Editor's note

With federal cabinet due to meet today, in just a few hours we might have a clearer picture of our path out of lockdown. It’s been a long road, and we’re certainly not at the end yet. But with the curve flattened, a gradual easing of restrictions is on the table.

Our next moves are important, because as Adrian Esterman writes today, if Australia and New Zealand continue this downward trend of new cases, we’ve got a very real chance of eliminating coronavirus down the track.

But even if we do achieve elimination in our region, we’ll have to continue with public health interventions like surveillance testing and border controls to ensure COVID-19 doesn’t come back. Because it’s near impossible we’ll be able to eradicate coronavirus – that is, to see zero incidence worldwide.

To achieve eradication, we’d need effective prevention, like a vaccine, and effective treatment – alongside sustained global public health efforts to navigate other challenges. In fact, only two infectious diseases have been declared eradicated by the World Health Organisation in history.

For now, let’s see what today brings.

And a sincere thank you to everyone who has made a donation as part of our annual reader campaign, which kicked off this week. We are humbled to know so many of you value us enough to give a donation, especially in these uncertain times. Your support makes a big difference. Thank you.

Phoebe Roth

Deputy Editor, Health+Medicine

Top stories

Shutterstock

We may well be able to eliminate coronavirus, but we’ll probably never eradicate it. Here’s the difference

Adrian Esterman, University of South Australia

Australia and New Zealand have well and truly 'flattened the curve', and there is now a real chance we could eliminate coronavirus in both countries. But what does elimination actually mean?

Protest at Parliament House in Canberra, May 8 1970. National Museum of Australia

50 years on, the Vietnam moratorium campaigns remind us of a different kind of politics

Paul Strangio, Monash University

Labor's Jim Cairns was a vital leader against the war, typified by the May 1970 demonstrations. No politician since has played such a strong campaigning role.

Brendan Esposito/AAP

Spruiking the stars: some home builders are misleading consumers about energy ratings

Georgia Warren-Myers, University of Melbourne; Erika Bartak, University of Melbourne; Lucy Cradduck, Queensland University of Technology

Builders compete for customers by touting the features of their homes. Some builders promote 'six-star' home energy ratings in ways that could mislead consumers and breach Australian Consumer Law.

www.shutterstock.com

Past pandemics show how coronavirus budgets can drive faster economic recovery

Ilan Noy, Te Herenga Waka — Victoria University of Wellington

Previous shocks show that smart spending and building public confidence are crucial to the speed and shape of economic recovery.

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