Australia is succeeding in flattening the curve but to forge “the road out” of lockdown, Prime Minister Scott Morrison says a “more extensive surveillance regime” needs to be brought in.
He praised the extensive testing and contact-tracing system in place, and the actions from states to open testing to anyone with symptoms.
“But we need to do even better than that… so when we move to lesser restricted environment we can identify outbreaks very quickly and respond to them.”
His government this week proposed a mobile app which would trace the movements of patients – technology also used in Singapore and South Korea – but this has raised privacy concerns.
At least 40% of Australians would need to download the app for it to be effective.
“We need the support of Australians,” said the PM.
“If we can get that in place, get the tracing capability up from where it is, that will give us more options and Australians more freedom.”
Australia has closed its borders and forced a lockdown of non-essential businesses.
People are discouraged to leave their homes, but schools, public transport, shops and outdoor areas remain open.
The nation has confirmed over 6,300 cases but fewer than 100 were detected this week.
