Billionaire co-founder of tech company Atlassian says NSW should go into lockdown now and close its borders to save the economy
- Australian billionare Mike Cannon-Brookes says NSW should go into lockdown
- He said lockdown was 'inevitable' as Victoria battles second wave of COVID-19
- The Atlassian co-founder said Australia should aim for bordered elimination
Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes (pictured with wife Annie) says New South Wales should go into immediate lockdown
Billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes says New South Wales should go into immediate lockdown to eliminate coronavirus in Australia and for the sake of the economy.
The Atlassian co-founder, who is fifth on Forbes' list of Australia's 50 richest people, shared his stance on Monday after new research suggested there was no long-term immunity to coronavirus.
'If COVID-19 immunity isn't long lasting, then Australia should aim for bordered elimination,' he wrote on Twitter.
'Suppression is a slow fail... Then NSW should lock down now?
'40 per cent reduction in cases for every day earlier and lowest overall economic cost.'
The Atlassian co-founder shared his stance to Twitter on Monday (pictured) after new research suggested there was no long-term immunity to coronavirus
Pictured: Three women wear face masks as they walk through Sydney's CBD on July 1
Should a lockdown be imposed, Mr Cannon-Brookes could bunker down at the $100 million Point Piper estate he bought in 2018.
He has also bought an array of other exclusive Sydney Harbour properties along with large country homes.
He said lockdown 'sucks' but was 'inevitable' and acting immediately would be better in the long run.
'My point is if a lockdown is inevitable, the least sucky one starts today,' he continued.
'Up front cost equals least overall cost?'
'Locking down before 25 cases per day will mean far less time than 200 per day like Victoria. And there's less than a week between those 25 and 200!'
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Cannon-Brookes said Australia's physical border provides a huge advantage, permitting quarantine continues to be 'long and thorough'.
Immunity to COVID-19 in recovered patients may only last a few months, a new study conducted by King's College London has suggested.
The research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, found immunity antibodies decrease significantly in the three months following infection. This would mean patients are susceptible to contracting the virus year after year.
According to Forbes, Cannon-Brookes has a net worth of $6.4billion. The 40-year-old is the co-founder and co-CEO of the software company Atlassian.
Cannon-Brookes (pictured), the co-founder and co-CEO of the software company Atlassian, is one of Australia's richest people
Cannon-Brookes said it 'sucks' but lockdown is 'inevitable' and acting immediately would be better in the long run
NSW recorded 14 new cases of COVID-19 as of 8pm on Sunday with four in hotel quarantine, two being NSW residents who caught the virus in Victoria, and eight being linked to the Crossroads Hotel outbreak in Sydney's south-west.
NSW Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant on Monday confirmed an additional eight cases had been reported up to midday - all linked to the Crossroads Hotel.
The outbreak in Sydney comes as Victoria continues to battle a second wave of coronavirus infections in Melbourne.
Of 177 new COVID-19 cases reported in the state on Monday, 151 remain under investigation, a trend that has become a constant in the last week as health authorities work hard to establish links between cases.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the latest infection tally followed three consecutive days of case numbers exceeding 200.
Metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire re-entered coronavirus lockdown at 11.59pm on Wednesday July 8.
Residents can only leave their homes for four essential purposes - groceries, daily exercise, to give or receive care and to go to school or work.
Pictured: Medical staff at a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic in Casula, Sydney, on July 11
