How the Sydney coronavirus outbreak went from ‘very low-risk’ to shattering Christmas reunions

Christmas in Western Australia was not supposed to look like this.

With the virus kept at bay for eight months and borders finally opened after the COVID-19 situation elsewhere improved dramatically, the festive season loomed as a sense of relative normality after a year known for anything but.

Now, that stands in ruins.

With the joy of a Christmas reunion in sight, the latest New South Wales outbreak has snatched that away from so many WA families in truly heartbreaking fashion.

It means scores of families now face an agonising choice: submit to 14 days in isolation over Christmas and New Year to see loved ones, or…