Australian Health Workers Feel Positive About Pandemic Response

A file image of an ambulance vehicle parked in front of the emergency ward of Royal Perth hospital (Tony Ashby/Getty Images)

Health workers around Australia are feeling confident about the country’s chances to combat the CCP virus, according to a study.

Completed in April, the study by medical research company TKW (pdf) recorded that 92 percent of medical health professionals surveyed believed that Australia was up to the challenge of tackling the virus.

This is a significant jump on the March figures which noted only 40 percent believed that Australia was ready for the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus.

Surgeons and nurses are the most confident in the system.

Other health workers said that the reason they were now so confident was that Australians were complying with the government’s COVID-19 restrictions.

Many of these restrictions were announced in March and at the time many medical workers felt that the healthcare system would become overburdened. This is no longer the case.

TKW noted that health workers “have seen the curve flatten” and are now “optimistic that the healthcare system can cope.”

Four out of five medical professionals also thought the government had been doing a good job.

While they were in favour of the federal government’s “COVIDSafe” contact tracing app, the majority believed that the focus should be on proper hygiene, isolation, and travel bans to keep the spread of the CCP virus to a minimum.

They also thought some restrictions should be eased.

According to the data, 89 percent believed that people should be able to visit immediate family members, while 85 percent thought visiting parks, gardens, and nature reserves should also be allowed.

Respondents also backed a careful rollback of the restrictions, with one Victorian surgeon writing anonymously that it should be taken slowly.

“A slow return to normal starting with less at-risk people and activities” should be the initial move, the surgeon wrote.

The surgeon also wrote that it was essential to maintain “safety precautions with extensive testing, tracking including contacts, and isolating ”COVID +ve“ people or patients suspected of ”being +ve” (until cleared).

He also suggested that the federal government should reinstitute “higher levels of restriction in areas of outbreak or where people fail to adhere to social distancing etc.”

A nurse from South Australia also said not to relax the lockdown too quickly.

“There is a great fear of a second wave. Too many lives are at risk for rapid relaxation of lockdown. Good medical health is more important than economic health,” she said.

The Australian government is expected to announce an easing of lockdown restrictions across the country on May 8.