[axaxs]

I respect that, but you can't get rid of it without a complete and utter total shutdown of people coming in. Probably easier for Australia than most.

USA has a lot of really uneducated and/or ignorant people, but even without it, global travel would keep pounding us with it. I imagine Australia would have a similar issue.

[gnat]

New Zealand had a managed isolation quarantine (MIQ) program. From plane landing to hotel is carefully manages, as is time in hotel, with tests throughout the stay looking for Covid. 14 days later, assuming your tests are negative, you're released into a country without Covid.

It is possible to have a flow of people, but it's dependant upon a supply of MIQ facilities and trained staff (NZ Defense Force oversees MIQ here). We'll be trialling some "isolate at home if you're from a country with low Covid" lightweight alternatives in the coming months, but there will still be the retirement to isolate.

[lugged]

Australia is the size of the USA with 25million people scattered around the edges.

There isn't massive amounts on travel like the USA so locking down was pretty straight forward.

[hug]

What you've said as Australia very true.

Australia doesn't have the same issue as other non-island countries, and in fact has some advantages over other island countries in that its population centres are few and far between -- even with the two largest cities currently in lockdown, every other city of over 500,000 residents is so geographically distant that they are not and have no need to be.

At the current vaccination rate, hovering around maybe ~25% of adults, is lockdown worth it? I would say so, and it appears that so does the majority of the Australian population.