Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday (May 18) dismissed concerns over a rise in Covid cases, three days before the general election, saying recent deaths cannot all be attributed to the virus.
Read alsoCovid-19: do you still need to get vaccinated?
Australia has recorded 66 Covid-related deaths and more than 53,000 infections in the past 24 hours.
This is a higher toll than six months ago, when the number of cases stood at around 2,000 and fewer than 20 deaths per day.
Contaminations have jumped since the arrival of the Omicron variant and the relaxation of anti-Covid measures.
Few Australians now wear masks or maintain social distancing.
With such a level of contamination, when people die and they are carriers of Covid-19, “
it does not necessarily mean … that they died from Covid
”, Scott Morrison told the press.
No new confinements
Australia declares a coronavirus-related death for anyone with confirmed or probable infection with the virus at the time of death, unless there is another "
clear
" cause of death.
“
We live with the Covid
,” said Scott Morrison, adding that he had absolutely no intention of putting in place new confinements or “
even interfering again in people's lives
”.
“
That's not what I will do if I am re-elected on Saturday.
I'm not going to coach Australia again in this period
,” said Scott Morrison.
His main opponent, Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, whose party is slightly ahead in the polls, for his part stressed that the pandemic remained a risk.
“
We need to step up the national strategy.
We need to look at not only the number of deaths, but also the number of people hospitalized and the number of infections
,” Anthony Albanese said.
Read alsoCovid-19: Australia reopens after two years of closures
More than 95% of people over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated, which the Leader of the Opposition said helped reduce the consequences of the pandemic.
“
But it remains a major problem
,” Anthony Albanese told the Canberra Press Club.
Scott Morrison has been hailed for the significant financial aid given to protect jobs and the economy during the pandemic.
He has, however, been criticized for delaying obtaining vaccines and testing kits.
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