\n\n“Australia enjoyed plenty of advantages over the United States in containing Covid-19. It has no land borders to speak of. Its population density is very low (though the population is concentrated on the coasts). Its outbreak never got nearly as bad as the US\u2019s did. On its worst days, Victoria saw about 700 new cases; Missouri, with (very roughly) a similar population and landmass, is currently averaging more than 3,000. Some of the Australian states also closed their borders to the others, which lowered the risk somebody might bring Covid-19 from one part of the country to another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the Australian epidemic has also mirrored America\u2019s in important ways. Once the coronavirus arrived in the spring, the country went into lockdown. When cases abated, some of those restrictions were eased \u2014 and, before too long, Covid-19 cases were spiking again. Each state was responsible for its own response, with the federal government playing an advisory role outside of obviously national issues like foreign travel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the second wave, Victoria was by far the hardest-hit state. Its case numbers were dwarfing those in every other state including New South Wales, home to the country\u2019s other great metropolis, Sydney.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The state had gone into a stage 4 lockdown \u2014 most businesses closed, there was a nightly curfew, and residents were ordered to stay within five kilometers of their home \u2014 in August, and it was then extended in September, with the explicit goal of eventually reaching zero new cases.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They treated the threats to public health and the economy as intertwined, which most experts agree they are. The Australian states that contained Covid-19 best also saw the strongest economic recoveries. Victoria, with the worst outbreak among the states, was lagging behind in consumer spending and business revenue.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“\u201cWithout elimination, the third, fourth, or fifth wave is an inevitability. This will either involve more lockdowns or the government will lose the social license to do lockdowns and the virus will spread indiscriminately,\u201d Duckett told me over email, perhaps unwittingly describing the very challenge before the United States during this winter surge. \u201cA hard lockdown in the early stages of the virus gives a chance for elimination, and that gives the chance for business certainty and a full recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Melburnians are now enjoying the benefits of their sacrifices. Duckett said he had just gone to lunch with a few friends before responding to my email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The US probably cannot achieve zero Covid-19 cases anytime soon. But it could embrace the spirit of the Victorian model: a clear goal, support for the proven mitigation strategies, and a commitment from the public.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They expanded testing, including random pooled testing and testing for workers in essential industries and of people attending schools or other indoor events. They achieved 24-hour turnarounds for test results, so if a person tested positive, they could quickly isolate. Once cases reached zero, the state was planning to start testing sewage for Covid-19 to get a head start on any resurgence.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“\u201cA system that relies on self-isolation in which people are unable or refuse to self-isolate cannot succeed,\u201d Duckett and Mackey wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That probably sounds draconian to Americans. Certainly, the harshest lockdown measures taken in Victoria \u2014 requiring people to stay within a few miles of their house and stay inside completely at night \u2014 would be politically challenging in the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Australians took it in stride because they knew the goal they were working toward.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The government there made it easier for businesses and workers by providing subsidies to businesses to keep people employed and by increasing their unemployment benefits \u2014 the same policies that the US has let lapse and is now struggling to reinstitute<\/a> even during this devastating winter wave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As cases dwindled, the lockdown measures were relaxed in a clear, tiered fashion. The extreme travel restrictions were the first to go. Schools and businesses could reopen with spacing. Masks continued to be required indoors and on public transportation. Eventually, all restrictions except for international quarantine could be lifted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things could still go wrong for Victoria and the rest of Australia. The state has started prioritizing<\/a> having \u201cnormal\u201d conditions for the Christmas shopping season over maintaining zero new cases. But it is easier to focus on reopening when community spread is eliminated \u2014 rather than pushing forward with reopening in spite of sustained spread, as the US has done<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n …<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I don\u2019t believe it was impossible for America to execute a similar strategy to the one that has succeeded in Victoria. Polls showed most Americans did support wearing masks<\/a> and other mitigation measures, even if there was some divide among partisans. They worried<\/a> that social distancing would be relaxed too quickly, not too slowly, much like the Australians did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The problem, or one of them, is that the US just never set a clear goal for Covid-19 suppression. It was understandably hard to ask people in Wisconsin to abide by social distancing restrictions back when they thought the coronavirus was just a New York City problem \u2014 and when they didn\u2019t know what the plan was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, of course, the pandemic is a very real problem for every American. So as we try to bring the winter wave under control, we might benefit from taking a lesson from the Aussies and coming up with a specific objective that all of us, together, can work toward.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n