Coronavirus, zero new cases in Australia: The strategy that works

After a three-month lockdown that ended last week, the Australian state of Victoria registered Zero new cases of Covid-19 For the eighth day in a row. The Strict restrictions The application, which mainly affected major cities, prevented the virus from spreading, and reduced new infections from 700 daily infections (peaking in August) to zero.

How Australia Defeated Covid

The A strategy implemented by the Australian country against Covid It has distinguished itself for being one of the toughest in the world. Three months after the suspension, during which citizens were not allowed to leave except for emergency evidentiary reasons. In recent weeks, shop shutters have been reduced, retail sales suspended and people’s movement restricted to a bare minimum.

The Piano vs. Covid Dell, Australia It is not designed to defeat a virus which, in general, can only be considered extinct after 28 days without locally acquired infection (i.e. source unknown and therefore untraceable). From the start, as the federal government made clear, the state’s goal was not to broadcast society. This strategy, as explained, is known as “Suppress aggressionIt is based on early detection of new cases and suspension of transmission chains.

A plan that works in the end: According to experts, in fact, if infections in Victoria remain zero and in the rest of Australian territories, new cases are kept to a minimum (as now, with only 5 positive cases recorded in NSW), Covid can be extinguished permanently in Australia. This is because the two states (Victoria and New South Wales) are responsible for 90% of the Covid-19 cases and 96% of the deaths.

Hassan Valli, an epidemiologist at La Trobe University, said: “Nobody knows what will happen next week in Victoria, but it is not acceptable to think that the number of cases will remain zero for another week or so, and then, technically speaking, we can say that we have eliminated the virus. “. On the other hand, others prefer to wait for a vaccine before talking about the final defeat.

Coronavirus, Australia’s strategy

On Tuesday 7 July, Australian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews A. Six weeks block, Melbourne residents are ordered to stay home. Citizens are only allowed out for work, health reasons, or basic necessities. A month later, in August, as the infection curve continued to increase, The restrictions are extended to the entire country And in Melbourne Night curfewSchools have been closed, and many retail, manufacturing and hospitality activities have been suspended.

The Covid-safe piano Australia is divided into Three phasesWhich takes into account the different regional situations and the spread of the virus at the local level. Depending on the severity of the situation, in fact, each region had the opportunity to tighten restrictions and impose new ones.

Moreover, every traveler from abroad had to undergo mandatory quarantine in Australia in recent months, and depending on the number of infections, more or less, each country separately had the ability to:

• Closing the country’s borders and limiting travel in and out;
• Restricting travel in and out of areas within the same territory;
• Imposing a 14-day quarantine on people who have traveled during the lockdown.

In Victoria, for example, travel to and from the state has been suspended, as the government implemented Phase 3, with stricter restrictions and stricter rules for travel.

In contrast to what happened in Europe, where protests against the second lockdown filled the streets in the United Kingdom, Germany and Italy, In Australia, citizens have proven themselves quite compact In accepting restrictions. This is partly due to the popularity of the state’s Labor government, which won the 2018 election with a surprising number of votes in its favor, but also due to Prime Minister Andrews’ high approval ratings. Moreover, to keep the balance stable Public aid ($ 1,500, roughly € 1,000, for all people who cannot self-isolate) and many Court fees of up to $ 20,000 (more than € 12,000) for violating solitary confinement orders.

The other side of the coin

Certainly, it entailed limitations Massive sacrifices for citizens. As contagion decreased, the economic and social impact of Melbourne’s second lockdown was enormous. The Australian government estimates that an average of 1,200 jobs are lost per day in the state, while the demand for social care services has increased by more than 30%.

Australian State Register Cluster $ 100 million daily losses (More than 600,000 euros per day). Companies in the country said it could take years for Melbourne, which was ranked second in the world for the standard of living in the world last year, to recover. And this is a grim reality that political leaders will inevitably have to deal with once the health emergency is completely over.