How Australia Has Been Able To Control The Covid-19 Virus

The Covid-19 virus has caused substantial upheaval and tragedy across much of the world in the past year. Except for a few regions, most countries have struggled to contain the spread of the virus. Australia is one of the few countries that has been able to keep the virus at bay, which has allowed the country to function with few restrictions after successfully battling a few outbreaks.

Like other countries, Australia has had several waves of infections, and at one point, their cases were surging to over 700 a day. After some diligent effort by the government and its citizens, they have been able to put the brakes on continuous virus surges.

Australia’s Covid Travel Approach

Australia has several notable advantages over European countries and the United States when battling outbreaks, and they have employed a few different policies than other countries that have made a substantial impact on containment. The country’s warmer climate has played a major role in helping to contain their outbreaks. Additionally, because it is an island country, they are able to ensure people do not enter the country from bordering nations unobserved. When it comes to air travel, Australia sees substantially fewer international flights than other regions of the world. Both of these have played a significant role in helping to keep infection rates lower.

The Australian government has also implemented strong measures when there have been surges. While international plane travel is lighter than other nations, the government took the extra step of shutting down all international air travel except by citizens leaving and returning to the country. They also implemented a shut down of some inner state travel in the country during some of the spikes. While allowing citizens to travel outbound and return, no foreign travelers were permitted except by special approval. All people returning to the country were mandated to quarantine under supervision.

Lockdowns, Masks, Social Distancing, and Contract Tracing

The country has been very proactive with social distancing and limiting large gatherings. When an outbreak occurs in a community, they have been able to avoid significant community-spread. The main reason for this is that they have been diligent with contract tracing and quarantining those exposed or who have active cases.

Australia was also diligent in following scientific studies and imposed business shutdowns, mask mandates, and social distancing protocols whenever cases were starting to increase. While these policies have had a negative impact on residents’, businesses, and people’s mental health, just as in other countries, the approach has worked.