Australia aims to 'live with virus' instead of eliminating it

By Renju Jose and Jonathan Barrett

While Australian authorities had been able to douse past outbreaks through lockdowns, the highly infectious Delta variant has forced the country's two biggest states to plan for a reopening even as infections rise.

Australian Medical Association vice president Chris Moy told Reuters that Delta's high infectivity, short incubation and asymptomatic spread had meant the "old playbook did not work".

"Your window of opportunity at the start to eliminate it is so much smaller and basically once you're passed that, Delta decides its destiny," Moy said.