So here we find ourselves, more than a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. As of next Wednesday, Australia’s international border – both in and out – will have been closed to all but a select group of rich people, sports and movie stars for 12 whole months.
That’s 12 months of extraordinary restrictions on our lives, restrictions we wouldn’t have even believed possible a year ago. Australians are still not allowed to leave the country without a good reason, determined by Border Force officials. Australian citizens abroad are still not allowed into their own country unless they make it under a very small daily passenger cap – essentially, those who can afford to fly business class are the only ones likely to make it in.
Twelve months of this, and how far have we come in the fight against COVID-19?
In some ways, a long way. Australia has flattened the curve, and then flattened it again. And again. We live relatively blessed lives here, free of harsh restrictions, without the day-to-day worry of contracting a very dangerous virus.
Debates here about the threat of COVID-19 are essentially theoretical – there’s no genuine…
