Question NW1986 to the President of the Republic
25 May 2022 - NW1986
Macpherson, Mr DW to ask the President of the Republic
Whether the Coronavirus Command Council has been disbanded now that the State of Disaster has ended; if not, what is the (a) purpose of the continued existence of the specified Council and (b) legal basis is relied upon for its continued existence in the period after the State of Disaster; if so, on what date was the council officially disbanded?
Reply:
The National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) was established as a committee of Cabinet by the Cabinet in its meeting of 15 March 2020 to coordinate government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic. The NCCC makes recommendations to Cabinet on measures necessary to manage the pandemic.
The NCCC continues to perform this function since, although the national state of disaster has been lifted, the COVID-19 pandemic is unfortunately not yet over.
As a Cabinet committee – which, like all other Cabinet Committees, was established to support the work of Cabinet in whichever form the Executive deems most practical or useful – the existence of the NCCC is not dependent on a national state of disaster being in operation.