Strategies For Keeping COVID Cases Low After Reopening

In the last 18 months, Australia has shifted from a COVID-19 elimination strategy to accepting the virus as part of our lives. And whilst vaccines offer powerful protection, if the virus is allowed to spread unchecked it is inevitable that more lives will be lost or completely changed by long COVID. So what are 6 ways we can keep COVID-19 cases low even as we reopen?

1. Improve vaccination – introducing booster shots, and vaccinating all children over 5 will allow 80-90% of our total population to be fully vaccinated, and is achievable within 6 months.

2. Reduce airborne transmission – increasing ventilation, keeping indoor density limits, and targeted mask wearing can help reduce the spread of the virus through the air.

3. New treatments – new drugs like Merck’s COVID pill will also play a big role in our COVID defenses.

4. Improved testing, tracing and isolating – if people can know more easily and quickly that they’re COVID-19 positive and stay home, we can limit spread further. Self-testing at home and rapid antigen testing will also help identify positive cases earlier.

5. Risk-dependent border quarantine – borders will be open, but should be risk-assessed. Maintaining some quarantine for high-risk travellers will be particularly important in stopping new variants.

6. Helping low-income countries in our region fight COVID – we can’t allow cases to run rampant in the low-income countries in our region. Providing vaccine doses and other support will not only help them, but also us.