Premier Peter Gutwein has made the right call by announcing a snap three-day lockdown for Tasmania's South as a result of the uncertainty surrounding the latest COVID-19 case.
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Few people would be pleased to be forced into lockdown for three days, but surely fewer still would want to risk seeing their loved one intubated in intensive care as a result of contracting coronavirus.
Mr Gutwein said on Friday afternoon that "the safety of Tasmanians is of the utmost importance" and keeping people safe and healthy has been "the singular goal since day one".
He went on to say that the COVID-positive NSW man who absconded from hotel quarantine earlier this week has been uncooperative with authorities, and further explained it had taken two days to verify that the man had visited Bridgewater Woolworths.
With a primary contact of the man having breached his home quarantine conditions on Thursday night, and uncertainty now surrounding the movements of both individuals, imposing a snap lockdown on the local government areas most at risk is sensible.
While detractors might criticise the premier's potentially overcautious approach as being akin to using a sledgehammer to crack a walnut, his decision has been based on the best public health advice available.
The AMA labelled the move "not nice, but necessary", and business and construction stakeholders issued a joint statement cautiously supporting the Gutwein government's decision.
That statement went on to express concern that in other states, "short, sharp lockdowns" have turned into months.
That may well have been the case in NSW and Victoria, but it also ignores the effectiveness of similar "circuit-breaker" lockdowns in states such as South Australia and Queensland in halting the spread of COVID.
A hastily announced three-day lockdown will obviously have a negative economic impact on businesses already reeling from the downturn in tourism.
But one only has to look to the experience of NSW to understand the cost of inaction would be far greater.