Australia's expedited plan to start dishing out COVID jabs in mid-late February will call for NASA-like logistical organisation. And ideally, no more clusters of infections to distract frontline workers.
A previous version of Melbourne's COVID roadmap flagged an exclusive bubble between two households. The new plan allows residents to have two adult visitors per day, which is far riskier.
The Premier said Melbourne's restrictions could be eased more than expected on Monday. But from an outbreak-management perspective, we should be careful of easing too soon.
We have to balance the risk of transmission with the mental health challenges of lockdowns. A bubble system could alleviate loneliness while minimising infection risk.
Not everyone has a job they can do from home. Mapping the patterns of occupations across Melbourne's suburbs against COVID-19 cases strongly suggests why some parts of the city are more vulnerable.
Analysis suggests when COVID-19 cases reach 100 over 14 days, an outbreak gets very difficult to control — as we saw in Victoria. Over the last fortnight, NSW has recorded at least 154 new cases.
The best option is for infected people to be admitted to hospitals or other suitable health facilities. This will help prevent transmission within families.
