Leading actions taken to stop the spread of COVID-19 in Australia 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising cases of coronavirus in the community, the Australian state and federal governments implemented various lockdown measures and directives in order to limit the spread of the virus. Independently of these restrictions, many Australians also made changes to their lives and behaviors in order to mitigate the likelihood of contracting or spreading the virus. In May to June 2020, 94.5 percent of Australians who were surveyed on the household impacts of COVID-19 indicated that they had kept their distance from others. Social distancing behaviors were the most common behavioral changes made by Australians, with just over a quarter indicating that they had worn a facemask.  Life under lockdown Australia experienced its second spike in coronavirus cases in August 2020, with the majority of new daily cases concentrated in the state of Victoria. In response, Melbourne was placed under stage four lockdown and the rest of the state at stage 3. This significantly restricted the movement and social interactions of Victorians and included a nightly curfew in Melbourne. Despite these strict controls, most Victorians were accepting of the stage four lockdown measures. Although these restrictions continued to put a strain on the already struggling economic situation and the second quarter of 2020 witnessed a jump in unemployment rates.  Travel restrictions International visitors to Australia almost completely stopped in the months after Australia’s first case of COVID-19 in January 2020. This was partially due to the federal Government’s restrictions on international travel but many Australians independently chose to change or cancel travel plans. Separate to the Federal Government’s restrictions, most of the state and territory Governments also implemented boarder restrictions of their own, with Western Australia restricting all movement across its boarders.

应新冠大流行和社区中冠状病毒病例的上升，澳大利亚各州及联邦政府实施了一系列封锁措施和指导方针，旨在限制病毒的传播。在上述限制措施之外，众多澳大利亚人也对其生活和行为方式进行了调整，以降低感染或传播病毒的可能性。在2020年5月至6月期间，接受调查的94.5%的澳大利亚人在回答有关COVID-19对家庭影响的问题时表示，他们已与他人保持距离。社交距离是澳大利亚人实施的最常见的行动改变，仅有超过四分之一的受访者表示他们曾佩戴口罩。在封锁之下，澳大利亚于2020年8月经历了第二次冠状病毒病例高峰，其中大部分新病例集中在维多利亚州。对此，墨尔本被置于第四级封锁状态，其余地区则处于第三级封锁。这一措施显著限制了维多利亚人的流动和社交互动，并在墨尔本实施夜间宵禁。尽管这些严格措施继续对已陷入困境的经济状况造成压力，且2020年第二季度失业率有所上升，但大多数维多利亚人对第四级封锁措施表示接受。除了联邦政府的限制外，大多数州和领地政府也实施了各自的边境限制，例如西澳大利亚州对所有边境流动实施限制。