Covid Zero Is No Longer Working for Australia
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Australia was, until recently, heralded for its effective suppression of Covid-19; through strict border closures, prolonged lockdowns and its fortune as a remote island continent, the country was able to avoid a large-scale outbreak. The Delta variant has, however, turned that success upside down.
Despite more than half of Australia’s 25 million inhabitants living under very harsh restrictions — including overnight curfews, travel limits of only about three miles from home and limits on outdoor daily exercise to a couple of hours — cases have soared to more than 1,400 a day, the most since the pandemic began. As authorities tighten restrictions, hospitals are reaching capacity with Covid-19 patients, and Australia’s delayed vaccination program is only beginning to gain momentum.
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