Last week New South Wales ended its 40 day streak of no community transmission when a man who drove transport for international flight crew tested positive to coronavirus.

In the eight days since that case was confirmed the cluster has grown to 49 cases and Sydney sits on the precipice of another lockdown.

Today on Please Explain the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, Lisa Davies, joines Nathanael Cooper to look at the politics behind these decisions, the economic impacts and how Sydney differs from Melbourne.