Australian premier opposes continued COVID-19 lockdowns

ANKARA (AA) - Australia's prime minister on Monday opposed more lockdowns against the coronavirus pandemic, which he said people would have to live with as they do other infectious diseases.

Voicing concern over the continued lockdowns in some states of the country and their economic impacts, Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in the capital Canberra that his government had already devised a nationwide plan to vaccinate 70% to 80% of the population to live without fear of COVID-19.

"The national plan we have developed and agreed is our pathway to living with this virus. That is our goal, to live with this virus, not to live in fear of it. It is a plan based on the best possible scientific, medical and economic advice," he said during the press conference.

He suggested that state governments focus on COVID-19 vaccinations instead of lockdown measures and ensure that 70% of the population get vaccinated.

Underlining that the country must continue to vaccinate at the current "record pace," he said: "We must ensure that our public health systems are ready for the increase in the number of cases that will occur."

"And we must adjust our mindset. Cases will not be the issue once we get above 70%. Dealing with serious illness, hospitalization, ICU (intensive care unit) capabilities, our ability to respond in those circumstances, that will be our goal," he said, adding that "we will live with this virus as we live with other infectious diseases."

On Friday, the state premier of New South Wales (NSW) extended lockdown restrictions in Sydney until the end of September and new measures, including a curfew, were introduced after a spike in the more transmissible Delta variant of the coronavirus.

Morrison said the lockdowns now being endured are taking an extremely heavy toll, both on the mental and physical health of Australians and on the country's economy.

On Aug. 21, the NSW recorded a record 843 cases, while on Monday, it reported 818 cases, according to the state's Health Ministry.

Australia registered 44,920 cases and 984 deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.

To protect people from the deadly virus, 17.15 million people have so far gotten their first vaccine dose in the country, while 6.2 million have been fully vaccinated, according to Health Ministry data.

*Writing by Islamuddin Sajid