AUSTRALIA needs to adopt a new roadmap to recovery rather than relying on outdated assumptions made in the National Cabinet's COVID-19 Roadmap released in May, the Australian Medical Association (AMA) believes.
AMA National President, Dr Omar Khorshid, said the success of eliminating the virus from parts of the country, combined with international evidence that has shown COVID-19 can rapidly reemerge in places where there suppression strategies have used.
"We believe that a renewed roadmap is necessary to continue to support our health response, as well asguide asustainable economic recovery," he said.
"We also know that even when countries have the virus well under control, it can quickly re-emerge when complacency takes hold and governments dismantle many of the restrictions on day-to-day life that had kept the virus at bay.
"The recent NSW experience shows just how hard it is to keep COVID-19 under control, with the State taking three months to contain its most recent outbreak, despite being caused by only a small number of infected people coming across the border from Victoria.
"While NSW has a highly organised and effective system of testing andcontact tracing, it also relies heavily on a range of restrictions and work-from-home directives.
"Had NSW moved to step three of theMay Roadmap with minimal restrictions, itcould havequicklyfounditselfinthe same position as Victoria."
Khorshid expressed concern over moves to drop restrictions in Western Australia, warning the State was now reliant on border controls and quarantine measures.
"This is a risky strategy," he said.
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