Preparedness would have been great Optimistic messaging emerged even before we knew much about Omicron. Australia’s chief medical officer Professor Paul Kelly said in late November his “number one Christmas present” would have been for a less virulent variant of the virus. After two long years of restrictions, the Morrison government was quick to inject hope and optimism into its rhetoric. But what the government didn’t do was to plan for the worst. Anyone with two eyes could see opening borders and easing restrictions across Christmas when festivals and family get-togethers are on steroids would cause a huge surge in cases especially as a more transmissible variant emerged. Optimism as a tactic could have worked if it was supported by planning — bolstering the PCR testing workforce, getting RAT supplies, sorting out boosters in aged care homes, the list goes on — behind the scenes. As it is, we just got the optimism.

Source: Omicron: reality bites as no planning cancels out government’s optimism