Omicron Variant Outbreak Hits, Australia Plans To Deploy Defense Troops To Help Care For The Elderly

JAKARTA - Australia could use its defense forces to help manage the COVID-19 outbreak in the elderly care sector which has expanded staff and forced many homes into lockdown, the prime minister said on Friday as the national infection count remained on a downward trend.

The government is under pressure over the spread of the Omicron variant in nursing homes, with Richard Colbeck, Australia's senior minister and aged care services, drawing criticism after he attended a cricket match instead of appearing before a parliamentary committee investigating the outbreak.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he had asked defense and health ministers to see how defense forces could support nursing homes, where many staff have had to self-isolate due to infection.

PM Morrison said about 560 nursing home residents had died since the attack on the Omicron variant in late 2021.

He told reporters the defense forces were not a shadow workforce for the sector, warning against simple solutions to complex problems, but said they should consider options.

"When you're prime minister, and minister of health and aged care, and minister of defence, you have to deal with practical options that work," he explained.

To note, the Australian Defense Force has been involved in managing the pandemic response, with a lieutenant general in charge of vaccine launches and troops being part of lockdown monitoring in major cities.

Daily total COVID-19 infections declined across Australia on Friday and were at their lowest in more than a month, with about 30,000 new cases recorded in the largest state.

Meanwhile, with several states still reporting figures, a total of 81 deaths from COVID-19 were reported on Friday.