“Eradicating this virus right now from the world is a lot like trying to plan the construction of a stepping-stone pathway to the Moon. Almost 90% of respondents think that the coronavirus will become endemic - meaning that it will continue to circulate in pockets of the global population for years to come (see 'Endemic future'). In January, Nature asked more than 100 immunologists, infectious-disease researchers and virologists working on the coronavirus whether it could be eradicated.

It’s a beautiful dream but most scientists think it’s improbable. If other regions, aided by vaccines, aimed for a similar zero-COVID strategy, then could the world hope to rid itself of the virus? But the experience in Western Australia has provided a glimpse into a life free from the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. The state maintained this enviable position only by placing heavy restrictions on travel and imposing lockdowns - some regions entered a snap lockdown at the beginning of the year after a security guard at a hotel where visitors were quarantined tested positive for the virus. Friends gathered in pubs people kissed and hugged their relatives children went to school without temperature checks or wearing masks. For much of the past year, life in Western Australia has been coronavirus-free.

Zenonia 2 for pc