As the number of new COVID-19 cases drops and restrictions begin to be eased, there are fears Australians may begin flouting the very rules that have enabled the country to put the brakes on the pandemic.
New confirmed coronavirus case numbers have been consistently low across Australia over the past week, with only nine new cases reported nationally on Monday.
As a result, New South Wales , with two adults allowed to visit another residence for social reasons at any one time.
The decisions followed similar adjustments in , Queensland, which now allows people to travel up to 50 kilometres from their home, and the Northern Territory, where parks and reserves will reopen on Friday.
University of Queensland social psychology professor Jolanda Jetten said she believes the “silent majority” of people are still following the rules, but that could change.
“The question is, if it is the case that the high level of solidarity that we had when we were really all scared about how bad it was going to be, and we start to relax on that front, solidarity will go down,” Professor Jetton said.
“Is it then also the case that we find that people are more likely to ignore restrictions and let that compliance level drop? I think there is a high likelihood that might indeed happen.”
Searches for transit, driving and pedestrian directions have also seen an uptick in Australia, according to Apple which has released its maps data to track how people are complying with restrictions.
According to Apple’s data, on the first day of April, driving direction searches were at 51 per cent of the usual number, while walking dropped to just 39 per cent.
Three weeks later, on 22 April, driving directions jumped to approximately 60 per cent and walking directions to 47 per cent.
Mounted police are seen patrolling a closed Coogee Beach in Sydney on Friday. Source: AAP
The following day, driving direction searches reached almost 63 per cent - its highest point since the beginning of April.
While the situation is improving, public health experts have warned that .
“If we went back to normal tomorrow, completely stopped social distancing, a second wave would happen,” Kathryn Snow, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Melbourne, warned.
“It’s not like an outside chance that we have to be a little bit careful of, it’s a very, very real risk because we still have the virus in Australia.”
Premier Berejikilian’s decision to ease restrictions came just days after some of , ignoring social distancing restrictions.
But Professor Jetton said it was “amazing” how compliant Australians have been with the restrictions so far, which public health experts say have saved many lives.
She is part of a group of 40 psychologists from across the world working to review behavioural sciences research to see how it can be used to encourage people to follow recommendations by epidemiologists and public health experts.
“We are in a unique situation where we don’t see compliance because those people are at home, they’re not visible,” she said.
“Non-compliance is something that happens in the public space and that can be monitored, but because of that we perhaps start to overestimate how much non-compliance there is. Actually, the numbers show that it is very low.”
Bruce Thompson, dean of the School of Health sciences at Swinburne University, also believes that the majority of Australians were still taking the virus seriously.
“We should be celebrating how well we’ve actually done,” he said, adding that the low number of new cases supported the view that most people were socially distancing.
“And it’s not only this particular virus … we expect the transmission of influenza to plummet. We had 300,000 cases of influenza last year, and 800 deaths associated with that, and we’re not anywhere near that.”
Announcing the changes to restrictions on Tuesday, Premier Gladys Berejiklian conceded that it would likely mean an increase in cases, but said social visits were important for maintaining mental health.
"That's definitely the headspace we're in - what can we lift? When is it a safe time to lift them? What can boost jobs? That's a priority for us,” she said.
As restrictions are slowly rolled back, Dr Snow said it was important people still remember basic hygiene and social distancing practices.
“Even though these restrictions are going to change over time, those basics are still really important: wash your hands, keep a physical distance and it’s still incredibly important that people don’t go anywhere if they have cold and flu symptoms,” she said.
“That is still really, really, really important, and it will remain really important for the rest of the year.”
People in Australia must stay at least 1.5 metres away from others and gatherings are limited to two people unless you are with your family or household.
If you believe you may have contracted the virus, call your doctor (don’t visit) or contact the national Coronavirus Health Information Hotline on 1800 020 080. If you are struggling to breathe or experiencing a medical emergency, call 000.
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