Scott Morrison believes Australia is on the "road back" from tackling the coronavirus with some restrictions starting to lift.
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The prime minister pointed to the reopening of elective surgery, schools starting to come back and says it won't be long before some businesses are opening again.
"We are definitely on the road back now," the prime minister told ABC radio on Sunday.
"We'll try and get back to some type of normal."
However, he said until there is a vaccine for COVID-19, social distancing will remain in place and Australians need to make hand hygiene instinctive.
"There has never been more effort in finding a vaccine for this virus and we are hopeful that might mean they get a break through than otherwise might be the case," he said.
The number of coronavirus cases, at around 6700, is small by international standards and is rising at an extremely slow rate compared to a few weeks ago.
However, the death toll rose to 81 after an 83-year-old man, who resided at Newmarch House in Caddens, NSW died on Saturday, operator Anglicare Sydney said.
Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton again warned Australians not to become complacent in trying to contain the virus, but concedes there is a level of frustration among people who want to get out and enjoy the good weather before winter starts.
"But we need to very careful here, we have seen what has happened in Singapore and other jurisdictions at the moment where the second wave has taken place," Mr Dutton told Sky News.
"We want to make sure we can continue the success we have got."
The re-opening of schools remains a contentious issue between the federal and states and territory governments.
However, a study by the National Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance here has found no evidence students at NSW schools have infected staff with COVID-19.
"Our investigation found no evidence of children infecting teachers," the chief investigator Professor Kristine Macartney told The Sun-Herald.
"We have seen an extraordinarily low rate of transmissions in schools," Prof Macartney said.
Meanwhile, a plane-load of Australians and New Zealanders are due to arrive on a rescue flight out of Buenos Aires.
The more than 150 Australians and 20 New Zealanders left the Argentinian capital at 2pm Saturday local time after being stranded in South America since the outbreak.
Australian Associated Press
