We’re Months Into The Pandemic And Our Government Still Can’t Agree On What A Hotspot Is
ScoMo is having a hard time getting the states to fall in line
It’s been six months since COVID-19 was officially declared a pandemic, and we still can’t decide what constitutes a hotspot.
Premiers across the country have been declaring hotspots left, right and centre — the problem is, they’re doing it independently. It’s led to a lot of confusion over what restrictions are in place where, and a lot of bickering about border closures.
For example: if you’re in QLD, the whole of NSW is considered a hotspot. If you’re in the NT only greater Sydney is. Brisbane and Ipswich are considered a hotspot in Tasmania, but not in South Australia. Pretty much anyone can get into NSW, but no one is allowed into WA without an exemption.
The one thing premiers can really agree on is that no one wants anyone from Victoria (sorry guys).
Things are confusing, and Scott Morrison is sick of it (or, he’s sick of border closures). He’s pressuring the national cabinet to agree on one definition of hotspot so he can try to pressure premiers to get rid of border restrictions, and bring in localised lockdowns instead.
The poor old thing, Morrison looks like a man who has just learned the State Premiers mute him during their National Cabinet meetings.
— Jeffrey Wood. (@deAmicitia) August 29, 2020
The Federal Government has no control over state borders, but ScoMo says he wants their restrictions to be gone by Christmas. The states are putting up a fight on this, and the issue is going to be the focus of the National Cabinet today.
It may seem pretty simple, but Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth says agreeing on a definition is harder that it sounds.
“It’s certainly very challenging to adopt a national definition of a COVID hotspot, but it may well be something that we need to do,” he said.
“Is it about travel across interstate borders? Is it about the public health measures … there are different reasons why you might want to define a hotspot, and the reasons why you wanted to find the hotspot actually affects the definition.
“You really have to take into account, not just the numbers, but also the circumstances surrounding COVID-19 cases. Are we talking about a densely populated urban area? Are we talking about a town of ten? Are we talking about a remote Indigenous community? All of those circumstances have very different sort of responses.”
Border closures have been politically popular in some areas due to concerns over the spread of coronavirus, but it’s also put pressure on border communities.
The PM has also said he doesn’t want Australians living in a “dislocated nation” during the pandemic, and would like to see a focus on other measures like social distancing and outbreak containment to help us live with the virus (and of course, help the sacred economy).
The Federal Government is expected to announce its own hotspot definition today, but whether the states fall in line isn’t certain.