A proposal to shorten the mandatory COVID isolation period will help, but not solve, staff shortages, a Wagga business owner has said.
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NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said he will push for shortening the mandatory isolation period for COVID from seven to five days at a National Cabinet on Wednesday, as case numbers continue to drop across the state.
Wagga MP Joe McGirr said he agreed with the plan as long as people were also required to return a negative RAT.
He said shortening the isolation period was a practical way to alleviate worker shortages in the Riverina.
"There's absolutely no doubt our region is suffering from staff shortages across a range of industries," Dr McGirr said.
"If the proposal is that people can come back after a negative test at five days, I think it'll help."
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While Larry's cafe owner Sebastian Beard agreed the idea to scale back the isolation period and return staff to work quicker was good, he warned it may not work in practice.
"We've certainly been impacted by staff having to do mandatory isolation periods," he said.
"But I'm not sure if [a shorter isolation period] would have helped us."
Mr Beard said his staff all needed the full seven days to recover from the virus.
When he caught COVID in January, he was forced to close his business for a week while he recovered.
"In those cases where people are largely fine then I think it will be good," he said.
"But common sense should prevail as well."
Glenrock Country Practice general practitioner Ayman Shenouda said the decision to shorten the isolation period was a "medical call".
"The priority is safety and making sure our hospitals can cope," he said.
"We've done that throughout the pandemic and hopefully we continue to do that."
Dr Shenouda said he hoped politicians consulted with health professionals and the latest data before making the decision.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District recorded 1205 COVID cases in the last month.
Last week there were 13 people with COVID in hospital across the local health district. Of those, two were in ICU.
The district recorded 11 COVID-related deaths.
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