Australia remains in the “suppression phase” of the current coronavirus outbreak, according to Prime Minister Scott Morrison, as he urged Australians to continue to adhere to the restrictions and guidelines that have been put in place by each of the state and territory governments.
The prime minister assured the public that, while Australia is tracking well, current social-isolation measures will remain in place for some time, as the government focuses on continuing to slow the spread of the virus which has so far killed a total of 27 people across the country.
“I can say this, that had the virus kept growing at the same rate it was 12 days ago, we would now have more than 10,500 cases in this country,” he said during a press conference outside Parliament House this afternoon. As of Friday afternoon, the total number of confirmed cases in Australia sat at more than 5,000.
“At the current rate if we keep doing what we’re doing and keep doing the work to upgrade ICU capacity and secure the extra ventilators then right now that trajectory is promising, it’s encouraging, but there are no guarantees.” Morrison added.
“This virus writes its own rules … We are tracking well but can take none of that for granted.”
The prime minister also touched upon the issue of upcoming Easter services that will be held next weekend across the country, and clarified that – for the purpose of social distancing – churches will now be classed as workplaces.
This means that any additional ecclesiastical figures or religious leaders required to hold these important religious services will be able to do so, as long as social distancing rules are adhered to, including the four square metre per person rule.
However Morrison, himself a devout Christian, stressed that churches and other places of worship are not open, with congregations reminded they are only permitted to ‘attend’ these services virtually.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy also spoke during the press conference and described Australia’s testing process as “probably the best in the world”, as he confirmed that the growth rate of the virus has fallen as a result of the social distancing measures that are being enforced nationwide.
However, he also stressed that he is still concerned about the growing number of community transmissions, of which there have been over 300 in Sydney, 60 in Melbourne and 30 in Brisbane.
“That means there are people who have Covid-19 and don’t know it,” Murphy said. “And that is why we’ve introduced these social distancing measures.”