‘Let them out’: National cabinet changes contact, isolation COVID rules ahead of New Year’s Eve

Australians have been told coronavirus cases will continue to surge but the country is well prepared to handle them after national cabinet agreed to a shift in managing the pandemic, including shortening isolation for COVID-19 cases and changing the definition of a close contact.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced the radical changes agreed to by state and territory leaders during Thursday’s national cabinet meeting, under which restrictions and testing requirements for casual contacts will be abolished.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the changes would take effect from midnight on Friday in five states and territories.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

More than 21,300 cases were confirmed across the country on Thursday and Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly said cases would continue to rise, but there was now good evidence that the Omicron variant was less severe than previous strains.

“It is a different virus, very different from previous versions of the virus we have seen over the last two years,” he said on Thursday afternoon.

State and territory leaders broadly agreed to cut the isolation period from 10 to seven days, although South Australia will keep a 10-day isolation requirement for now.

People who test positive will be allowed to leave isolation after seven days if they get a negative result on a rapid antigen test on day six. Close contacts must also isolate for seven days.

For people in states with high case numbers – NSW, Victoria, the ACT, South Australia and Queensland – Mr Morrison said those who have been in isolation for more than a week could leave isolation from midnight on Thursday.

“Let them out,” he said.

National cabinet also agreed to a new definition of a COVID-19 close contact to mean someone who has been with a confirmed case for more than four hours within an accommodation or care facility setting.

That change will also take effect from midnight on Thursday in NSW, Victoria, the ACT, South Australia and Queensland.

Tasmania will follow from midnight on January 1, and the Northern Territory and Western Australia are expected to adopt the definition in the new year.

Mr Morrison said changing the definition of a close contact was “practical” and would help take pressure off testing systems.

“It’s not someone who has been in contact with someone who has been in contact with someone who has been a contact,” Mr Morrison said at a press conference in Canberra on Thursday.

As flagged by the federal government on Wednesday, rapid antigen tests will also be preferred in place of PCR tests in most instances.

Everything you need to know about the new definition of a COVID-19 close contact

What is it? A COVID-19 household contact is someone who lives with a positive case or has spent more than four hours with them in a house, accommodation or care facility setting.

How long would I have to isolate for? Seven days from your exposure with a positive case. People with symptoms need to take a PCR and a RAT on day six.

What if I’m asymptomatic? Then you must take a RAT and, if positive, have a PCR.

When does this come into place? Midnight December 30 for NSW, Victoria, Queensland, SA and ACT. Tasmania will adopt the new definition from midnight on January 1 and NT and WA are expected to follow. SA will keep a 10-day isolation requirement.

Medical experts and business groups are divided on the change in pandemic management.

Australian Medical Association president Dr Omar Khorshid said narrowing the definition of close contact would accelerate the Omicron outbreak, and many more cases would go undetected.

“The change will help to preserve testing capacity and should limit the number of furloughed health workers, but it will come at the cost of accelerating the outbreak,” he said on Thursday afternoon.

“It seems national cabinet is prepared to bet that a massive Omicron outbreak won’t cause large numbers of hospitalisations. Whilst initial data is encouraging, we expect hospitalisations to rise in coming weeks simply due to the very large number of cases, which will be far larger than the positive tests indicate, due to today’s decision.”

Independent public health group OzSage said even if Omicron is less severe, skyrocketing case numbers will inevitably put pressure on hospital systems, and there will be vulnerable people – including unvaccinated children, and people with underlying health conditions – who remain at risk of severe disease.

The group urged state and federal governments to stock up on medical supplies, including oxygen, and ensure there were enough RATs available nationwide.

“A fatalistic approach will be fatal for some people,” the group said in a statement.

But Professor Kelly said Omicron was “less severe” and pointed to data he received overnight from South Africa that showed a “73 per cent decrease in severity”, which mirrored Australia’s experience with the variant so far.

Professor Kelly said rates of hospitalisation, ventilation and numbers of people in ICU all remained “extremely low compared with what we’re seeing with Delta, and in the pre-vaccination era with other variants of the virus”.

“Now that [case numbers] may rise over time as well, but at the moment, that is what we’re seeing – a much less severe spectrum. So that brings about a change.”

Pharmacy Guild national president Professor Trent Twomey welcomed the changes, and said a nationally consistent approach would help pharmacies manage demand for home testing kits.

“Each and every community pharmacist will be better armed to help in the fight against COVID as a result of the decisions taken today,” he said.

National cabinet’s shift signalled a move to a more stable 2022 after the chaos of the past two years, Business Council of Australia executive director Jess Wilson said.

“This will help limit the economic damage and uncertainty created by the Omicron variant, giving businesses and the community clarity about who will need to be isolated and under what circumstances people need to be tested,” she said.

The close contact definition outlined by Mr Morrison closely aligns with rules that have been in place in Victoria since November. In Victoria, only people who live with a positive case or spent more than four hours with them in a private residence, accommodation or care facility are required to isolate for seven days. All other contacts, including social or workplace contacts, are only required to isolate until they receive the results of a PCR test.

On Thursday afternoon, Victorian authorities were working to enact the changes agreed to at national cabinet including the shorter isolation period for positive cases, but it is unlikely the government will sign off on updated health orders by midnight.

with Paul Sakkal

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