Today alone, the new cases have reached 45,000 out of a population of almost 26 million, and representatives of the medical community already say that the health system is on the verge of collapse as the number of people admitted to the hospital increases. The good news so far is that the death toll and the number of people in the intensive care unit are low, compared to other countries in the western world. Today, for example, only four people across the country have died from the coronavirus.
Most of the severe restrictions imposed during the pandemic came in December as the percentage of fully vaccinated people exceeded 90%.
The appearance of Omicron and the rapid spread, however, changed the data. Long queues form outside examination centers, the results are slow to be announced and the nursing staff screams in agony. PCR tests were widely available in the country, but last week the government changed the criteria for who is eligible to have them for free.
Phenomena of scandal
Prime Minister Scott Morrison had said the measure was taken to end the long suffering of thousands of people waiting for hours to be examined. This has resulted in people rushing to get a quick antigen test, only to have to pay for it in most cases. After that, the phenomena of scandal did not take long. The consumer protection authority hastened to denounce them, calling on citizens not to hesitate to hand over pharmacies to the authorities and any other stores that sell these tests at high prices.
The government is trying to appear reassuring. He says enough tests have been ordered and urges people not to pay too much attention to new cases, but more to the small number of deaths and intubations.
The official opposition, however, is not convinced by this rhetoric, and Labor leader Anthony Albanese called on the prime minister to take personal responsibility for the lack of antigen tests.
DW – Themis Kallos, Sydney
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