Peter Gutwein,Premier
The Government’s number one priority remains the health and safety of Tasmanians, and that will continue to be the case as we live with covid in our community.
Two days after reopening, our strong, sensible and safe reopening plan is working as intended.
There were just over 5,700 arrivals into the State yesterday and pleasingly, there was just one additional caution issued for an unvaccinated and unapproved arrival.
Today’s two new cases, along with one from yesterday, are a reminder to keep doing the sensible things as we continue to adjust to living with COVID. This includes wearing masks, which are strongly recommended for people indoors and for those coming from interstate.
Public Health is currently considering whether to make masks mandatory at indoor settings and an update will be provided early next week.
Importantly, our vaccination program continues to ensure the majority of Tasmanians are protected, with 95.54 per cent of those aged 12 and over now having had one dose of the vaccine and today, we’ve hit the important milestone of 90 per cent fully vaccinated for those aged 12 and over.
We are also seeing a surge in demand across our state-run vaccination clinics, GPs, and pharmacies, following ATAGI’s decision to reduce the recommended interval for booster shots from six months to five months.
We have put on more than 10,500 extra appointments at state-run clinics this December, with super clinics running this weekend in Hobart on Saturday and Sunday and Launceston and Devonport on Saturday.
We have also added clinics between Christmas and New Year and will extend these with additional appointments if they fill.
We encourage everyone to stay up to date on information on how you can keep COVID-safe through summer by visiting www.coronavirus.tas.gov.au
