Australia has been largely unaffected by the pandemic for the past year. It had reached a "Covid Normal" in which people could go to nightclubs, restaurants, and attend festivals and theatres.Strong Covid defenses in the country - mandatory quarantine and border closures - were effective 99.99% of all times.Officials acted swiftly when cases leaked, locking down cities and chasing any infected contacts.Sydney, Australia's largest and wealthest city, managed to avoid snap lockdowns thanks to a "gold-standard" contact-tracing system.The Delta variant managed to break through the city's defenses in the last fortnight. Positive cases rose to over 100 in a week.Officials had already admitted that Sydney needed to be put under lockdown by Friday 25 June. The crisis became a national emergency by Monday 25 June, with four outbreaks in four territories and states.All capital cities, including Sydney, Darwin and Perth, are currently under lockdown.Over 20 million Australians are now living in restrictions, which is approximately 80% of the population. This is the highest number of people who have lived under restrictions since the outbreak of the pandemic.On Monday, the federal and state governments tried to fill the gaps by expanding vaccine access in an emergency meeting.Many Australians wonder why they are living in restrictions seven months after mass vaccinations were introduced around the world.Delta saw the weak spotsAccording to epidemiologists, the Delta strain has been found to be most transmissible and infectious of all the strains.It was able to exploit any cracks in Australia's defense system.In April, when Sydney was reporting zero daily cases, a crowd gathered outside a Sydney pubSince the introduction of the first variants in late 2020, the nation's quarantine and border systems have been under increasing pressure.Officials have documented instances where travelers contracted the virus while quarantined, even though they were in separate rooms.Continue the storyExperts expressed concern about the air recirculation system and lack of fresh air at city hotels.The system has been used by around 370,000 people. There have been 10 outbreaks.Two of the current outbreaks affecting Australia are caused by people who were in quarantine at hotels. One of the outbreaks is from a Northern Territory mine worker who contracted the virus while in Queensland quarantine. Another Queensland woman was infected just as she was about to leave.Workers at the border are another weak point.Australia is known for being strict about who can enter the country. There are weekly restrictions on the number and types of citizens allowed to return, as well as bans from certain virus hotspots.Returnees are met by a group of intimidating soldiers, police officers, and nurses as they get off the plane. They are then escorted straight to quarantine by this intimidating crew.However, the same care is not required for other workers such as drivers who transport arrivals.Patient Zero was a 60-year-old limo driver who contracted the disease from a passenger. He wasn't vaccinated or tested frequently - he was not required to.While there is strict security for international arrivals, loopholes exist.Experts agree that Delta is a formidable foe due to its high infection rates.Officials in New South Wales are reporting close to 100% household transmission, compared with 25% for earlier strains. The virus has been spread from one person to another by passing it around in shops."Delta can be extremely contagious. Even with vaccinated workers, there is still the possibility of transmitting," says Prof Nancy Baxter of the School of Population and Global Health of the University of Melbourne.She points out that officials had previously seen Delta cases in which they "couldn't even determine how it happened" prior to the outbreak."I think that even if the systems are perfect, it can be challenging. The systems aren’t perfect which makes us almost like sitting ducks."Exposed and unvaccinatedThe danger posed by Delta has also brought to light the failures of Australia's vaccine program. Only 5% of adults are fully vaccinated and 29% have received their first dose.When it comes to vaccine rollout, Australia ranks last among OECD nations. Critics claim that the government is responsible.Australia is still the least vaccinated country in the OECD. Only 4% have been able access vaccines. It's not that people don't want vaccines, but Scott Morrison doesn’t have enough to offer it. pic.twitter.com/M6AelAGuxw Mark Butler (@Mark_Butler_MP), June 28, 2021Prof Raina MacIntyre, University of New South Wales, says that there are many more people who have been partially vaccinated than those who have been vaccinated. There are also more people who are unvaccinated."In this sense, the population seems very vulnerable."This delay was caused by supply problems, complacency about low Covid rates and concerns about Astra Zeneca’s rare blood clotting danger.This led to the government restricting its use for those over 60, despite having sufficient supply of Pfizer.Sensationalist media reports magnified AstraZeneca’s risk, adding to the confusion.It scared many Australians, including the driver of the limousine linked to Sydney's epidemic. He was said to be afraid of getting the AstraZeneca vaccine.What is Australia doing right now?Experts agree that current outbreaks need to be contained by lockdowns and other restrictions. Although it is still early days, experts believe that Sydney's two week shutdown will be sufficient to stop the spread of the virus.To prevent future outbreaks in the Delta, Scott Morrison appears to have agreed with what experts have recommended for some time: increasing vaccinations.Experts say that Australians cannot pretend they don't live with Covid any longer.He has mandated mandatory vaccinations for workers in aged care and quarantine who work in high-risk environments.Morrison also allowed younger people to access the AstraZeneca vaccination, and granted indemnity protection for doctors in case of adverse effects.End of the "Covid Normal"Experts warn that Delta may have changed Australia's Covid landscape forever.Experts say that the threat to Delta will not go away with mass vaccinations impossible until 2022 and returning homebound Australians from overseas.This could lead to public mask-wearing becoming a requirement for some time.It was wonderful before this. Dr Baxter said, "You're going out for dinner, and you're going on shows with thousands of people.""But I don't know if we'll be able do that again until all of us are vaccinated. It's too risky. We can't live as if Covid is gone."
