Time to treat Covid like the flu

At last, after almost two years of workplace restrictions and costly Covid-19 support payments funded by taxpayers, Anthony Albanese and national cabinet made the right call on Friday. It was an ideal time to act, with case numbers falling because of high vaccination rates as the nation approaches summer. The federal, state and territory governments agreed to end mandatory five-day isolation periods and $540-a-week worker support payments from October 14. Despite opposition from the Australian Medical Association, the decision to treat the virus like other infectious diseases such as the flu makes social and economic sense. Nor is it risking health outcomes. National cabinet acted with caution, agreeing that workers in aged care, disability care, Indigenous care and hospitals still would be required to isolate if they caught Covid. In those cases, workers will continue to receive support payments. For now, such provisions are reasonable.

The meeting acted on the advice of chief medical officer Paul Kelly, who correctly judged that while the pandemic was not over and future waves would occur, it was time to move away from “Covid exceptionalism”. The decision followed last month’s national cabinet decision to reduce the mandated Covid isolation period from seven days to five days. Far from throwing caution to the wind, the Prime Minister emphasised that governments wanted to promote resilience and capacity-building, and reduce reliance on government intervention. That approach is likely to produce the most effective outcomes across the medium to long term. Governments also want to continue to “promote vaccinations as being absolutely critical, including people getting booster shots”, Mr Albanese said. Vaccinations are vital for limiting the potentially debilitating effects suffered by those who contract the virus and eliminating, as far as possible, its deadly effects in vulnerable patients.

Friday’s decision was an important step in rolling back the nanny-state approach that flourished in Australia and many other countries during the pandemic. This was a heavy drain on taxpayers and budget bottom lines. It needed to be curtailed, as states and the federal government set about redressing other problems in the health system that arose during the pandemic, such as the blowout in waiting times for public patients to see medical specialists.

NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet made an important point before the meeting when he said personal responsibility, rather than government directives, should determine whether someone stayed at home while ill. The nation needed to “get to a point whereby if you’re sick you stay at home and if you’re not sick, you get out and about and enjoy life”, Mr Perrottet said. Responsible employers and workplace managers agree. The last thing that enterprises large and small want is staff turning up to work ill and spreading their germs to colleagues and customers.

Covid case numbers in Australia have declined steadily since the Omicron wave during the Christmas period last year. The seven-day average has fallen from more than 20,000 cases a day in late March to about 2000 during the past week.

The AMA opposes Friday’s decision. AMA president Steve Robson said Australia already was seeing “a massive effect of long Covid on the workforce and the community”. But, with Australia’s high levels of vaccination and the availability of antiviral drugs, the situation is vastly different to what it was at the start of the pandemic in early 2020. The nation cannot afford to live under emergency-type conditions indefinitely.