Corona Control in Australia

Australia has a few major advantages that is indeed keeping the numbers low, and decreasing the rates of new cases:

1. Geography. Being an island nation, shutting down the borders is quite a strong tool to use. It was used early, albeit not quite early enough
2. Population density. It is low in Australia. 407 per SqKm in Sydney, 317 in Perth, 453 in Melbourne. Contrast to New York which is 10,194 and London which is 5,590. Several studies have shown that population density increase transmission rates of a virus. I was discussing this with a friend of mine who stated “Well, if you live like rats….”. A bit harsh in my opinion, but not without an element of truth.
3. Living conditions. A lot of Australians live in decent sized housing with back gardens. So staying at home isn’t as mentally draining as a nation where apartment-based living is the norm. This means better compliance.
4. Clever work from the government. The government have drip fed the lockdown. Starting minor, then slowly increasing the severity. We’re still not on full lockdown. This slowly slowly approach has ensured good compliance from the population.
5. State governance. Each state has its own laws. Each state is also very different. So different laws for different states has encouraged a more customisable approach in the country. For example, Western Australia has locked down not only the international borders, but also the national borders. So even Australians in other states can’t enter WA. Harsh and draconian, but that is exactly what is required. As a Western Australian, the passing of this bill was very welcome.
6. Testing and tracing. Australia has led the way in terms of testing and tracing, with one of the highest population testing % in the world. The authorities will then trace and test every contact made within the last 2 weeks by a positive patient. This helps identify and isolate positive cases, and keeps the numbers low.
7. Harsh adherence requirements. Australia is a fair country. It’s the national anthem. “Advance Australia Fair”. So when the border lockdown was announced, overseas citizens were still allowed re-entry, so long as they self-isolate for 2 weeks. It became apparent that not everybody was self-isolating after returning from overseas, so enforced isolation was employed, and returning citizens were whisked off to a hotel for 2 weeks, and many are still there right now. There has been a lot of whinging from them, but literally nobody cares. “Stay in your hotel and shut the **** up” is the general vibe from the public.
8. National pride. Australia is a proud nation. Even immigrants are proud of being Australian. We love our country. So when our country is under threat, we will do what is required to look after it. So when the PM says “I’m happy to kill our economy to save our country if you just do what I ask”, we do what he’s asks.Corona Control-