SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Australia needs to move beyond “the heavy hand government” and the authorities need to stop closing down lives through COVID-19 lockdowns. This was Tuesday’s statement by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, who said that daily infected people have risen to a new high.

Over the past few days COVID-19 records have broken, the rise fuelled by Omicron, a more transmissible variant of the virus. Morrison insists that personal responsibility is key to limiting spread.

Morrison said that authorities must get beyond “the heavy hand of government” and treat Australians as adults.

“We aren’t going back to locking downs. “We’re moving forward with the virus, with common sense.

Australia has managed to maintain its COVID-19 levels at 260,000 cases total and 2,154 deaths, thanks to swift lockdowns and social distancing. However, most parts of Australia have been reopening in recent weeks following higher vaccinations despite Omicron threat.

Authorities plan to intensify the use of booster shots. Morrison is urging states and territories to reopen hundreds more immunisation centres that have been closed down since demand dropped to below 80%.

Greg Hunt, the Federal Health Minister said that despite the Omicron variant’s rapid spread, only a small percentage of Omicron cases ended up in hospitals. Although the number of hospitalized patients has increased, it is still far less than in the Delta wave.

Australia reported nearly 4,600 cases on Tuesday. That’s more than the 4100 recorded over the weekend. New South Wales was the Australian state that reported more than 3,000 daily COVID-19 infections. Victoria, which is near Sydney, had 1,245 cases. There are fewer cases in other states.