On October 14, National Cabinet scrapped mandatory COVID isolation. This decision now allows people who are infected with COVID to go to work, school, or enter enclosed public spaces. The removal of this proven and effective measure to reduce community infection will ultimately result in the death and disability of more and more Australians.

COVID has done a lot of damage this year. It became Australia’s third most common cause of death, killing more people than stroke or lung cancer. It killed 40 times more Australians than influenza - and without the isolation rules that National Cabinet has just abolished, it would have killed even more.

Additionally, up to 400,000 Australians are now suffering from the long-term effects of COVID, with that number set to increase as new variants inevitably lead to yet another wave of cases. Long COVID has debilitated scores of previously fit and well Australians, most of whom were vaccinated and infected with Omicron. The COVID pandemic continues to be a mass disabling event, and the risk of serious complications increases with each reinfection.

The decision to end mandatory COVID isolation is a massive blow to the clinically vulnerable, their families, and their carers. Those most at risk are now effectively excluded from Australian society. Of particular concern are babies, toddlers, and preschoolers with cancer, congenital heart disease, type 1 diabetes, and other types of severe immunocompromise, disability, or complex health problems. These high-risk kids have only just gained access to the Moderna under-5s vaccine, and are not yet fully vaccinated. The axing of mandatory COVID isolation has left them unprotected.

National Cabinet made its decision without consulting the AMA, AHPPC, or state Chief Health Officers. Australia's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly, gave National Cabinet the green light in a submission that is factually incorrect in parts. We call on all parties to do better.

As Australian Medical Association president, Professor Steve Robson, put it, "I think people who are pushing for the isolation periods to be cut are not scientifically literate and are putting the public at risk and they need to understand that."

Professor Brendan Crabb, a microbiologist, and chief executive of the Burnet Institute said, “It’s disappointing, a pretty dark day. You know, it’s illogical and uninformed, for me I find it distressing.”

Craig Wallace, head of policy at Advocacy for Inclusion in Canberra and a spokesperson for Australians Against COVID said the decision, “Was a gut punch for medically vulnerable people.”

If you believe we should protect the health of all Australians by reinstating mandatory COVID isolation, please sign the petition.

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