Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
(Picture: AP)Australia is set to end its mandatory Covid requirements, which state anyone who tests positive must isolate for five days, from October 14.
The country’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the action "does not in any way suggest that the pandemic is finished" but acknowledged the “emergency phase” is over.
Australia’s strict laws during the pandemic led to it being nicknamed "Fortress Australia" but the mandatory isolation had been one of the few restrictions remaining. It is one of the world’s most vaccinated nations with 96 per cent having had two shots, although only 72 per cent have had the booster.
Professor Kelly said the country could still experience "future peaks" but while it records around 5,500 virus cases each day it has been judged safe to return to previous normality.
The Australian Medical Association has opposed the change with president Steve Robson saying: “I think people who are pushing for the isolation periods to be cut are not scientifically literate.”
The majority of Australia’s Covid deaths have come this year after the country opened up its borders to a greater extent after two years of shutdown.
Since the worldwide outbreak in 2020, Australia deployed a suppression strategy with lockdowns, quarantines, travel restrictions and isolation for those infected. It was only earlier this year that it began to ease restrictions as the country learned to live with the virus.
The country's tally of about 10.2 million infections and 15,153 deaths is far lower than many developed economies.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: "It was always envisaged that these measures were emergency measures.”
Also on Friday, the leader announced that disaster payments for workers diagnosed with Covid-19 would end - with exemptions to high-risk workplaces. He said it was “not sustainable” for the government to keep paying for workers to stay at home.
Targeted financial support will continue for workers in some health sectors, including aged care and Aboriginal healthcare.
