Australian PM Rules Out New Lockdowns Despite Omicron

Australian authorities should no longer place people in lockdowns, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison says. Despite a record number of corona infections in the country, Morrison said Tuesday that the government should no longer act “with the heavy hand”.

Australia registered a record number of about 4600 new corona cases on Tuesday. The high number of infections can partly be explained by the advance of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. According to Morrison, however, it is the responsibility of the people themselves to limit the spread of the virus. “We must treat Australians like adults,” the prime minister told reporters.

Morrison urges to move away from a “culture of mandates”, for example, in the form of a mask obligation or mandatory distance. “We are not going back to lockdowns, but we are moving forward by living with the virus with common sense and responsibility,” he said.

Through strict lockdowns, among other things, Australia has managed to keep the number of corona infections relatively low since the start of the pandemic. However, in recent weeks, society has primarily reopened, despite the threat of the omicron variant.