Australian Health Experts Split Over Approach to Pandemic Management

Residents queue up inside their cars for PCR tests at the St Vincent's Bondi Beach COVID-19 drive through testing clinic on December 22, 2021 in Sydney, as the number of COVID-19 cases keeps on the rise across the New South Wales state ahead of the Christmas festivities. Photo by Mohammad Farooq/AFP via Getty Images

A schism has been brewing in Australia’s medical fraternity on how to handle the pandemic best—spilling over into the political realm—with one group pushing for strong measures to smother any potential transmission of COVID-19, and the other calling for society to learn to “live with the virus.”

Dr. Nick Coatsworth, a former chief medical officer during Australia’s initial response to COVID-19, has been a leading voice in calling for a return to normalcy.