We can't close schools every time there's a COVID outbreak. Our traffic light system shows what to do instead

By Fiona Russell, Senior Principal Research Fellow; paediatrician, The University of Melbourne
Archana Koirala, Paediatrician and Infectious Diseases Specialist, University of Sydney
Asha Bowen, Head, Skin Health, Telethon Kids Institute
Margie Danchin, Associate Professor, University of Melbourne, Murdoch Children's Research Institute
Sharon Goldfeld, Director, Center for Community Child Health Royal Children's Hospital; Professor, Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne; Theme Director Population Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute

We need a layered strategy — depending on the amount of community transmission – to ensure the response isn't the same every time with each snap lockdown: to close schools. Here's how to do it.

Read complete article

~	Jane Austen’s world ran on gossip – and she revelled in it

~	RBA keeps interest rates on hold, leaving borrowers looking further ahead for relief

~	Politics with Michelle Grattan: Niki Savva and David Solomon on The Dismissal

~	Cuts to key research facilities threaten Australia’s ability to be a global scientific leader

~	Even if heads roll at Optus, we may not know much about their executive payouts

~	Former Prince Andrew’s biographer predicts ‘lots more to come’, after years charting his vices

~	Jamie Morton joins The Conversation New Zealand as Deputy Editor

~	A deadly European hornet has reached NZ – we can all help stop its spread

~	Congress has been dodging responsibility for tariffs for decades – now the Supreme Court will decide how far presidents can go alone

~	Robert Munsch has prepared for the eventual end of his story, but his letters and books keep speaking