COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease. But we have a pretty good idea of how it works. Cough droplets. Mucus. Sweat. Perhaps even faeces. The virus isn’t, fortunately, airborne. But these little packets of contagion can be sprayed about to linger on surfaces for more than a week. The big complication, however, is it can be contagious even before a sufferer begins to feel unwell. And that makes the only reliable way to stop its spread a problem. Can we isolate people who aren’t even showing symptoms? “I understand this whole situation may seem overwhelming, and that disruption to everyday life may be severe. But these are things that people need to start thinking about now,” says Dr Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunisation and Respiratory Diseases. Last night, Attorney-General Christian Porter warned it may soon become necessary to activate drastic measures under the 2015 Biosecurity Act. Most notably, the power to ban gatherings and impose lockdowns. “There are two broad ranges of powers that people may well experience for the first time,” Porter said. “It could require any Australian to give information about people that they’ve contacted or had contact with so that we can… Read full this story
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