TRANSCRIPT: INTERVIEW ON THE TODAY SHOW, 4 February 2020
7:20AM
E&OE
Subjects: Coronavirus;
ALLISON LANGDON
Well, more now on Melbourne's fresh COVID blow. Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack joins us in Canberra. Good morning to you.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Good Morning.
ALLISON LANGDON
Look, another leak, possibly this dangerous UK strain. Hotel quarantine is a problem for us. What did you think when you learnt of this last night?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Well, indeed and I know Daniel Andrews stood up very late last night and talked about the outbreak. It is only one and hopefully – very, very hopefully – we will be able to ensure that the Victorian Government and the health officials will be able to track and trace everywhere where that person has been and to ensure that people who have been to similar locations can go and get tested immediately and we can nip it in the bud.
ALLISON LANGDON
Michael, every outbreak we have seen has been linked to hotel quarantine. We know it is a problem. It is your constitutional responsibility. We just had Professor Bill Bowtell on the show and he was pretty strong on this that, you guys a year ago, the system you introduced was fine. It is not fine any more. How are you working on it? Have you got a plan? He was talking about potentially looking at Howard Springs in the Northern Territory.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Yes, we have got a plan. Minister Greg Hunt has been very diligent on this every day. We have taken the best possible advice by the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee, working through National Cabinet. I know that Professor Paul Kelly, the Chief Medical Officer, has been extremely, extremely hard-working on this and making sure that we have got every provision in place. But unfortunately, sadly, there will be outbreaks. Every day across the world there are half a million new cases, community cases of COVID-19.
ALLISON LANGDON
Yes, but – sorry to interrupt there – we don't have community transmission in Australia –
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Because we have been very diligent.
ALLISON LANGDON
Until we get a leak from one of these quarantine hotels. It is a big, big problem and the one we have just heard of overnight in Melbourne now means the Australian Open is in doubt. We have got limits on how many people you can have at your house. Do you know if the Australian Open will go ahead now?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
No, well that's going to be a matter for the Victorian Government and, of course, for Tennis Australia. But I think right across Australia a tennis tournament is probably the last thing they are thinking about. We just saw the fires in WA – very, very tragic for those people who have lost homes – 71 properties affected and six firefighters injured, as I understand it and that's very, very sad. Of course, we have got this case in Victoria where, of course, it has concerned the Premier, it has concerned the entire state. Melburnians – Victorians indeed – are now facing new limitations and restriction, as you would expect to be announced by the Victorian Premier. But I say again, no system is going to be perfect. No system is going to be flawless. This is a disease and a virus which, of course, has virulent strains. We are doing our very best and of course, we have changed to ensure that there is testing prior to people coming to Australia. We have put in restrictions on people all the way through and we have had one death in just several months. Of course, that is very sad for that – that was an historic case – but that is very sad of course, for that family. But when you compare what we have done as a country, 909 deaths compared to in other countries elsewhere where they are getting almost two a minute, we have done very well. And we have done very well because Australians have done largely the right thing. And I say to all of those Australians, thank you. We are certainly not out of this yet and we certainly won't be for a long time. We have got the vaccine roll-out schedule very much planned and we are working through the Therapeutic Goods Administration to do that with Pfizer, with AstraZeneca. We have not placed all our eggs in one basket. We have got several different doses of the vaccine. We have got millions of those jabs. We will have them ready to go, to be rolled out later this month. We are doing everything we can as a nation and I know the State Governments are working hard, too.
ALLISON LANGDON
Look – there was a lot in that answer – I note this morning four European countries have now banned the AstraZeneca vaccine for use in the elderly. Do you have a back-up plan for our vulnerable?
MICHAEL McCORMACK
We will go through the TGA – the Therapeutic Goods Administration – and what they will tell us, we will follow. We have always, right from the word go, we have taken the best possible medical advice available and that's why Ally, we have kept Australia as COVID-free as possibly we could.
ALLISON LANGDON
All right. Thank you for joining us this morning, we really appreciate it and as we said, hopefully Melbourne can get on top of this outbreak very quickly.
MICHAEL McCORMACK
Indeed, it is a pleasure.
ENDS 7:25AM