The good news is the weather is improving, vaccination rates are rising, more vaccines are on their way, and another seems likely to be approved soon. It is time to be a little bolder with lockdowns given what we know. 
 
This is not to take away the health guidance, but it is starting to engage the business and wider community sectors to play a more significant role. 
 
Business wants to protect the health of their staff, suppliers and customers. They also want to stay afloat. 
 
I’ve been working through some ideas with the business community. It’s a simple but workable plan that still has public health advice as the primary driver of decisions. 
 
Firstly, let’s get the education on vaccines out far and wide and also the importance of getting tested if you aren’t feeling well. Let’s do it in every language and make sure that we have COVID-19 ambassadors from every community. 
 
Secondly, let’s start advertising how many daily tests and QR code check-ins are registered so we can track how well we are doing to PREVENT the spread and know when we need to step up the compliance. 
 
Then let’s move to an agreed lockdown protocol. On the day it’s called, businesses have until midnight to shut down. You go straight home after your day is finished, and then stay within 10kms from home. 
All office workers are immediately directed to work from home. 
 
If the lockdown is for cases in Metro, then subject to there being no wastewater fragments in the regions they should stay open, but with say a 100km rule in place to initially limit movement within regions, 
 
The results over subsequent days will allow some nuancing of lockdown easing. If there are no cases or wastewater fragments in metro suburbs aggregated together in North, South, East or West, we allow those parts to open. Let’s use the Local Government Areas as those zones. You can move freely in those zones if you live there. Masks on, social distance and density limits apply. But business can open in those areas with masks and density limits in place. Across the board in all areas, manufacturing and construction remains open. 
 
Maybe we should also look at what additional might be possible for those who have been vaccinated, could they be allowed to travel into other ‘green areas’? 
 
As case numbers decrease and they are all in isolation then restrictions should be decreased, and if possible, parts of Metro should be able to have a greater lifting. This of course is all dependent on people not travelling from their LGAs. 
 
In suburbs where there are high case numbers, pop up and localised testing and vaccination hubs should be established - we need to take the solution to the people. 
 
Areas stay locked down until there are several days of no community transmission. 
When the last zone comes out of lockdown, the 10km and 100km rules are removed and we snap back into trading conditions that we were in prior to lockdown. The settings we had last Wednesday. 
Now we also need to have an agreed business support package that can rolled out to those businesses affected, as we have seen in past lockdowns. We have seen the willingness from the State and Federal Governments to work together, so let’s harness that. 
 
In fact, it’s that co-operation that is driving this plan. For this idea to work we all need to come together in a spirit of trust, transparency and collaboration to make it work. if you are in an area that is locked then the rules must be followed. If we need to, we can use speed cameras and other spot checks to ensure compliance. But, we know that if everyone follows the rules, we won’t need that. 
 
With this plan, we can see our State quickly open back up and business, events, entertainment and the community return for some initially, and then everyone. And if you are in an open zone, but don’t want to risk being exposed to COVID-19, you can choose to remain local or stay home. 
 
We are now in two races…one to get to zero community transmissions and the other to get 80% population vaccinated. Business is match fit and motivated to help 
 
Business can help. Communities can help. They’re the conversations I’m having. Business wants to be part of the solution. We’ve seen this in the US where big companies like Amazon, Microsoft and Starbucks were brought into the fold to help out with things like logistics, staffing and vaccination hubs We’ve seen a bit of this in Victoria with Bunnings offering up their car park for our first drive through vaccination hub. Let’s see more of it. 
 
State-wide Lockdowns are a blunt instrument. There has to be a more sophisticated, nuanced approach other than to shut down an entire economy and stand workforces down with both reliant on government support to get through. Lockdowns are necessary at times, and they have and will continue to serve a purpose. But they do damage beyond just economic loss. This plan enables us to start to lessen the mental health and psychological trauma caused by lockdowns. You know the stress that comes with it, so this might just give us a better way. 
 
If nothing else, hopefully it’s something we can build on. I don’t know about you, but the prospect of seven, eight and nine aren’t numbers I want to contemplate.