Does Australia's Zero COVID Strategy Need To Change?

Australia’s approach to COVID hasn’t changed much since 2020. We are still heavily reliant on lockdowns, on the zero cases target, without a clear path to reopening Australia. Unfortunately, with our vaccinations rates still so low and the Delta strain running rampant, Sydney cannot afford to come out of lockdown right now. But how are we planning to reopen once our vaccination rates do catch up?

Experts have told us COVID-19 will become endemic, and around the world, countries are changing their policies to learn to live with the virus. The UK has almost completely removed restrictions thanks to high vaccination rates and is allowing fully vaccinated people from other countries in with no quarantine. France now allows people to enter restaurants, bars, trains and planes only if they have proof of vaccination, a negative test or proof of recovery.

Australia has been focused on ‘zero Covid’ for a long time, but it won’t work as a long term strategy. Travel bubbles, tackling vaccine misinformation, incentivising vaccinations, opening schools with rapid antigen testing, and home quarantine are all measures within our grasp that can help us work towards a staged and safe reopening. We need a concrete plan to reopen the country that isn’t reliant on zero COVID.

Sove CPAP Clinic is a leading Australian provider of Respiratory, Sleep Disorders, Cardiology and PPE services and products. Based in Sydney, it has a network of 40 clinics nationwide.