Australia's pandemic

The 12.39am email that triggered Australia's response to COVID-19

As a novel coronavirus seeped from Wuhan to the rest of China and landed on our shores,our health scientists were already at work. Eleven months later,they still have some way to go.

  • byDeborah Snow andKate Aubusson
Valent Lau says JobKeeper saved his family from distress but accepts it cannot go on forever.

How Australia navigated an economic jolt not seen for a century

When 600,000 jobs vanished inside a month,Valent Lau feared his family would lose their home. But one swift move by the federal government changed everything.

  • byShane Wright andMatt Wade
Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant,Atlassian boss Scott Farquhar,Premier Gladys Berejiklian,Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Police Commissioner Mick Fuller.

How the team behind NSW's'gold standard'in fighting COVID came together

Politicians,doctors,police – and a tech guru – have been instrumental in NSW holding off a second COVID wave,for now."We had to rely on ourselves,"says the Premier.

  • byDeborah Snow andAlexandra Smith
National cabinet comprised Prime Minister Scott Morrison,and state and territory leaders clockwise from bottom left:Mark McGowan (WA),Andrew Barr (ACT),Daniel Andrews (Vic),Gladys Berejiklian (NSW),Annastacia Palaszczuk (Qld),Steven Marshall (SA),Michael Gunner (NT),Peter Gutwein (Tas).

‘We have to make it work’:Inside the national cabinet

The Commonwealth had the deepest pockets - but the states had the muscle. The challenge was to bring them together to fight a global pandemic.

  • byKatina Curtis andDeborah Snow
Six months after panic buying cleared supermarket shelves,retailers are running short of stock after underestimating demand.

'When China shut down,everything was in short supply':How we kept Australia safe and fed

At one point early in the pandemic the Prime Minister called his Vietnamese counterpart to try to secure a supply of rice.

  • byDeborah Snow andDominic Powell
More than 80,000 people packed the MCG for the women's T20 world cup final;before long the AFL was playing in empty stadiums,and the NRL had cardboard cutouts among its empty seats.

'There was no authority on how to handle this':How sport negotiated its way through COVID

Modified sporting competitions opened the door for broadcast rights to be renegotiated - and the days of billion-dollar deals may now be over.

  • byMalcolm Knox andZoe Samios
Illustration:John Shakespeare

Pandemic exposes global fault lines - and how Australia rose above them

In a world still shattered by the pandemic,Australia never did get to the predicted 150,000 dead. Nor have we reached 1000. In our success there are lessons about how nations should be run.

  • byPeter Hartcher
Massimo and Millie Di Maio with their children,Leo and Luca and their dog,Tilly,at their rural property in Jembaicumbene,near Braidwood.

Catalyst for change:How the pandemic changed the way we live and work

Living and working in the same space proved a blessing for the Di Maio family - so they shifted home to the countryside.

  • byCaitlin Fitzsimmons andDeborah Snow
The pandemic has had a brutal impact on our entertainment,dining,shopping and travel experiences. Some sectors have bounced back faster than others.

'I need to shut it down fast':How our leisure activities came to a sudden halt

The pandemic has had a brutal impact on our entertainment,dining,shopping and travel experiences. Some sectors have bounced back faster than others.

  • byGarry Maddox