âIt will make us sick but wonât put us into hospital ⦠some people may die, but it will be way smaller than with the flu.
âWeâre forgetting the fact that weâve learnt how to live with lots of viruses and challenges over the years and [Australia] has to learn how to live with this.â
Hrdlicka reportedly told the forum that it was a mistake to believe that Australia could keep the virus out âforeverâ, and said that remaining isolated from the rest of the world posed both a health and economic risk to the country.
âWeâre all going to be sicker than we ever have been in the past because weâre not exposed to the viruses and challenges that the rest of the world is dealing with so we need to get the borders open for our health and the economy,â she said.