The Vice-Chancellor, following DFAT advice to "reconsider travel", has issued an edict that non-essential travel to the US and Canada should not be approved. I'm very curious about what 'non-essential' means. The main reason why staff would travel to the US or Canada is to attend a conference and the season begins in a few weeks. Of course a conference is just the sort of place where infection could easily spread, especially since you can be infectious for several days without showing or feeling any symptoms. But conference attendance is also one of the mainstays of research activity.

I am curious to see how this plays out in practice.