A FORTNIGHT ago, when the emergence of a small number of coronavirus cases in Port Stephens marked the return of the virus to the region, authorities warned against unnecessary travel to Sydney.
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At the time, the Hunter New England Local Health District's leading COVID-19 spokesperson, Dr David Durrheim, stressed how "very rapidly" the virus could spread, saying people should not travel to the state's capital unless it was "absolutely necessary".
Prior to that, when the Hunter was temporarily free of COVID-19, Dr Durrheim was quoted as saying the virus would only return to the region if someone brought it here.
Both warnings might seem like statements of the obvious, and the Newcastle Herald has warned against the all-too-human desire to find something, or someone, to blame, when things go wrong.
But the reality, from a public health point of view, is that minimising travel - and maximising adherence to the well-established distancing and personal cleanliness protocols - is an absolute necessity if this region is going to avoid its own version of what is happening in Victoria.
Again, this is not to blame anyone involved in any of the cases that are now coming to light; especially those who may find themselves targeted by the authorities as they carry out the intensive contact tracing that is needed to establish the chain of events contributing to a particular spike in cases.
What it does mean, however, is that we need, as a community, to look very closely at the activities we carry out, and to see which ones are necessary, and which are optional, or discretionary.
This is already happening to some degree: just because eateries and night-spots are open, it doesn't mean people are rushing back to them.
But if the epidemiological evidence is accurate, and hotels and clubs are shaping as a major route of transmission this time around, then we may get to a point where the cycle of case discovery, followed by venue closure and deep-cleaning before re-opening, must give way to tighter restrictions, or sectoral closures.
Regardless of what happens from here, we have four main lines of defence: stay home and seek testing if symptoms appear, maintain social distancing, keep hands clean and wear a mask.
The pattern in today's paper will hopefully help readers with that.
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