I’ve seen the light: PM urges Aussies ‘not to give in’ as lockdowns bite
Scott Morrison has urged Australians not to be disheartened as lockdowns drag on for more than half the population amid persistent coronavirus outbreaks.
The prime minister struck a positive tone despite the NSW crisis showing no signs of ending, with 452 new local infections and another death on Tuesday.
The entire state is in lockdown along with Melbourne, Canberra, Darwin and Katherine as states and territories battle outbreaks of varying seriousness.
Morrison said it was important for the nation to remain upbeat despite stubborn daily case numbers.
“I know that that can be very disheartening, that it can get you down, but let’s not give up. That’s not our nature,” he told reporters in Canberra.
“Let’s not give in to that. Let’s continue to look forward. Sometimes you can only see the tunnel and not the light, but I want to tell you the light is there.”
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There were a record 279,465 vaccine doses administered in the most recent 24-hour reporting period, amounting to about 200 jabs a minute.
Almost 27 per cent of people aged 16 and over have been fully vaccinated as the nation hunts coverage of 70 and 80 per cent to reach more open phases of the pandemic.
The prime minister expects half will have received one dose later this week.
Labor’s health spokesman Mark Butler said no one bore more responsibility for Australia’s third wave, which has its epicentre in NSW, than Morrison.
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“He’s left Australians dangerously exposed with the slowest vaccine rollout in the developed world,” Butler said.
“Scott Morrison is the most incompetent manager of a crisis in living memory for Australia.”
Melbourne – where a night curfew is now in place – recorded 24 new local infections with a little more than two weeks still to run on the current lockdown extension.
The ACT, which will also be locked down until at least September 2, reported 17 new local cases, taking Canberra’s cluster to 45.
In the NT, where Darwin and Katherine are under tight restrictions, there were no new cases but health authorities are still processing tests.
Medical emergency experts and defence teams are being deployed in western NSW to boost vaccination rates as case numbers grow.
There is significant concern coronavirus could have devastating impacts among Indigenous people with low immunisation rates in those regions.
