'Fortress Australia' cautiously moving away from COVID Zero, but there's still a long path to freedom

The delta variant has caused a shift in strategy in Australia, which has so far adopted a zero-tolerance policy to coronavirus cases.

Australia's approach to the pandemic -- strict border policies, snap lockdowns and aggressive contact tracing -- saw the country, along with neighboring New Zealand, praised throughout 2020 for taking a no-tolerance approach to public health. It paid off. While other countries faced overwhelmed hospital systems and devastating death tolls, Australia enjoyed large public gatherings, and life went on as normal for most people within its sealed-off borders. But confronted with rising cases of the delta variant, the Australian government has announced a dramatic shift, planning now to "live with the virus" rather than stamp it out entirely. In short, "Fortress Australia" has been breached. During a televised briefing last month, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that lockdowns, which in some parts of the country have endured for more than six months, were "not a sustainable way to live."