“This Easter weekend will be incredibly important, stay at home”.
That was Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s message at a press conference at Australian Parliament House this afternoon.
The PM said that Australia’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic had ensured, at both state and federal levels, opportunities to plan a way through and out of the current crisis.
He also said that Australia’s responses had ensured that it had so far avoided the horror scenarios being witnessed and experienced in other countries.
“At around 6000 [confirmed] cases around Australia, less than 10 per cent of those coming through community transmission at this point, we have so far avoided the many thousands, if not tens of thousands of cases that may have otherwise occurred at this point across the Australian community and indeed the many more fatalities that could have also occurred by this point,” Mr Morrison said.
“The daily growth rate in cases has now fallen to just a few per percentage points per day. This has occurred quite rapidly, in fact it has occurred well beyond our expectations in the way that we have been able to bring that daily growth rate down together, and certainly ahead of what all of the theoretical models would have suggested.
“But we must hold the course, we must lock in these gains. It is providing us with much needed time.
“We have so far avoided the horror scenarios that we have seen overseas.”
The PM said that failing to adhere to social distancing rules across the Easter long weekend had the potential to undermine the country’s efforts so far.
“Failure [to stay at home] this weekend would completely undo everything we have achieved so far together, and potentially worse,” Mr Morrison said.
“So all the things we have been asking you to do, day in day out, they apply especially so this long weekend.
“When you normally may have gone out together as family and been out in public places and parks or gone away or wherever you might have been, that is not something you can do this Easter long weekend.
“We have already seen in other countries where major festivals or events or holiday periods have been the spark for significant outbreaks elsewhere in the world.
“It is very important, all Australians this weekend, that you must follow these very helpful and straightforward requests that we make of you in terms of your movements this weekend.”
See the full press conference below.
#LIVE: Update following today's National Cabinet meeting.
Posted by Scott Morrison (ScoMo) on Monday, 6 April 2020
