PETER STEFANOVIC:
Joining us live now is the Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer Alison McMillan. Alison, good to see you as always. We had some honesty, I suppose, from John Barilaro last night who basically says that the strain, the Delta strain, is out of control; it's running out of control in New South Wales, or in particular Sydney at the moment. Do you find it hard to disagree with him on that front?
ALISON MCMILLAN:
No, I don't- I have to disagree. I think that New South Wales are working- and all of the people in Greater Sydney are working really hard to contain this outbreak. We know this Delta virus is very infectious, and we're simply asking everyone, every single person, to follow the advice, stay home except for those essential reasons, and we will get on top of this.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
You've got to admit though, I mean, the contact tracers, as great as they have been, they're getting overrun at the moment because you've got so many people who've been out in the community while infectious.
ALISON MCMILLAN:
Well, they're not getting overrun. I think that we can have great confidence in New South Wales's contact tracing. And of course, if they need more help, as we've talked on a regular basis at AHPPC, the rest of the country stands ready to support them if that's required.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. Do you think that there should be a fourth stage or an extra stage of restrictions for Sydney at the moment, or are you happy with where things are at?
ALISON MCMILLAN:
I think ultimately that's a decision for New South Wales state. They're on the ground and they're seeing what is happening. Obviously, we monitor the mobility and we've definitely seen less people moving around, less traffic, and they are really encouraging signs that people are now heeding the message and staying home unless they really have to leave for those essential reasons.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
So, what does concern you the most out of what's going on at the moment? Is there a key metric or a key figure that alarms you the most?
ALISON MCMILLAN:
It's always those that we see who've been out in the community whilst infectious, because that's where the opportunity is for others to catch it. So, if you are out and about for any of those essential reasons in Greater Sydney, follow those COVID-safe things that we've talked about. Assume, as the Premier said yesterday, that anyone around you could be COVID positive, and be really careful with the masks, the hand hygiene, and that distancing.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. So, from where you are at the moment, how long do you expect this lockdown to last before it can be brought under control?
ALISON MCMILLAN:
I'm not going to- I don't think I'm going to predict a figure, but what we're looking for is that flattening of the curve that we've talked about for now such a long time, but also seeing that reduction in the community transmissions [audio skip] happening. We will continue to see numbers around- I think around what we've seen for a few days, because we are seeing the transmission in those households. And as people become positive, we'll see those numbers. It's that- the number out in the community that we really want to see reduced.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Okay. It took Melbourne though- it took Victoria, I should say, seven weeks to- from the moment it passed 100 cases a day going back down to zero. It took seven weeks. Can we expect the same in Sydney or is it a bit different?
ALISON MCMILLAN:
That's really reliant on the people in Greater Sydney who are out there needing to follow the requirements and the restrictions. Again, that's really the critical point here that we need to see people following the rules. If they do, we would want to see these numbers reduced. But I can't predict how long this is going to take. This is a new variant, and it is so much more infectious than we saw last year in Melbourne.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
A lot of [audio skip] over Pfizer negotiations at the moment, Alison. Can you respond to claims that the Government dropped the ball on Pfizer negotiations?
ALISON MCMILLAN:
I'm not- obviously not a part of those negotiations, but I do know that everyone involved in this vaccine taskforce has been working incredibly hard to make the best possible deals we've been able to, but I'll leave that political agenda to others. That's not my domain. I'll stick to the health advice.
PETER STEFANOVIC:
Fair enough. Chief Nursing and Midwifery Office Alison McMillan. Always appreciate your time. Talk to you soon.
ALISON MCMILLAN:
Thanks.
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