Roadmap to reopening

Roadmap to reopening

Premier of NSW had given hope to NSW that reopening would be possible after mid-October for the fully vaccinated. The roadmap was queried by many in the past week.

Daniel Andrews, Premier of Victoria on 20 September (Sunday) revealed a detailed roadmap to reopen. It was expected that Victoria would reach the 70% fully vaccinated target on October 26 and there would be partial opening up. When the 80% fully vaccinated target is achieved on 5 November, Victoria will be opened to normal running under social distancing restrictions.

Compared to NSW, Victorians are adopting a more conservative approach. The proposed roadmap was welcomed by many of the public. At least, the light at the long tunnel is visible. However, there are still obstacles for Victorians to go out of this lockdown.

First, from the current trend in vaccination, the 70% target will be achieved on schedule as we have already passed the 70% first dose vaccinated benchmark. There is no reason for the failure of this 70% target with the current ample supply of vaccines. However, to achieve the 80% target, it still needs more promotion. It is still possible that vaccine hesitancy will appear in future.

Second, even though the 80% target is achieved, the CALD communities should not be left behind in vaccination. CALD communities are slow in receiving up-to-date information. The government should organize more campaigns to promote vaccination to CALD communities in order that they will not become victims of the “pandemic for the unvaccinated”.

Third, there are worries that opening at the 80% target will still lead to a burst in the number of infected which in turn will result in a collapse of our hospital system. A 90% or higher target may be needed to avoid this to happen. In such a case, the government will need to develop more measures to persuade and convince those who still hesitated that vaccination is safe and essential in community health care. Public education then comes an important element to achieve this goal.

Fourth, restriction and other social distancing measures are still needed to keep the infected numbers down after reopening. The constant communication and promotion to the public about these measures need to be continued.

Australians need to understand that life after Covid is not the same as before.

Regards,

Raymond Chow

Publisher, BlessingCALD