Australia locked down early, created a widely heralded National Cabinet to forge a cohesive response to Covid-19 and managed to limit deaths from the virus to 128 by late July. However, a surge in infections saw the State of Victoria reimpose a lockdown on July 9 attracting global media attention and by early August the State recorded its’ peak number of daily infections at 727. As of August 17, Australia had reported 23,599 confirmed cases and 421 deaths. Australia’s call during the 2020 World Health Assembly for an “impartial, independent and comprehensive investigation into the handling of the Covid-19 outbreak” sparked a furious diplomatic response from China that looks set to threaten the two country’s critical trading relations.
The second event in the global series took place on August 27th 2020. You can find out more about the event here or watch the recording of the discussion below.