The Herald's View: The coronavirus pandemic might not be over but it is gradually losing its sting and it should not be necessary to return to the heavy-handed methods of the past two years
It could have happened sooner but the NSW government’s decision to scrap one of the last remaining relics of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns is cause for celebration.of people who test positive to isolate for one week. The move will liberate hundreds of thousands of able-bodied people who have had to sit idly at home because they live with or have spent four hours with the 195,000 active cases in NSW.
Some will still be frightened about what comes next. They worry that the relaxation of restrictions over the past five months has already come at a cost in lives. Three-quarters of the 2600 deaths from COVID in NSW occurred this calendar year. Most people will be very glad to see the back of lockdowns and other restrictions but the NSW government is still not sounding the all clear.
Certainly, NSW has been here before. It lifted restrictions prematurely in December only to be forced to bring them back when the vaccine-resistant Omicron wave hit.