An infectious disease specialist leading the global fight against the coronavirus has warned the crisis in Australia ‘is just beginning’.
Singapore-based Australian scientist Professor Dale Fisher said he sees ‘little light at the end’ of the COVID-19 tunnel as the virus continues to spread across the country and the globe.
‘This hasn’t started. I don’t want to be alarmist because this is something we can control, but the world needs to wake up,’ he told 60 Minutes.
‘We’re in a holding pattern until we can get a vaccine or a treatment. Every country really just has to minimise the effect, contain the spread and keep the curve underneath the capacity of the health system.’
Professor Fisher said Australia should look at Singapore’s model for containing the virus – drastic social distancing measures and strict isolation guidelines – and use it as a blueprint.
‘In Singapore we don’t quarantine positive cases. We isolate them,’ he said.
Singapore-based Australian scientist Professor Dale Fisher (right) said the country is facing a deadly few months as the country deals with an unprecedented outbreak
1,354 cases have been confirmed in Australia as of Sunday evening. 533 of the cases are in New South Wales and 296 are in Victoria
‘Once we identify a case, they’re admitted to hospital and they’re kept in hospital. This can take 10 or 12 days until their swabs are clear and then we’ll allow them out and back home.’
Professor Fisher warned Australians weren’t taking self-isolation measures seriously.
‘All I can say is, [Australia’s isolation measures aren’t] what’s done in Singapore or China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea,’ he said.
He said the Federal Government needed to act now to prevent Australia’s hospitals being overwhelmed, which he said would spark death tolls on par with those of the worst affected European nations.
‘If you do it well, the mortality’s going to be around one per cent or less. If you get overwhelmed, then you’re up at six or seven per cent like Italy, making dreadful decisions about who can have the scarce resources,’ Professor Fisher said.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has surged to 1,354 in Australia after South Australia’s total almost doubled in 24 hours.
The spike came as a wide-ranging shutdown of non-essential services was walked back after a meeting between Prime Minister Scott Morrison and state and territory leaders on Sunday night.
Earlier it was flagged only supermarkets, petrol stations, pharmacies, convenience stores, freight and logistics services would remain open, in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus.
But Mr Morrison announced on Sunday night there would be a staged process starting with a shutdown of ‘principal places of social gathering’.
The venues to be closed from noon on Monday include registered and licensed clubs, entertainment venues, cinemas, casinos, nightclubs, indoor sports venues and places of worship.
Restaurants and cafes will be restricted to takeaway only.
Mr Morrison said the step had to be taken because Australians were not adequately sticking to rules around social distancing and the virus was continuing to spread.
‘We cannot have the confidence as a group of leaders that the social distancing guidelines and rules that we have put in place won’t be followed to the level of compliance that we require to flatten the curve and slow the spread and save lives,’ Mr Morrison said.
But he remained firm on the government’s stance to keep schools open.
He warned that the coming few months are going to be a time of uncertainty for Australia and hopes the country will limit the amount of fatalities
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus has surged to 1,354 in Australia after South Australia’s total almost doubled in 24 hours
‘Children should go to school tomorrow. There is no change to the medical expert advice in relation to the medical expert panel, from the states and territories in their advice to the national cabinet, in relation to the health advice,’ Mr Morrison said.
Bottle shops will also remain open as they are considered to be ‘like any other retail premises’.
‘I am deeply regretful that those workers and those business owners who will be impacted by this decision will suffer the economic hardship that undoubtedly they will now have to face,’ the prime minister said.
‘That is a very, very regretful decision. But a necessary one in the view of the premiers and chief ministers and myself to ensure that we can control the spread of this virus.’
Mr Morrison said the government was not locking down Australians in their homes and said the idea had not been discussed.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (right) will close all non-essential services in the state to slow the spread of coronavirus
‘We are not putting in place lockdowns that put people and confine them to their home,’ he said.
‘That is not a measure that has been contemplated at this point. So there is no reason for anyone to do that.’
Chief medical officer Brendan Murphy appeared to criticise the thousands of people who flocked to Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Saturday – leading to its closure – as he justified the implementation of the new measures.
‘What were doing here is we’re dealing with the principle places of social gathering,’ he said.
‘We don’t now have any confidence that those guidelines [on social distancing] will be followed.’
The prime minister earlier said Australia could be locked down for six months as states and territories prepare to take unprecedented measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus.