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You are comparing an island with low-density population with huge continents, one of them with poorly enforced border control. The amount of confounding here ma

You are comparing an island with low-density population with huge continents, one of them with poorly enforced border control. The amount of confounding here makes it impossible to attribute Australia's success to its policies.

Youden 5y ago
The very topic of this thread is about how Australia is quarantining a _city_ from the rest of the country. Australia quarantines internally, which is comparable, if not more difficult, than countries that close their international borders. Imagine if LA was quarantined from the rest of California. That's the closest analogy I can make to the subject of this thread. And yes Australia is a large island but if you take the briefest glance at a population density map, you'll see that the vast majority of the population is concentrated in a few coastal regions and particularly around Sydney and Melbourne.
- rglullis 5y ago
  I'd say it is the other way around. Trying to quarantine a city / aim for zero cases only make sense because the larger area it's easy to shut itself out at the country level. Lockdowns are not 100% effective, but just an attempt to slow down the transmission rate. Think of it as a type of defense-in-depth. Australia (and New Zealand's) true advantage is their natural isolation from the rest of the world and their ability to control/track who is coming into the country.
jbsimpson 5y ago
40% of Australia's population lives in just 2 cities.
- rglullis 5y ago
  Still an island, and that alone is the source of confounding.
  - glenngillen 5y ago
    So is the UK
Uberphallus 5y ago
While population density in Australia is low, the population is very concentrated. Half of the population lives in only 3 cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane). Arguably the US would have it easier to control, since half its population is in low density rural and suburban environments that significantly reduce social contact.
bananapub 5y ago
these sort of clueless comments come up in every single thread. approximately everyone in australia lives in six fairly dense cities.

Youden 5y ago

The very topic of this thread is about how Australia is quarantining a _city_ from the rest of the country. Australia quarantines internally, which is comparable, if not more difficult, than countries that close their international borders. Imagine if LA was quarantined from the rest of California. That's the closest analogy I can make to the subject of this thread. And yes Australia is a large island but if you take the briefest glance at a population density map, you'll see that the vast majority of the population is concentrated in a few coastal regions and particularly around Sydney and Melbourne.

rglullis 5y ago
I'd say it is the other way around. Trying to quarantine a city / aim for zero cases only make sense because the larger area it's easy to shut itself out at the country level. Lockdowns are not 100% effective, but just an attempt to slow down the transmission rate. Think of it as a type of defense-in-depth. Australia (and New Zealand's) true advantage is their natural isolation from the rest of the world and their ability to control/track who is coming into the country.

jbsimpson 5y ago

40% of Australia's population lives in just 2 cities.

rglullis 5y ago
Still an island, and that alone is the source of confounding.
- glenngillen 5y ago
  So is the UK

Uberphallus 5y ago

While population density in Australia is low, the population is very concentrated. Half of the population lives in only 3 cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane). Arguably the US would have it easier to control, since half its population is in low density rural and suburban environments that significantly reduce social contact.

bananapub 5y ago

these sort of clueless comments come up in every single thread. approximately everyone in australia lives in six fairly dense cities.