COVID-19 is an exceptional disease and was at its deadliest this year, causing more deaths in Australia between June and August 2022 than at any other time.

There have been 288 deaths from influenza so far this year compared with more than 12,000 deaths from COVID-19.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 in Australia in the first nine months of 2022 is more than 10 times the annual national road toll of slightly more than 1000, but we are not rushing to remove seat belts or drink-driving laws so people can have more freedom.

Isolation flattens the COVID-19 curve by stopping infectious people from infecting others and is a key pillar of COVID-19 control.