Ruqayyah Snyder
As of March 2020, there were 539 cases of coronavirus in Australia, with the majority of cases in New South Wales, where there was a spike of 57 new cases. The Australian government had implemented various measures to control the spread of the virus, including travel bans, indoor gathering restrictions, and school closures. The pandemic had also impacted various industries, including aviation, with Virgin Australia grounding its international fleet and reducing domestic flights, and entertainment, with the cancellation of the Sydney Film and Comedy Festivals.
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What You'll Learn
Coronavirus-related deaths in Australia
As of April 13, 2024, the Coronavirus Tracker is no longer updated as most countries have stopped reporting data. However, historical data is still available.
According to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, there were 9,859 deaths due to COVID-19 in 2022, accounting for 5.2% of all deaths in Australia. The number of deaths increased with age, with 3% of COVID-19 deaths among those under 55 and 53% among those 85 and older. Males accounted for more than half of all COVID-19 deaths, with 5,484 compared to 4,375 female deaths. The death rate for males over 50 was between 1.5 and 2.1 times higher than for females in the same age groups.
The Worldometer, a global statistics tracker, reported slightly different numbers. As of April 13, 2024, it recorded 24,414 deaths in Australia. This number may include suspected COVID-19 deaths or be based on different reporting criteria.
While the number of deaths is a tragic reminder of the impact of the pandemic, it is important to consider the context, such as the overall population, age distribution, and healthcare capacity, when comparing COVID-19 mortality rates between countries. Additionally, the definition of a COVID-19-related death may vary between countries, and the accuracy of reporting may be affected by testing availability and diagnostic criteria.
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Impact on tourism in Australia
Australia, like the rest of the world, was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which brought global travel to a standstill. The country imposed strong travel restrictions to curtail the spread of the virus, which had a devastating impact on the tourism industry.
The pandemic severely impacted the Australian economy, particularly the tourism sector, which has experienced rapid growth worldwide and contributes significantly to the country's export income. The industry's social interaction nature made it prone to recession, and the imposed restrictions on travel and social gatherings disrupted the movement of people, both domestically and internationally. As a result, tourism demand decreased, adversely affecting the industry and leading to job losses. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, in the year ending in the March quarter of 2021, tourism jobs decreased by 5.1% to 662,700, with a more significant impact on full-time jobs and those held by females.
The recovery in domestic tourism spending has been evident, with all states and territories reaching or surpassing pre-pandemic levels in 2022. Western Australia experienced the least disruption to its tourism industry due to fewer restrictions on movement and more intrastate holidaymakers. The Northern Territory and Queensland have also witnessed domestic tourism spending well above 2019 levels, possibly because they are considered closer substitutes for overseas holidays.
International tourism, on the other hand, has recovered slowly since restrictions were lifted. The number of visitors from India, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom has rebounded faster than from other countries, possibly due to the close relationships between residents of these nations and their Australian counterparts. In contrast, the number of Chinese visitors remains over 90% below pre-pandemic levels due to ongoing travel restrictions in China, significantly impacting the Australian tourism sector as Chinese visitors were the largest source of tourist spending before the pandemic.
The pandemic has forced the tourism industry to release its resources to the rest of the economy, potentially reducing production costs and benefiting other export industries such as coal, mining, and basic metal products. However, the escalation of tensions between the Chinese and Australian governments over calls for an inquiry into the origin of COVID-19 may hinder the full utilisation of these released resources.
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Australian government's response to the pandemic
Note: As of April 13, 2024, the Coronavirus Tracker is no longer updated as most countries have stopped reporting data. This answer is based on information up until that date.
The Australian government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 and 2023 was aimed at limiting the spread of the disease and protecting its citizens. On 30 January 2020, soon after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, the Australian Government started coordinating meetings with state, territory, and Australian Government health ministers to discuss pandemic readiness.
