AFTER more than a month of coronavirus restrictions on our travel and interaction, it's only natural that thoughts start turning to when life might go back to normal.
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Overall, Australia has done an outstanding job of slowing the spread of coronavirus, putting us in a better position than nearly every other country on Earth.
The number of new infections has dropped dramatically and the death toll is in the dozens rather than the tens of thousands we are seeing overseas. But, health officials keep telling us, this is still only the start.
In the beginning we were warned to prepare for six months of shutdowns, meaning we're likely still closer to the beginning of this crisis than the end.
But Councillor Alex Christian's call for Bathurst to start reopening businesses and getting back to normal in as little as two weeks - pending no new infections, it must be stressed - is attractive because it's exactly what we want to see.
And the idea is particularly attractive to the many Bathurst businesses that have been forced to close their doors during this crisis and who are feeling the impacts more keenly than the rest of us.
Cr Christian is also right when he notes that there is no single experience of this virus for communities across the state.
What we've seen in Bathurst is vastly different to what they've endured in Bondi and those realities should also be considered when navigating a path out of this lockdown.
But just how to do that is the problem.
The best answer, still, is for us to keep placing our trust in the medical professionals who have done such a good job so far.
If they say we can start returning to normal in two weeks, then fantastic.
More likely, though, is they will advise us to sit tight for a couple more months yet, taking a better safe than sorry approach.
It's not what we want to hear, but it's what we need to be told.