Australia has for the most part been well-served by the willingness of the federal, state and territory governments of both major political persuasions to be guided by advice from epidemiologists and other medical experts in their responses to COVID-19.

That approach stands in stark contrast to that of the Trump administration in the US and, at least initially, the Johnson government in Britain (among others). And the results – 1179 cases and 36 deaths per million population in Australia compared with 100,356 cases and 1793 deaths per million in the US, and 66,134 cases and 1,886 deaths per million in the UK – bear out the wisdom of Australian governments’ willingness to follow “medical advice” (although there have been other factors involved in these differences).