Prime Minister has announced a four-phase pandemic exit plan for Australia

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has revealed Australia’s path out of lockdowns and closures following  today’s (2^nd  July) national cabinet meeting.

He has outlined a four-phase plan for “a pathway out of the Covid-19 pandemic” which includes the end of lockdowns, no more domestic restrictions for vaccinated Australians, and unlimited arrival caps for vaccinated travellers.

Mr Morrison said that the federal government and the states and territories had all agreed to the four-phase plan.

Mr  Morrison announced that The following stages at a press conference on Friday, with more detail to be provided later. However  no dates have been set for the various phases, with Morrison saying they were dependent on vaccination targets that are yet to be determined.

By the end of the third phase, the prime minister said Covid-19 would be treated like the flu or “any other infectious disease”. Phase four would be “completely back to normal”.

First Phase:  “vaccinate, prepare and pilot”

Morrison said First Phase would be known as “vaccinate, prepare, and pilot”. Australia was in the first phase  and  the virus continued to be suppressed through restrictions while the vaccine is rolled out.

During this phase, the number of commercial flights to all cities will be reduced by 50 per cent to reduce pressure on hotel quarantine due to the increase risks of the Delta strain.

In response to calls from State Labor leaders, Australia’s international arrivals intake will be slashed to 3035 a week.  It is expected the reduction will be in place until at least the end of the year.

On Friday, Morrison said that some states will trial a system where returned vaccinated travellers will be able to quarantine at home for only seven days, rather than 14 days in a hotel. South Australia had indicated it would be willing to be part of a trial.

Second Phase:  “ post-vaccination phase”

The second phase of the plan will begin once an unspecified vaccination threshold is reached.

Under second phase the international arrivals cap would be restored to previous levels for unvaccinated travellers, with a separate, larger cap for vaccinated travellers.

“The post-vaccination phase will be entered once we reach a threshold of vaccination to be determined by the modelling process we’re currently engaged in,” Mr Morrison said.

Under the phase two, Prime Minsister said that lockdowns would only occur “in extreme circumstances”. Vaccinated residents would also have eased restrictions under any lockdown, or similar rules.

Prime Mister also  said that we would “possibly” be at phase two in 2022.

“It’s hard to give you a definitive answer because we haven’t set what that target is,” he said. “I hope we would be going into that second phase next year.”

Thirds Phase:  “consolidation”

The third “consolidation” phase would be treating Covid like any other infectious disease, Morrison said.  Authorities will “manage Covid-19 consistent with public health management of other infectious diseases”.

 “It is likely we may be in that position in phase two but in phase three, that basically means that the hospitalisation and fatality rates that you would see from Covid-19 would be like the flu,” Mr Morrison said.

Under phase three, there would be no lockdowns, no cap on returning vaccinated travellers, and no domestic restrictions for vaccinated residents. There could also be a travel bubble with countries like Singapore. He also said there would be increased, though capped, entries for international students.

Fourth Phase:  “complete back to normal”

The fourth and final phase would see a return to normal, including uncapped arrivals for all vaccinated people without the need to quarantine and allowing uncapped arrivals for non-vaccinated people subject to pre-flight and arrival testing.

 “You may still have at that point unvaccinated people coming to Australia at that final phase if they’re picked up on testing, there would be pre- and post-flight testing,” Mr Morrison said.

The Prime Minister  declined to set out a timeframe for phase four, or earlier phases.