Well, what a week that was!
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However, the truth of the matter is, the battle might have only just begun.
It's fair to say almost all of Ballarat would've breathed a collective sigh of relief when news emerged on both Friday and Saturday that only five new COVID cases had been confirmed from more than 5000 tests over two days.
The fact there were no new mystery cases was also met with comfort.
It's not the end of the road for us, far from it, but serves as hope that perhaps the planned seven-day lockdown won't need to be extended.
In what is arguably the most difficult stretch of the entire pandemic for our city, we this saw people unite in truly heartwarming fashion.
It is no secret that the the Department of Health and Human services are swamped with the current outbreak throughout the state, making it difficult to provide immediate update on exposure sites.
However, the initiative showed by countless Ballarat businesses to get on the front foot and identify themselves as exposure sites - often hours before the DHHS - has no doubt played a huge part in limiting the spread.
This action resulted in some people who were potentially exposed to the virus getting tested hours earlier than they otherwise would have.
And to the people, literally thousands of people, who put their lives on hold immediately to come forward and get tested, you've done a service to the city.
All we can do for now is sit back, obey the restrictions and hope we can knock this outbreak on the head and live under eased restrictions by next weekend.
On a bigger picture though, the key to minimising the risk of this ever happening again is to increase our vaccination rate.
We are ahead of the state average in Ballarat but have some work to do to catch-up to other cities in regional Victoria.
More doses are on the way and more appointments will open up.
If you haven't yet received a jab, make sure your name is next on the list.
- Pat Nolan, deputy editor