In Melbourne,growing numbers of people have been flocking to parks and the St Kilda promenade as the falling number of new cases in Australia fuels optimism – and possible complacency. In Sydney on Friday,Randwick Council had to close down Coogee and Maroubra beaches just five days after reopening them for exercise,because too many beachgoers were more interested in"having a splash"than having a workout.
![People are slowly but steadily returning to the St Kilda beach area.](https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_300%2C$height_150/t_crop_auto/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto/eb7e390c253acb92b14011ae6e6aa0be3813a7d1)
People are slowly but steadily returning to the St Kilda beach area.Luis Enrique Ascui
The reason the numbers are falling is because we have pulled together as a nation. We have stayed home. Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said on Friday that with the exception of north-west Tasmania,the coronavirus reproduction rate in Australia had been kept at less than one – each person with SARS-CoV-2 infects no more than one other person. It's an achievement that we all own. And we earned it through unity.
But our unity is being tested. On the home front,those who have religiously followed social distancing rules are getting upset at neighbours who they feel are not as dedicated to the cause. School closures,too,are an emotive flashpoint,a situation not helped by diverging views between governments,despite mounting evidence suggesting such closures do little to stop the spread of coronavirus. The NSW government is now keen to get children back into classrooms but was publicly butting heads this week with the teachers union about how to do it and many teachers themselves,frightened for their health,are unwilling to return. Parents are flaring up at each other on social media over whether remote learning should continue.
Division is dangerous. The scenes in the United States this month of anti-restriction protesters facing off with nurses in scrubs is proof enough. Such images should act as a warning to Australian governments of the importance of carrying the people with them through this crisis.
![Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy and Prime Minister Scott Morrison address the media on Friday.](https://static.ffx.io/images/$width_300%2C$height_150/t_crop_auto/t_sharpen%2Cq_auto%2Cf_auto/987b02672c4b968e7ec956cb08e0cd02cccbe2c3)
Chief Medical Officer Professor Brendan Murphy and Prime Minister Scott Morrison address the media on Friday.Alex Ellinghausen
Governments can do that through sharing information,particularly about their exit strategies. An informed public will be more willing to support the effort to suppress – and possibly eradicate – this virus. The Prime Minister has made a good start. He has promised a review of restrictions in three weeks and on Friday he set out plans to chart a return to a more normal life for the nation's workplaces and sporting organisations. He has already called for teachers to return to the classroom and clarified that schools did not need to adhere to social distancing measures.
At some point,most likely before we have a vaccine,we must emerge from isolation. It is imperative to do so for our own mental health,as well as for the economy. But we must do it,as Murphy said on Friday,"gently,carefully,cautiously". And we must do it collectively,not individually. As good as the case numbers might look,we cannot each make our own decision about whether to keep following the rules.
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Our leaders have risen above the usual party politics in this crisis and so far have guided us with wisdom and prudence. They have been forced to play a terrible utilitarian game to determine the greater good,knowing each decision they made inflicted pain on someone – either real or economic. But their decisions for the most part have been based on evidence and made in the national interest,following expert advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee,chaired by Murphy. Scrutiny and debate is important to ensure every decision made is a considered one. But the only way to find our freedom again is to follow the leader.
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