Covid-19: Australian leaders insist restrictions will ease even as cases spike

A spike in cases and fears around the Omicron strain won’t spoil Christmas plans, Scott Morrison insists.

A spike in Covid-19 infections and the gloomy mystery surrounding a new variant won’t burst Australia’s plans to ease restrictions ahead of Christmas, with Scott Morrison insisting “we have decided as a country to live with the virus”.

The emotional reunions at airport terminals across Queensland will evolve into sunseekers being welcomed throughout the summer despite Omicron cases confirmed among a list of new infections this week.

Health authorities across the Bass Strait followed suit, revealing those who travel to Tasmania from interstate will no longer need to isolate on arrival from Wednesday.

NSW recorded an alarming spike of cases on Tuesday, with 804 new infections — a jump of 268 and the highest daily rise since early October.

But the state’s Health Minister Brad Hazzard declared the Perrottet government would forge ahead with easing restrictions on Wednesday.

Density limits will be scrapped and masks will no longer be needed for most indoor venues, with the remaining restrictions applying to both vaccinated and unvaccinated.

“NSW is not planning on any snap lockdowns,” he told reporters.

The NSW Health Minister said there will be no more lockdowns. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Flavio Brancaleone

“What we’re planning on is making sure the community understands the need to be vaccinated and the need to have boosters.

“NSW has led the country - we’re not about to start backflipping on issues that we promised the community we’ll do.”

The Prime Minister insisted the Morrison government was “very seriously” monitoring the potentially heightened risk of the Omicron variant but declared strict restrictions would not return.

“We’ve decided as a country to live with this virus and Australians have worked so hard for that,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“When we have vaccination rates about to hit 90 per cent, one of the highest in the world, that means we have choices today that we didn’t have 18 months ago and that means that we can continue to move forward.”

The Prime Minister was resolute. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

Mr Morrison said Australia’s vaccine coverage had allowed policies to enter a new phase, where health responses were no longer dictated by the number of new cases.

“Cases are not the issue and I know over a period of time we may have become conditioned to case numbers being the trigger. That’s not the case,” he said.

The progression of restrictions easing was not extended out west, however, where West Astralian Premier Mark McGowan confirmed on Monday the borders would remain closed until February 5.

The drawn out plan was “based on health advice”, he said, factoring in the likely slowdown of jabs over the Christmas and New Year period, and to allow children to be prepared for the new policies when school returns.

“We set ourselves the toughest tasks of all the states and territories, achieving a 90 per cent vaccination rate of over 12s,” Mr McGowan said.

“It was designed to be the hardest to achieve because the modelling tells us easing border controls at 90 per cent saves 200 lives.”