I've been thinking about our response here in Australia to Covid 19. I believe we were absolutely correct to start with social isolation & the forms of quarantine we have implemented. Now however, I'm Not so sure. There seems to be a distinct lack of nuance & contextual

considerations. Currently in Melbourne there are 1057 cases out of a population of 5.1 million which gives us a rate of approxiamtely 0.02% if I have calculated that correctly. Here in Ballarat we have had ten cases for the last three weeks which gives us an incidence of

.008% based on population 114k. Bendigo (pop. 118K/9 cases/.007%) Ararat (pop. 8297/1 case/.01%) Horsham (pop. 16514K/3 cases/.018%) Wodonga (pop. 35100K/1 case/.002%) Latrobe (pop. 75211/7 cases/.009%) Warnoombool (pop. 31791K/5 cases/.015%). These are just some differently

Sized towns & cities in Victoria I have used as a sample. Percentages are based on total populations as at 2019. The total Victorian population is 6.359M, which gives us a total incidence of .021% based on 1337 cases.

While I do agree with the initial measures we have now significantly flattened the curve. I am not convinced this is wholly due to social isolation. Let's be honest, people are still out and about shopping. Supermarkets, Big W, K-mart, JB HiFi, Harvey Norman are just some of the

businesses still trading with people coming and going. I can't say why we have seen such success however and I am mindful of the winter season still to come. But are these rates what we are bankrupting are economy on? We need to start thinking about easing restrictions.

It will only get harder and more painful the longer we go. I am not advocating for complete reversal. But I am advocating for towns to have some of their own agency and determining what is best for them. Shut down inter town travel and allow businesses to reopen gradually to

Start with. The reason I bring up nuance as I find it mind boggling that we will destroy the economy based on these numbers but we have never contemplated banning tobacco for e.g. with all the deaths that causes every single year. What has happened in places like Italy is not

necessarily indicative of what will happen in Australia. @DanielAndrewsMP I would love a response from you on this especially given your Facebook post a few days ago where you indicated things are only going to get worse as we head towards unemployment numbers of 11% and our

Economy shrinking by as much as 14%.

I'm also happy for anyone else to respond to this. If my numbers are wrong then please feel free to correct me. Balance is required. The economy is also people's lives. It seems to me that those making the decisions are the ones who are still getting paid.

Personally for us, we are not affected other than my son missing out on his kinder year and being unable to see his friends. We will still be able to pay our mortgage and put food on the table. We need to consider the long term welfare of those placed in financial hardship. END.