Premier Daniel Andrews’ belated acceptance that Victoria needs a road map to lead the state out of its stage four lockdown should form part of a nationally co-ordinated approach to reopen the Australian economy while suppressing the coronavirus.

With new cases in Victoria reduced to double digits – down to 73 from the early August peak of 705 in one day – and with just 10 cases recorded in NSW, one in Queensland, and zero in the rest of the country, the signs are promising that Australia’s virus response can move back to the original nationwide three-step strategy to reopen the economy, which was derailed by the Andrews government’s quarantine and contract tracing bungles that unleashed Victoria’s second wave.