Premier gives pat on the back to pandemic team

Premier Peter Gutwein says he was greatly impressed by the performance of the team who led Tasmania through the “unprecedented” coronavirus pandemic.

THE team which led Tasmania’s response to the coronavirus pandemic responded magnificently to an unprecedented and fast-moving crisis, Premier Peter Gutwein says.

The Premier appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee of Public Accounts Inquiry into the government’s economic and health expenditure response to the COVID-19 pandemic this morning.

He said the senior public servants and government ministers who formulated the state’s response had done a great job.

Premier Peter Gutwein has applauded the state’s response to the North West outbreak. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“I have never been more comfortable with a group of people working together and being prepared to share information, their thinking in terms of a decision that needed to be made, and their resolve in terms of why difficult decisions needed to be taken,” he said.

Mr Gutwein said the seriousness of the crisis became apparent in February and the first cases detected in March.

“The challenge that we faced became very apparent when we first had those couple of cases,” he said.

“It was a very rapidly evolving situation. All of us became aware very quickly this was one that was incredibly serious for both the state and the country.

“As a matter of import, it was something unlike anything the state or the country had ever seen before.”

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Mr Gutwein said the outbreak in the state’s North West was an example of how unpredictable the disease was. That outbreak infected 127 people and 11 died out of a statewide total of 226 cases and 13 deaths.

“To say that I was surprised by the outbreak in the North West and the challenges that occurred … would not be an understatement,” he told the committee

“This is an insidious, highly infectious disease. I think we have got to look for learnings, but I don’t think we should look for blame here.”