine and have not,” Professor Murphy said.

“And they have spread the virus. We now have to be absolutely rigid. If you come back from anywhere, a cruise ship, a plane, and you come back to this country, you go home and you quarantine for two weeks, no exceptions.

“You are putting your fellow Australians at risk if you break that rule. So please, every one of us has to do our bit.

“We have to save our vulnerable Australians from what could be – and we’ve seen this in other countries – fairly devastating impacts if we get a widespread pandemic in this country.

“We can control, we can contain and we can – as the PM has said – bend and flatten the curve, but every single Australian has to play their role in doing this.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the country was moving into “stage one” social distancing measures, mandating bars, clubs and pubs cease operation from midday tomorrow. Restaurants and cafes will also close their eat-in premises, with only takeaway trade being allowed.

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Australia's Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy. Picture: AAP Image/Lukas Coch

Mr Morrison warned these measures would likely progress if the spread of the virus continued, and that the country was facing at least six months of change, something Professor Murphy echoed while also taking aim at “young people”.

“These measures are sustainable for as long as we need them to be,” he said. “We can still get on with living but we have to live very, very differently. I can’t emphasise that enough.

“We’ve been making that point very clear over the last week. But it’s also clear that some people haven’t got it. I’m particularly talking to young people who may think they’re immune to the effects of this virus.

“It’s true, most young people don’t get significant disease. But as a young person you don’t want to be responsible for the severe and possibly fatal disease of an elderly, vulnerable Australian.

“We have to stop the rapid spread of this virus. There has been a very significant increase in cases over the last few days. There are still a lot of imported cases, but we definitely have to stop community transmission.

“We’ve had some events in Australia where 35 people have picked up the virus from one particular function. We cannot allow this sort of spread to happen. We have to in every aspect of our life practice social distancing and good hygiene.

“These measures have to become our routine. We are going to live differently if we’re going to get through this virus without serious impacts on the vulnerable in our community, and serious impacts on the health system. We can do it.”

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Crowds flocked to Bondi Beach on Saturday, openly defying social distancing rules. Picture: PETER PARKS / AFP