Australians will have to wait until CHRISTMAS for lockdowns to become a 'thing of the past', Scott Morrison says
Australians will be be able to 'live very differently' by Christmas as the nation's sluggish vaccine rollout picks up, Scott Morrison said.
But the Prime Minister warned the cycle of locking down early over a few Covid cases and only opening up when infections are snuffed out will continue until then.
'I would expect by Christmas that we would be seeing a very different Australia to what we are seeing now,' Mr Morrison said in a press conference on Wednesday.
Australians will be be able to 'live very differently' by Christmas as the nation's sluggish vaccine rollout picks up, Scott Morrison said. Pictured: Bondi Beach on Christmas Day 2020
All Australians are expected to be offered a Covid-19 vaccine by December, two months behind the original schedule due to changing health advice and supply delays.
On July 9, the Prime Minister announced a four stage plan to get Australia back to normal, with each step to be triggered when the vaccination rate hits a certain percentage.
The vaccination percentages required are being calculated by modelling experts at The Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity and will be released at the end of July.
NSW Police patrol Rushcutters Bay in Sydney on Wednesday morning as lockdown continues
'When countries reach a much higher vaccination rate, that gives their governments a lot more options in the suppression options they have to use to deal with the virus,' Mr Morrison said.
'Lockdowns become a thing of the past when you are at that level... we will be living life differently at Christmas than we are now.'
The Prime Minister originally backed NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian when she refused to lockdown Sydney until nine days after the city's outbreak began on June 16.
But he now says locking down hard and early over just a few cases - like other states such as WA have done - is the best move to combat the highly infectious Delta strain.
On July 9, Mr Morrison announced a four stage plan to get Australia back to normal, with each step to be triggered when the vaccination rate hits a certain percentage
'It is clear that the best response in these circumstances with the Delta variant is that approach. I think that is fairly obvious.'
'There is a clear learning here, and that is the approach that I would expect states would follow in the future.'
A total of 17.19 per cent of Australians over 16 have been fully vaccinated.
Sydney's lockdown has been extended until the end of August due to rising cases, with 177 recorded on Wednesday.
What are the four phases of opening up?
1. Vaccinate, prepare and pilot (from July 14)
Arrival caps cut in half to 3,035 a week; lockdowns and state border closures as a last resort; trials of seven-day home quarantine for vaccinated arrivals; medicare vaccination certificates available on apps like apple wallet
2. Post vaccination phase (when an as-yet unannounced percentage of Aussies are jabbed, expected early next year)
No lockdowns or state borders except for 'extreme circumstances'; caps for unvaccinated arrivals doubled to 6,070; home quarantine for vaccinated arrivals; capped entry for students and economic visa holders
3. Consolidation phase (date not announced)
Lifting all restrictions for outbound travel for vaccinated travellers; no caps for vaccinated arrivals; vaccinated people exempted from domestic restrictions; increased caps for students and visa holders; more travel bubbles being set up with countries such as Singapore; booster shots rolled out
4. Final phase (date not announced)
Uncapped arrivals for vaccinated people without any quarantine and uncapped arrivals for unvaccinated people with testing before departure and on arrival
Premier Berejiklian announced the lockdown extension on Wednesday morning as she said 46 of the new cases were infectious in the community.
Health officials found 90 infections in south-west Sydney and 46 cases in the city's west in the 24 hours to 8pm.
NSW Health also confirmed the death of a woman in her 90s at Liverpool Hospital in Sydney's south-west; there are now 11 fatalities across the state linked to the latest outbreak of the Delta variant.
Five million residents in Greater Sydney - including the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour - have spent nearly five weeks under strict home orders in a desperate attempt to slow the rate of transmission in the city.
The new extension will expire on Saturday, August 28 at 12.01am.
Pictured are pedestrians walking with coffees in hand in Darling Point in Sydney's east. The city's stay-at-home lockdown has been extended for another four weeks to stem the spread of the highly-contagious Delta strain of Covid-19
Ms Berejiklian on Wednesday announced she was also ring-fencing three more local government areas - Parramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River - from 11.59pm on Wednesday night in an attempt to contain the virus' spread.
Only essential workers who have a valid exemption will be allowed to leave those LGAs for work. More than two million Sydneysiders living across 94 suburbs in eight government areas are now subject to the tightened travel restrictions.
The state leader said an extended lockdown was the 'obvious' solution given the number of community cases was still increasing.
'It was fairly obvious, given the way the numbers were going in the last few days, it would have not been possible for us to get out of lockdown tomorrow or Friday,' she said.
All Greater Sydneysiders have meanwhile been told they can now only travel 10km for essential shopping if what they need to buy is available locally.
Construction sites will be allowed to re-open with enhanced Covid-safe protocols from July 31 after a two-week shutdown.
From August 16, Year 12 students will return to face-to-face learning and those going into the classroom will use rapid antigen testing to monitor for coronavirus transmission.
ALL THE CHANGES TO GREATER SYDNEY'S LOCKDOWN RESTRICTIONS
From 11.59pm on Wednesday July 28:
Greater Sydney residents including the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, Wollongong and Shellharbour must limit essential shopping trips to within 10km of their homes.
Non-essential workers living in the Parramatta, Campbelltown and Georges River LGAs cannot leave their area for work.
The same rules already applied for residents in Fairfield, Cumberland, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool and Blacktown.
Essential workers leaving Canterbury-Bankstown will need to be tested every three days.
In Fairfield and Cumberland, only aged care and healthcare workers must be tested every three days.
From 12.01am on Saturday, July 31:
Construction sites can reopen outside the eight LGAs under tighter restrictions.
A singles bubble will be opened - allowing couples to visit each other's homes.
Tradesmen can resume work as long as they do not come into contact with residents. That work will also be banned in the eight LGAs of concern.