Prime Minister Scott Morrison says it’s the government’s goal to move through a three-step plan to achieve a COVIDSafe economy by July of this year.
After discussions with states and premiers this morning, in a much anticipated National Cabinet meeting, Morrison has outlined the plan for the weeks and months ahead as we begin to emerge from weeks of isolation.
"So many Australians are hurting right now, because of painful separation from their loved ones. Livelihoods that they've spent a lifetime building that've been stripped away, and the uncertainty about their futures and their family's future.
"Be encouraged that we are successfully making our way through this difficult battle, and we're certainly doing it better than many and most. We have been fighting the virus and we are winning," he said in a lunchtime press conference.
The three-step plan and national framework announced by the Prime Minister is as follows:
Step One.
- Gatherings up to 10 people in businesses and in public, and five guests in your own home.
- Children back in classrooms and in playgrounds in their communities.
- Working from home, if able.
- Recreational activities such as golf, lap swimming and boot camps.
- Retail and small cafes and restaurants reopening.
- Outdoor bootcamps restarting.
- Local and regional travel.
- An easing of restrictions for funerals with up to 30 attendees, outdoors, and 10 at weddings.
Step Two.
- Gatherings of 20 people in your home, business or public spaces.
- More retail openings on sector based COVID safe plans.
- Working from home, if able.
- Organised community sport to start.
- Gyms reopening.
- Beauty parlours reopening.
- Amusement parks, galleries and cinemas reopening.
- Interstate travel.
- Caravan and camping grounds reopening.
Step Three.
- Gathering sizes increased to 100.
- Return to workplace.
- Nightclubs, food courts, saunas reopening.
- All interstate travel.
- Consider Cross-Tasman, pacific island and international students travel.
The Prime Minister says that there isn't a "set timeline" for these steps to be enforced, and it's up to states and premiers to implement each stage as they see fit.
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy added that: "Step one is well defined, step two - a bit more work to be done - and step three, there's still a lot of discussion to be had before we can well define it properly".
"The pace, will totally be up to the states and territories. [They've] asked me to stress there should be no expectation of step one starting on day one," said Scott Morrison.
WATCH: Morrison outlining step one.
"In this plan, we walk before we run. We know we need to be careful to preserve our gains, if we wish to reclaim the ground we lost, we cannot be too timid. There will be risks. There will be challenges. There will be outbreaks, there will be more cases, there will be set backs. Not everything will go to plan. There will be inconsistencies. States will and must move at their own pace, and will cut and paste out of this plan to suit their local circumstances. There will be undoubtedly be some human error. No one is perfect. Everyone is doing their best."
Morrison says the framework will see 850,000 jobs restored in coming months, reiterating that "every job matters, no matter what job you do. Every job is essential".
With a bolstered health system, and all of the protections needed in terms of testing and tracing capabilities, ventilator and ICU bed numbers, and JobKeeper and JobSeeker up and running, Scott Morrison says we are now in a position to focus on building the momentum that will see our economy get back up and running.
"Today our focus is on the road back. Today, we have put Australia in a position to go forward," he said.
He also added during questioning that more than five million people have downloaded the government's COVIDSafe app, with the much anticipated source code expected to be released later today.
Feature image: Getty.