It was the point when Australia looked like it was losing control of the battle against COVID-19. When we could be on trajectory similar to Europe at the time.

And yet, almost two weeks later, the number of daily new infections has been cut by more than 80 per cent.

Yesterday, 90 people in Australia received a positive diagnoses of coronavirus infection. The Prime Minister has said it’s still too high. And deaths – that lag behind new infections – have doubled in a little over a week.

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But increasingly people are looking to this corner of the world as a possible model to fend off COVID-19.

Much of that focus has been on New Zealand where lockdown measures – far stricter than Australia – have been in place. The nation has been lauded as “winning the war” on COVID-19 and as the “wonder down under” for having only two deaths from the disease to date. The country has 1239 cases and has been celebrating that new infections have fallen for four days in a row.

However, in Australia, we’ve done even better on that metric. On all but one of the past 10 days, new infections here have continually fallen.

On March 31, 313 new cases were diagnosed in Australia; a week later on April 7 that was down to 119 new cases.

Yesterday there were 20 fewer cases than the day before with 85 new infections.

The numbers of new infections can, and likely will, vary. They could bump back up. But the continued downward trend in Australia, while keeping infections at a relatively low level, is a remarkable statistic that is looked on with envy by the rest of the world.

It has surprised even our own government, particularly given recent modelling suggested 89 per cent of Australian could be infected with COVID-19 with hundreds of thousands of deaths if no action had been taken.

“We have so far avoided the horror scenarios that we have seen overseas, whether it be initially in China, the United States. Italy, Spain or the United Kingdom,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison said this week.

But he warned Australian needed to “lock in the gains”.

FOUR FACTORS THAT HAVE HELPED AUSTRALIA

Australia and New Zealand are two of the very few English-speaking nations to keep a lid on coronavirus. That appears to be down to four key factors: geography, time, testing and swift action.

Yesterday, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the country’s geography, its relative isolation and being an island, had been a “distinct advantage in our ability to eliminate the virus”. These are attributes shared by Australia.

Contrast that to tiny Luxembourg, bordered by France and Germany and with a population of 600,000 that has 3500 cases and 52 deaths.

That may have helped delay the spread of COVID-19, particularly in New Zealand which didn’t see its first case until late February – at least a month after Australia. Even in Australia, infections didn’t really begin to take off until March

"We had a little bit more time to think about it, and we could learn from the experience of China," Professor Michael Baker, from Otago University told CNN.

Rather than having to desperately react as the infection raged, as in other countries, both nations had valuable space to see what was working – and what wasn’t – put in place social distancing measures and build healthcare capacity.

Early on it became clear South Korea’s huge level of testing and tracing was working wonders.

Australia has now taken swabs from more than 300,000 people. If they are positive, the hard yards can then be put in to find out who they got it from and who they may have given it too, with the latter people isolated before they can spread it further.

In recent days, less tests have been done. But health officials have said this is a good sign as it means fewer people are presenting with possible symptoms of COVID-19.

Australia also took decisive action early. Blocking arrivals from China, then Iran and Italy.

“Australia is a good story but we need to keep it that way. It’s only Australia and South Korea that have really managed to move the curve. They still have cases occurring and so will we likely,” Australian National University infectious disease expert Peter Collignon told news.com.au.

Working from home and social distancing have also helped to contain transmission. But perhaps the most effective actions have been closing borders and putting overseas arrivals in enforced isolation in hotels to see if they develop the disease. New Zealand is to shortly start placing its returning citizens in mandatory isolation.

The blunder of allowing passengers off the Ruby Princess cruise ship, 600 of which developed coronavirus, has been one of the few mistakes by Australia.

Antibody tests would be a next step which could reveal exactly how many Australians have had the disease given it may have passed through many people’s system without them even knowing it.

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND NZ

There are may similarities in Australia and New Zealand’s COVID-19 strategies.

But the “level four” lockdown across the ditch is a big difference. New Zealand appears to be aiming to eradicate coronavirus. It may work, but it could also leave the country sealed off form the outside world for a time.

“I don’t think we’ll eradicate it in Australia,” said Prof Collignon.

“I don’t think we’ll get to zero but if we have low numbers our health system will cope and we’ll be able to function as a society.”

That could mean Australia getting used to an undercurrent of COVID-19 infections and even deaths ebbing and flowing, if public sentiment is that some level of normality should resume.

Nonetheless, a Sydney University paper has said that if social distancing is maintained in Australia, cases could fall to zero by July.

The big fear, however, is coronavirus roaring back.

Earlier this week, Chief Medical Officer Dr Brendan Murphy said Australia could easily lose its bragging rights.

“We have seen some very impressive reductions in growth in transmission of COVID-19. But if we lose that rigour that the Australian community has embraced, particularly over Easter, it could all come undone.

“We've seen what this virus can do in a cruise ship. It can spread to 30, 50, several hundred people very quickly.”

Prof Collignon is optimistic that some measures can be relaxed in Australia. That neighbourly barbecues can recommence and you won’t be fined for eating a kebab on a bench or going for a stroll in the country. Maybe even cafes could reopen in some form.

Some of the most effective measures to combat COVID-19, he said, are the simplest.

“If we do the right things with our hands, mouth and nose and keep our distance, this should be controllable.”