Yesterday’s announcement of a firm plan for the reopening of Tasmania’s borders provides welcome certainty to those impacted by border closures including Tasmanians separated from loved ones and our hospitality and tourism industries.
Shadow Health Minister Anita Dow said yesterday’s announcement will raise many questions for Tasmanians as we look to reopen and live with COVID in our community.
“It’s clear a large amount of work has gone into the state’s reopening plan, including additional health system capacity,” Ms Dow said.
“However, the question is, will these measures be enough to ensure our health system can cope with a COVID outbreak? Our health system is already at breaking point.
“This government has been in power for almost eight years, if they have had that long to fix the health system and failed, how can Tasmanians feel confident our health system can be ready for an outbreak in a matter of weeks?
“Quarantine, both at home and in hotels is another issue that remains critical, with an increased importance placed on it early in the reopening plan.
“The community need confidence that previous problems with our quarantine system have been addressed following recent breaches.
“It’s also crucial that the government do everything possible to help people across the state get access to a vaccine.
“The government has now set an opening date and they must pull out all the stops to ensure every Tasmanian can get the jab before December 15.
“Tasmanians have worked incredibly hard to get to the point we are at now and yesterday’s announcement was welcome.
“However, it is clear the government has plenty of work to do to make sure our state is prepared for our reopening, more Tasmanians can get a vaccine and our health system can cope with an inevitable COVID outbreak.”
Anita Dow MP
Shadow Health Minister
