Release of Scathing Report into Australia’s COVID-19 Response Forces Australian State Leaders to Defend Pandemic Measures
Australian state and territory leaders—many of whom pursued a zero-COVID or tough suppression strategy—defended their policy response amid the release of a new report calling the country’s COVID-19 measures “excessive” and “harsh.”
The report, ‘Fault lines: An Independent Review into Australia’s Response to COVID-19,’ was also critical of school closures, aged care response and warned there could be long-term mental health consequences.
“Initially, an anxious Australia seemed to accept that far-reaching lockdowns were necessary, even desirable. But the balance between the costs and benefits of lockdowns swung towards costs long before governments were willing to lift them,” the report said….