As of April 7, 00:38 GMT, Australia has a total of 5,895 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 2,432 patients completely recovered. Health officials are optimistic that Australia is on top of things in dealing with the pandemic. It has been nearly three weeks since Prime Minister Scott Morrison declared the health issue as a “human biosecurity emergency.” Since then, the government implemented stricter restrictions to flatten the curve. Billions of dollars were spent to support the country’s economy and provide financial support to businesses, employees and residents. The Department of Health’s Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy is optimistic that Australia has a strong chance of winning. The percentage of people recovering is picking up with new reports everyday. Last Sunday, the number of cases rose by 139. According to Murphy, that increase is “probably the lowest rise” so far. “It does tend to continue the trend we’ve seen of flattening the curve. We’re increasingly confident that if people continue to adhere to what we’ve been asking them to do we can prevent a situation as we’ve seen in many other country around the world,” he explained.

Warning against complacency

Murphy along with the Health Department is hopeful in the coming weeks. However, they made it clear that everyone should be more cautious and not downplay social distancing measures. According to deputy chief medical officer Nick Coatsworth it is vital for Australia to keep at it with these safety measures. “If we do stop these measures to early, then we have seen graphs in the media showing there could be a resurgence in cases so we have to be careful on those grounds,” he said.

Research by the University of Sydney (USYD) revealed the country is close to reaching the pandemic peak.  The study indicates active cases could peak in mid-April. Professor Mikhail Prokopenko said “Our research shows that if we continue with current social distancing measures the total number of people who will contact COVID-19 over the course of the Pandemic in Australia could be about 8,000 – 10,000 people. ’”An earlier USYD report also revealed that the country can control the spread in 4 months. If at least 80 per cent of the population practiced social distancing.