'Hermit nation': World's disbelief at Australia

Victoria's Chief Health Officer revealed yesterday the requirement for mandatory mask wearing to be scrapped in Victoria.

Mask wearing in public has been one of the rules Premier Daniel Andrews has said would be a feature of the rest of the year and possibly into 2021.

But Professor Brett Sutton has shed some light on exactly what Victorians need to do for the rule to be eased.

"Clearly if there is no transmission at all, masks are not a requirement," he told reporters on Sunday.

"What we shouldn't be complacent about is thinking that if we've got a few days with no cases, that there is never a requirement for masks.

"Country Victoria went for a few weeks with zero cases but all the people of Shepparton, I'm sure, were very happy that they were wearing masks at the time that there were three active cases out in the community for over a week before we understood that they were active cases."

Picture: Asanka Ratnayke/Getty Images

Professor Sutton said mask wearing was important when there is still the potential for transmission events to occur.

"We will be transitioning from universal mask-wearing to maybe indoors only, to maybe just high-risk settings at the appropriate time," he said.

Prof Sutton was asked how many days of zero cases needed to be recorded across Victoria "before we can take off the masks".

"It's not entirely clear," he replied.

"We've got a roadmap where we've talked about the 'Last Step' coming with 14 days of no new cases. That would be a significant achievement.

"It is absolutely not impossible and we're on track for that in November, that would be great. Twenty-eight days of no cases and no active cases, we've talked about as the 'COVID Normal Step'. That's also within reach and we'd make decisions about masks for those thresholds as well."

The world appears to be flabbergasted by Australia's crushing response to COVID-19, while the virus causes mayhem across the rest of globe.

Articles published internationally over the weekend highlighted our monumental success, reporting that yesterday was first day of no community transmission cases of virus in 145 days.

The New York Times ran a piece saying Australians now embrace the isolation they tried to escape for so long, but that our rules are so strict they've essentially turned us into a "hermit nation".

The author wrote that our rules were so strict they "seem like something out of China or North Korea".

"The virus has turned this outgoing nation into a hermit. Australia’s borders are closed, internationally and between several states." the author wrote.

"Rather than chafing against isolation, though, Australians these days are more willing to smile in the mirror. Island living looks like a privilege when the world is pestilent. "

American current events opinion website Business Insider said we had a an advantage over most countries from the start.

"It’s an island with relatively low population density," they wrote. " But its rules were still far stricter than in many other countries."

Australia's success comes amid sharp rises across the rest of the globe.

The US reported 99,321 new Covid-19 cases today – the highest single day number of cases recorded for any country to date. It marks an alarming jump of almost 11,000 more cases compared to yesterday.

Meanwhile the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced a national lockdown after passing one million coronavirus cases, and France is recording around 50,000 new cases daily.

Freshly after being re-elected, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirmed she will stick with her plan to keep the state’s borders closed to Sydney and Victoria until at least the start of December.

Asked at a media conference on Sunday whether there would be any change to the border policy in the near future, Ms Palaszczuk said they would continue to review borders at the end of the month as they have done throughout the pandemic.

Picture: Tertius Pickard/NCA NewsWire

"That’s exactly what I’ve said to the people of Queensland, I’ve been entirely consistent on this and we will do whatever (Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette) Young says, her health advice to keep Queenslanders safe,” she said.

“I realise there are a lot of people out there who voted Labor for the very first time, who put their trust in me for the very first time, and I want to pay that respect back.

“I know that was a very tough call for a lot of people, but a lot of people stopped me in the street…and they said ‘thank you for keeping us safe’.”

Ms Palaszczuk said the news that the UK was going back into lockdown showed what could happen if strong measures weren't taken to halt the spread of COVID-19.

"I mean that's going to take a huge toll on their economy. You can't have an economy if you can't control the health virus," she said.

Yesterday Australia marked what can only be described as an incredible milestone – the first day of no community transmission cases of COVID-19 in almost five months.

Federal health minister Greg Hunt shared the information from the National Incident Centre on Twitter on Sunday.

"Thankyou to all of our amazing health & public health workers & above all else the Australian people," he said.

The Prime Minister praised Australians for their hard work, but pleaded with people to remain "COVIDSafe".

"Well done Australia," he tweeted. "How good! Let’s keep it that way. We’ve seen here, and are seeing again overseas, how quickly this virus spreads, so please stay COVIDSafe."

Well done Australia. How good! Let’s keep it that way. We’ve seen here, and are seeing again overseas, how quickly this virus spreads, so please stay COVIDSafe. https://t.co/WcL4VytvJL

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