If you’re wondering what life is like in Australia... pretty much back to normal. Thanks to decisive action, lockdowns, mandatory international quarantine, and stringent contact tracing, the current number of active cases in the whole country (pop. 25 million)?

47.

Since I see a not insignificant number of people questioning if this video is old or fake, thought I'd add a little more info up top: I filmed this on Saturday (December 5, 2020) in Brisbane at the Queen Street Mall.

That same day I shopped, went to lunch, a cinema, a bar, and dinner. Everywhere I sat down, I had to sign in via a QR code on my phone and enter my contact details for contact tracing purposes. Social distancing is still encouraged and some stores require temperature checks.

No one is wearing a mask in the video because community transmission in Australia is virtually zero. The vast majority of active cases in the country (again, est. less than 50 in total) are coming from international travelers currently in hotel quarantine.

Yes, it is summer now. Australia did shockingly already have fall, winter, and spring 2020 and confronted the virus then. International borders likely won't open up and things won't truly be ~normal~ until a vaccine is distributed here and worldwide.

Not every country is the same. I'm an American in Australia. Very grateful to be here right now.