Are lockdowns the answer every time there is a COVID-19 outbreak?
Australias COVID-19 policy of zero community transmission until its safe to be otherwise is the right one. It has delivered a healthier, richer and socially freer society  yes, better civil society - than almost any country on earth. Melbourne CBD during the last lockdown. Credit:Getty  Everybody hates lockdowns, but they are an essential part of the pandemic-response toolkit. They have been used in almost every developed country in the world. Every jurisdiction in Australia uses them although they differ in their approaches to geography, timing and degree of restriction. Much has been said about Victorias four lockdowns, as though the state has an addiction to them. But, notwithstanding Victorias dreadful second wave, it is not really a lockdown outlier. In most cases it is the nature of the specific outbreak, which differs each time, that determines the nature of the lockdown. In Australia, and Victoria is no exception, the first consideration is to initially try and control an outbreak using a combination of intensive test, trace and isolate (TTI) , mask wearing, QR code check-ins, ventilation where people gather indoors and physical distancing. Victoria has handled a number of outbreaks in that way without the need for lockdown.