Australia registers record Covid-19 cases, to keep economy open

Sydney, Australia, Jan 3 (EFE).- Australia reported Monday a record of nearly 40,000 Covid-19 infections in the last 24 hours, while Prime Minister Scott Morrison stressed he would stick to his plans for economic reopening.

Morrison insisted that the pandemic had to be managed differently now so as to be able to live with the virus, allowing people to keep businesses open and earn their livelihood.

“The issue is how we’re managing the impacts on the health system and that’s why ensuring we have sensible rules that allow people to go back to work – and that’s exactly what we’re doing – to ensure we can get on with it,” Morrison told local Channel 9 broadcaster.

Australia has so far implemented a strict lockdown despite relatively fewer numbers than most countries.

Since Nov.1, it had begun to gradually reopen its international borders as a part of its progressive return to economic normalcy.

However, in recent days, the daily number of Covid-19 infections has increased manifold, compared to the around 9,600 cases during Christmas.

“It is important that with the rising case numbers that we see that the severeness of this illness has already been shown to be about 75 percent less than what we saw with Delta,” said the prime minister. EFE

wat/sc