Two options for COVID-19 Roadmap to Recovery

Leading researchers from the University of Adelaide have contributed to a major Group of Eight report which presents two clear options to lead Australia out of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Group of Eight universities presented the ‘Roadmap to Recovery’, an independent report, to the Federal Government. It provides expert advice based on world-leading science to help Government plot the best path forward to social and economic recovery in Australia.

The two options canvassed in the report are:

Option 1: Elimination of the illness, which the report says is a conceivable and desirable option for Australia.

Option 2: Controlled Adaptation, which entails controlling the spread of the virus, while making sure that society adapts to live with ongoing infections.

Leading academics and PhD students from the University of Adelaide contributed to the report, including Professor Tracy Merlin, Interim Head of the School of Public Health and Director of Adelaide Health Technology Assessment (AHTA).

Professor Merlin has been providing advice to governments on public health for the past 20 years. She led the group examining the option of Controlled Adaptation, which has put forward a series of 13 recommendations on making this option a success.

Professor Merlin said the ‘Roadmap to Recovery’ had been designed to provide the Government with a strong evidence base for the difficult decisions that will be required in the coming weeks and months.

“More than one hundred researchers from our Group of Eight universities have worked together, to present what we believe are the two clear options to lead Australia out of this pandemic,” Professor Merlin said.

“We have drawn on our depth of knowledge from a broad discipline base to offer scientifically based options for recovery.

“Controlled Adaptation has its risks – outbreaks can still happen – but without a vaccine, or knowing when one will come, eliminating the spread of the virus will be difficult and there are economic impacts from the restrictions to consider.”

For more information about the Roadmap to Recovery report and other stories about the University of Adelaide visit our Newsroom.