Our wellbeing depends on clear communication lines

Ahead of its fiscal stimulus package, the Morrison government has rolled out a $2.4bn health plan to support primary care, aged care, hospitals, research and the national medical stockpile to fight the coronavirus outbreak. That’s well and good. But after decisive, early action at the border via travel bans, and moving to a pandemic setting ahead of others, it’s puzzling that the public remains inadequately informed on the most basic questions of how to respond to COVID-19. The government has set aside $30m for an all-media national communications campaign on practical advice in containing the virus and staying healthy. But why is it taking so long to get going?

Sure, we are in a fast-moving situation, with health systems adjusting alert levels and mobilising resources by the day. A national hotline has been overwhelmed by callers; confusion within a vast health system has seen patients given conflicting advice. People seeking tests have struggled to find out what symptoms justified immediate action. The Australian Medical Association asked patients not to clog up the system with unnecessary testing. But most people, trawling through websites, could not easily tell who should be tested, where and when? At the launch of the health plan, Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said there was no point being tested for COVID-19 if you had not travelled or if you had not been in contact with an infected person — even if you had flu-like symptoms. At the moment, there is only one element of significant public transmission and “that’s small and controlled in Sydney”, Dr Murphy said. People who don’t need it are putting an undue burden on testing; capacity is being ramped up through 100 dedicated respiratory clinics and new pathology services in aged care and elsewhere. But the rollout is still six weeks away.

To date, mixed messaging — not always the fault of Canberra — has hindered community action and caused worry. That’s a risk in a federal system, with six states, two territories, a national government and overlapping duties across an entire continent. Scott Morrison claims we are “as well-prepared as any country in the world”. The response has been led by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, the key decision-making body for health emergencies, yet they have not directly run the information campaign. Australia would benefit from a body such as the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, a one-stop, authoritative agency for data, alerts, advice and research. In this crisis, the CDC is proving to be a global resource, America’s gift to the world.

We recognise media have a role to play. Misreporting of Health Minister Greg Hunt triggered a rush to testing centres this week. In trying to reassure the public, the Prime Minister said on Wednesday that medical experts had been “preparing for an event like this for years” and we had the “right tools, information and resources” to keep Australians safe. Did someone lose or forget the comms plan? As we argued on Tuesday, a nationally co-ordinated information push — across multiple platforms — will help overcome rising anxieties and uncertainties. It must be a higher priority. The sooner a mass information effort is rolling, the better we will be able to fight COVID-19.