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. 2022 Jan;17(1):95-106.
doi: 10.1017/S1744133121000244. Epub 2021 Jul 27.

Australia's Response to COVID-19

Anika Stobart  1 , Stephen Duckett  1
Affiliations

Australia's Response to COVID-19

Anika Stobart et al. Health Econ Policy Law. 2022 Jan.

Abstract

Australia suffered two waves of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in 2020: the first lasting from February to July 2020 was mainly caused by transmission from international arrivals, the second lasting from July to November was caused by breaches of hotel quarantine which allowed spreading into the community. From a second wave peak in early August of over 700 new cases a day, by November 2020 Australia had effectively eliminated community transmission. Effective elimination was largely maintained in the first half of 2021 using snap lockdowns, while a slow vaccination programme left Australia lagging behind comparable countries. This paper describes the interventions which led to Australia's relative success up to July 2021, and also some of the failures along the way.

Keywords: Australia; COVID-19; elimination strategy; vaccination.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Australia had two waves of COVID-19 infections as at July 2021. Seven-day moving average of new COVID-19 cases in Australia, 2020−21. Source: Ritchie et al. (2020).
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
In July 2021, Australia's vaccine rollout was lagging behind comparable countries. Percentage of population that have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, days since first reported vaccination numbers, July 2021. Source: Ritchie et al. (2020).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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