The Second Wave

For months Australia was the envy of the world, with COVID-19 largely under control. Restrictions were being lifted around the country and preparations were under way to open interstate borders. Much of the key to Australia’s success lay in the enforced quarantining of passengers returning from overseas. All that changed when the news broke of a breach in Melbourne’s hotel quarantine program. After the initial outbreak, the virus spread with alarming speed and took hold in the most vulnerable places imaginable, aged care homes. This investigation reveals the failures by the authorities that were supposed to keep the community safe. With the virus emerging in other states, experts are warning all Australians to heed the lessons of Victoria and its second wave.