A report from the Business Council of Australia, including data from Accenture, proposes a three-step plan to limit “knee-jerk” reactions to future COVID-19 outbreaks and lift international restrictions as early as June.
The BCA also wants a shift in the way public health updates are provided, moving from total positive case numbers to the number of people vaccinated, and more financial support from the federal government for industries yet to recover from the pandemic-induced recession.BCA chief executive Jennifer Westacott said the social and economic costs of the pandemic had been “monumental”, including increasing government debt by $1 trillion.
Under the BCA’s plan, when the earliest phases of the rollout are complete, including vaccinating younger adults with underlying conditions, critical and high-risk workers and the elderly, domestic borders would be kept permanently open and health orders such as capacity limits on venues would be lifted.
“[The vaccine rollout] is our best opportunity to open key sectors of the economy and keep them open as more people are protected,” Ms Westacott said. “Instead of another year of stop-starts and uncertainty, we’re calling on National Cabinet to use the vaccine rollout to give people the ability to plan and get on with opening the country back up.
JennieDuke Then how do you justify bringing Australians back with covid? These individuals are the source of outbreaks that have cost Australians and the economy so dearly.
JennieDuke The lobby group is deceived and wrong! Border closures will continue as the more powerful strains of virus penetrate into Australia. Maybe they have not heard about B1351, B1427, B1429 or Sth American strains which bypass vaccines and neutralise antibodies
JennieDuke
JennieDuke Morrison is in charge of the quarantine and borders by constitution This needs a Federal response