Australia: Casual workers support return of COVID-19 payments as cases rise
July 16, 2022
Prime minister Anthony Albanese has announced after a national cabinet meeting that emergency pandemic payments will be reinstated until 30 September. Photograph: Paul Braven/AAP
A young NSW casual worker has welcomed the possibility of the federal government re-instating the pandemic leave payments as COVID-19 cases surge across the country.
Kiralee Pearson, 21, is a casual worker who tested positive to the virus earlier this week and is now forced to go without an income all while raising her 13-year-old sister alone.
“I’m almost at the end of my isolation but as a casual worker that means no sick leave, so yeah, I’m raising my 13-year-old sister as well,” Pearson said.
Pearson welcomed the possibility of the Albanese government bringing back the pandemic leave payments following a meeting of national cabinet today.
“It’s just less stress on my shoulders. When you’re sick you’re already worrying about things and you don’t want extra stress at all and it’s a weight off,” she added.
Infectious Diseases Expert Professor Robert Booy has also welcomed the return of the pandemic leave payments to support workers through yet another Omicron peak.
It’s the right one. It’s only for a couple of months. It won’t cost that much,” he said.
“The situation has changed with Omicron, we have BA.4 and BA.5 causing real trouble so it’s a good idea to extend the payments for at least a couple of months.”
Leaders will meet this morning at national cabinet to discuss the surging COVID-19 cases and rising hospitalisations.
Booy said even if you have had one of the Omicron variants before it is likely you can catch one of the new variants.
“It is likely to be bigger than we’ve seen before,” he said.
COVID-19 cases remain stubbornly high in NSW and Victoria
New South Wales recorded 11,082 COVID-19 cases and 38 deaths.
NSW Health said some of these deaths are historic.
There are 2024 people in hospital with the virus and 66 in ICU.
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