Mandatory COVID isolation ends in Australia from October 14, marking a significant shift in Australia's response to the pandemic.
Some will argue that the decision means governments are abrogating their public health responsibilities, come what may.
There is, however, a strong argument to say that COVID restrictions are no longer as valuable as they were in fighting the virus, with high vaccination rates, a building "natural" immunity and improved treatments dulling the most acute risks.
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Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly called on Friday for a move away from "COVID exceptionalism". Professor Kelly says the most vulnerable still need protection but dropping mandatory isolation was "a reasonable course of action from the public health point of view".
"It does not in any way suggest the pandemic is finished," Professor Kelly said after Friday's national cabinet meeting.
"We will almost certainly see future peaks of the virus into the future as we've seen earlier in this year."
Globally, case numbers are down to about 2.3 million a week, the fifth time since the start of 2021 that the case load has fallen to this level.
Four times previously the virus has taken off again. Time will tell where we are headed this time. NSW recorded 26,051 cases from 367,255 tests in the seven days to 4pm on Thursday, a positive rate of 7 per cent.
The Hunter has a higher positive rate, the lowest being 8.9 per cent in Newcastle, and the highest 12.2 per cent in Cessnock.
Experts say the "normalising" of COVID means the official figures under-estimate the true amount of virus circulating in the community.
The aged and the infirm remain most at risk, while many people will never know they have contracted the virus.
Australia's pandemic response has been built on strong public health and isolation measures, but such rules must reflect community expectations in order to successfully mould community behaviour.
Trust in the system, and a reciprocal respect for - and by - those who contract the virus, will be needed to avoid the worst outcomes of dropping mandatory isolation.
Employers must not expect their staff to return to work if they are still sick with COVID.
Companies may wish to have their employees back on deck as soon as possible, but forcing symptomatic positives back to work will only tend to infect others, and generate a self-defeating spiral.
Similarly, while the new arrangements mean we can still go to crowded events even after a positive rapid antigen test, such behaviour is not in the spirit of the new rules.
Over the coming fortnight, public health authorities need to provide thorough and clear advice to the public on the new rules for dealing with a COVID infection.
All of us are influenced to some degree by the behaviour of those around us.
If we want this new relaxed regime to work, now is the time to show what smart COVID choices look like.
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