With the military on standby to fight the coronavirus in Victoria and political and media hysteria in full swing about a potential "second wave", new mortality statistics bring some desperately needed perspective to the COVID-19 situation in Australia.
More than 33,000 Australians died of other causes in the three months between January and March – chiefly cancer, influenza, pneumonia, heart disease, dementia and diabetes, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
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John Kehoe is economics editor at Parliament House, Canberra. He writes on economics, politics and business. John was Washington correspondent covering Donald Trump’s first election. He joined the Financial Review in 2008 from Treasury. Connect with John on Twitter. Email John at jkehoe@afr.com
