Whilst many Australian states are celebrating the arrival of the Pzifer vaccine, Victorians have emerged from their five-day “circuit breaker” lockdown following concerns of the 21 active cases and 1 new locally acquired case of COVID-19. This snap lockdown has brought with it an estimated 1 billion dollars worth of economic damage and fresh concerns for people with mental health concerns. Premier Daniel Andrews has not denied the possibility of further lockdowns should case numbers get out of control again, raising the question – what does the future hold for Australian states affected by lockdowns?

We were joined this morning by Hassan Vally, Associate Professor in Public Health at La Trobe University to discuss the impacts of lockdown on a broader scale.