On February 25, 2020, the Australian Government activated the 'Emergency Response Plan for Communicable Disease Incidents of National Significance: National Arrangements'. This was followed by the WHO declaring COVID-19 a worldwide pandemic on March 11, 2020. The Australian government worked with various bodies to ensure the availability and approval of treatments for use by high-risk communities in the country.
The Australian government's efforts during the pandemic included coordinating with state and territory health ministers and responding to the evolving situation as per the guidelines set by the WHO. On October 20, 2023, the Australian Government determined that the COVID-19 pandemic was no longer a Communicable Disease Incident of National Significance (CDINS). As a result, COVID-19 is now managed similarly to other common communicable diseases in Australia.
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Number of people vaccinated in Australia
Note: As of 13 April 2024, the Coronavirus Tracker is no longer updated due to the unfeasibility of providing statistically valid global totals as most countries have stopped reporting. However, historical data is still available.
As of June 2025, the mRNA coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer have shown strong results in clinical trials and are expected to be easier to reconfigure for new virus variants than conventional vaccines. Australia's first human trials of a candidate COVID-19 vaccine were of Novavax's NVX-CoV2373, which began in Melbourne in May 2020.
On 16 February 2021, the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was approved for use in Australia, with the first shipment of around 300,000 doses arriving in Sydney for rollout from 8 March. However, medical advice discouraging its use on people under 50 due to incidents of vaccine-related blood clotting was a major setback. On 23 March 2021, the TGA approved the first batch of locally manufactured AstraZeneca vaccines, with 832,200 doses ready for rollout. On 17 June 2021, the Federal Health Minister, Greg Hunt, announced a rise in the age limit for the administration of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which would now only be administered to those over 60.
On 22 March, Health Minister Greg Hunt announced the start of the phase-1b vaccination rollout, targeting over 6 million Australians for inoculation, with approximately 1,000 GP clinics participating. From 3 May 2021, people over 50 were eligible for vaccination, and from 17 May, they could also get vaccinated at selected participating GP clinics. On 19 August 2021, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that adult residents aged 16-39 would be eligible for the Pfizer vaccine from 30 August.
From 31 March 2023, the federal government changed COVID-19 vaccine data reporting to end reports of second, third, and fourth doses.
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Positive test rate in Australia
The positivity rate of infection is the number of positive Covid-19 cases as a proportion of the number of PCR tests carried out. For example, a positivity rate of 20% in New South Wales means that one in five people whose tests were processed during that reporting period had the virus.
According to Professor Alexandra Martiniuk of the University of Sydney, the figure doesn't indicate how many cases are circulating in the community, but it can help to understand how many likely cases are being identified. She states that:
> "In general, the lower the positivity level, the more likely we think we’re catching, if not all, then most of the cases in the community. As it rises you think we’re likely missing cases, and the more it goes up we’re likely to be missing more and more."
The reliability of the positivity rate in Australia has been affected by testing levels and policy changes. For instance, the government has asked people not to get tested unless they are symptomatic or fit a narrower definition of a close contact. As a result, test numbers have decreased, and the positivity rate has increased.
At the beginning of the pandemic in May 2020, the World Health Organization declared that a positivity rate of 5% or lower indicated that the spread of the virus was under control. However, this declaration was made when governments were still seeking to control the virus, while Australia was attempting to suppress it or eradicate it in some states.
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Frequently asked questions
As of March 18, 2020, there were 539 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Australia.
To control the spread of COVID-19, the Australian government implemented various measures such as travel bans, stay-at-home restrictions, and school closures. Gatherings were restricted to less than 100 people indoors and outdoors, and aged care facilities limited visit durations, allowing only two visits per day.
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on Australia's economy, with the country facing a potential recession. The Virgin Australia CEO announced the grounding of international flights and a 50% reduction in domestic flights, resulting in inevitable job losses. Tourism in Australia was also affected, with the closure of cinemas and the postponement of festivals like the Sydney Film and Comedy Festivals. Additionally, the closure of national parks and popular destinations like Kakadu National Park and Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park created "confusion and frustration" for tourism operators.
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