Carrie Bickmore reveals the biggest difference she noticed about how Covid is treated outside Australia – amid calls to bring back restrictions Down Under
- Ten’s The Project host Carrie Bickmore said in the UK ‘no-one spoke about Covid’
- She said people on trains were ‘coughing and spluttering’ but it was’t discussed
- Australian daily Covid cases are now regularly soaring upward of 40,000
- Last week Australians aged over 30 became eligible for a fourth Covid vaccine
Carrie Bickmore revealed she was shocked by the lack of Covid conversation during her recent trip to the UK, even though people were ‘coughing and spluttering’ on cramped trains.
Speaking on Tuesday’s episode of Ten’s The Project, Bickmore commented that residents abroad rarely discuss the virus – in stark contrast to Australia where Covid remains a heated topic of debate.
‘I noticed when I was overseas, no-one spoke about Covid. It was really interesting,’ Bickmore told co-host Waleed Aly.
The Project host Carrie Bickmore (above) said she was shocked by the lack of Covid conversation in the UK when people are still ‘coughing and spluttering’ on crowded trains
‘It wasn’t that Covid wasn’t there, I mean we’d be on a packed tube and people were coughing and spluttering.’
Aly said he’d experienced the same thing in the US and chalked the Covid-hush down to long-term relaxed restrictions.
‘The really big difference is … they made a rule that you no longer had to isolate. There was no point, if you got Covid or you didn’t,’ he said.
‘If one of us gets Covid, that’s seven days in isolation. You don’t want to get it because you might have something important coming up and you couldn’t travel.’
Presenter Kate Langbroek added: ‘It’s a tedious conversation… It’s a relief to stop talking about it.’
British residents are recommended to wear face masks in crowded indoor areas but are no longer required to isolate if they test positive for Covid.
Bickmore said ‘no-one spoke about Covid’ during her UK trip despite sick people still crowding on to trains (pictured, commuters in London)
Residents in England are recommended to wear face masks but are not required to isolate if they test positive for Covid (pictured, commuters on a London tube)
Meanwhile, Australia’s daily Covid case numbers are regularly soaring past 40,000 and state governments are considering taking measures to counteract rising hospitalisations and staff shortages.
Dr Kerry Chant urged NSW residents to wear masks earlier this month but did not propose a mandate.
The Chief Health Officer said residents should wear a face coverings when in crowded indoor areas as two more-infectious sub-strains of the Omicron variant, known as BA.4 and BA.5, tear through communities.
‘We have to create an enabled environment to say that actually wearing a mask is an okay thing to do,’ Dr Chant said.
Co-host Waleed Aly (left) said the Covid-hush was likely due to long-term relaxed restrictions in England
However, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said it’s important life remains as normal as possible.
‘I do look back at the lockdown phase with concern that we had to go down that path,’ he said.
‘I would certainly not want to be seeing mandatory orders again in place for a whole range of reasons. I think that if you look at the mental health issues.’
‘Go back to the basic messages. Wear a mask if you can’t socially distance, definitely wash your hands, wash your hands as much as you possibly can, and stay home if you’re sick.’
NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard (above) said it is important for life to continue as normal amid rising cases
Last week Australians aged over 30 became eligible for a fourth Covid vaccine shot to help build immunity against the Omicron variants.
The booster is open to some 7.4 million people despite criticism from experts that the fourth shot is unlikely to protect against the new strains.
‘We are in the early stages of a third Omicron wave and our Government is absolutely committed to making sure as many people as possible are protected with the vaccine,’ Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said.
‘My message to everyone living in Australia aged 50 and over is to make sure you have the greatest protection against Covid by having a fourth dose as soon as possible.
‘If you are aged 30 to 49 and you want that extra protection, you can choose to get a fourth dose.’
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