Among the members are Denmark, Norway, Greece, the Czech Republic, Israel, Singapore, New Zealand and Australia.

These are the countries acted quickly to control the spread of COVID-19 and have been very successful in containing the virus.

By all accounts much of last night's meeting was spent discussing not just the importance of tracing and testing for the virus, managing localised outbreaks and scientific cooperation, but the measures involved in reopening economies. It is a question much of the world is struggling with right now.

For instance, Singapore, due to the very make-up of its population, is now dealing with not a second wave but a third glut of infections.

Singapore efficiently dealt with the initial two waves, which came first from China, and then from Singaporeans returning from abroad. The third wave has taken hold among migrants - who make up more than a quarter of the 5.6 million population.

Many work in construction and live in dormitory-like warehouses with multiple people in rooms. More than 20 such facilities have been isolated but consider that one building alone houses 13,000 and you get an idea of the problem's scale.

So while Australia will later today hear from PM Morrison about "what next", sorting through the invite list for that big weekend catch-up will probably have to wait a little longer.

Just as it is in the UK where politicians have warned the soon-to-be-announced easing of restrictions will be "modest, small, incremental and very carefully monitored".

And just as likely will be the case here, in many countries rifts at the different between levels of government are emerging over how fast to lift the lid on lockdowns.

Spain, Italy, Germany, Russia and, of course, the US, are internally butting heads on how best to find that balance.

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