COVID-19 has had a dramatic impact across the entire world, including down under in Australia. According to the Department of Health of the Australian government, the first case of the virus was discovered in Australia in late January 2020. Since January 22, 2020, Australia has only had a total of 27,610 cases of the virus on the continent, resulting in 907 deaths. (health.gov.au) The continent has done a great job of controlling the disease but at the cost of a struggling economy. . In major cities across the continent, such as Melbourne, Sydney, and Perth, people were not allowed to leave their homes for more than one hour during the day, unless for work. Police were monitoring the streets ensuring people were no further than five kilometers away from their house. These strict COVID-19 guidelines limited the spread of the virus, but left hundreds of thousands of people without jobs. “Around 500,000 people under 35 [lost] their jobs in the early stages of the pandemic, and around 300,000 [were] still out of work in August.” (theguardian.com)
As of November 3, 2020, new cases of COVID-19 in Australia are very rare with only eight new cases being reported. Major Australian cities are, thus, starting to open again. (health.gov.au) On October 27, “one of the world’s longest COVID-19 lockdowns [came] to an end in the city of Melbourne.” Victoria, Australia’s most populous state and the home of Melbourne, reported zero new cases for two days in a row. Restaurants, cafes, and shops are allowed to reopen and small business owners can begin operation. Victoria’s conservative opposition leader Michael O’Brien said, “there will be scars on the psyche of this state that will not heal. There are many, many people whose lives have changed permanently because of what they have had to endure over the last few months.” Many are relieved in Melbourne as their strict lockdown comes to an end, for the moment. (voanews.com)
Australia’s strict lockdown approach has benefited them with fewer coronavirus cases, but some wonder if their economy will ever be able to recover. “The state government has been accused of being too cautious while jobs were lost and there are concerns that the mental health consequences will be dire.” (voanews.com). Hopefully, Australia’s economy can return to normal while still limiting the spread of COVID-19.
www.health.gov.au/news/health-alerts/novel-coronavirus-2019-ncov-health-alert/coronavirus-covid-19-current-situation-and-case-numbers.
www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/15/australias-unemployment-rate-hits-69-with-29500-more-people-losing-jobs.
You really did a lot of research for this blog. Good job Zach!
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