Australian’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison says plans to lift coronavirus restrictions will be considered at the end of next week.
“Australians deserve an early mark for the work that they’ve done,” the PM said at a press conference on Friday. “We can’t keep Australia under the doona. We need to be able to move ahead.”
As the rate of infections in Australia slows, Morrison said the National Cabinet will meet twice next week before an announcement is made on Friday about relaxed restrictions.
He also urged Australians to download the COVIDSafe tracing app aimed at tracing contacts of COVID-19 patients, saying it was a pre-condition and “critical” to relaxing the containment measures.
“The higher the number of people have downloaded the COVID app, the safer we will be,” he said.
Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy added: “We need the app uptake to be higher before we can say that that final piece in the jigsaw puzzle of contact tracing is there”.
Australia has reported about 6,765 COVID-19 cases and 93 deaths, significantly below the levels reported in the United States, Britain and Europe. Growth in new infections has slowed to less 0.5% a day, compared to 25% a month ago.
“It’s like not putting on sunscreen before going out into the blazing sun,” he said. “Our numbers may be low but coronavirus is still out there.”
The PM also announced the government was providing a further $205 million to the aged care sector.
This comes after more deaths recorded among COVID-19 clusters in nursing homes. On Friday Newmarch House in western Sydney recorded its 13th coronavirus-related death.
Some states and territories are already relaxing some social distancing restrictions this weekend.
From Friday, two adults will be able to visit another household anywhere in NSW and also bring their children into the home.
In the Northern Territory, social gathering limitations for non-contact sport, weddings and funerals will be lifted on Friday.
Restrictions on restaurants and pubs will be eased in mid-May and all remaining restrictions removed on June 5.
From Friday, Queenslanders will be able to go for a drive “for recreation” within a 50km radius of their homes.
Riding a motorbike or jetski will also be allowed from Friday as well as boating.
People in the sunshine state will be able to enjoy a picnic, visit a National Park and shop for non-essential items.
With additional reporting by Carly Williams and Reuters.