Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia 'clearly isn't over yet' and it would be 'very brave' to project when the country would be in the clear.
The Prime Minister was speaking alongside state and territory First Ministers on Friday morning following his first National Cabinet in the top job when he was asked whether the nation was still in a pandemic.
Stream the latest news on COVID-19 with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. Offer ends 31 October, 2022 “Omicron arrived in a way that wasn’t foreseen. What governments have a responsibility to do is to respond to what’s in front of them and that is what we’ve done today.”
“So there has been a substantial delay in elective surgery and those matters in the public health system that have been put off to support COVID, so it is a combination of those two things and that is why I think the decision today was certainly welcomed by every state and territory.”