Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Watching Gladys comparing numbers in NSW to Florida and foreshadowing ongoing restrictions even at 80% double vaccinated.

Today might be the day governments lost the public...

Well the NSW Premier was pointing to the Doherty report and I think you pointed out some of the assumptions which are now probably not even achievable in terms of cases before getting to 80%.....its all so frustrating.

 

[Seat0B]

Source of twelve cases 'under investigation' among 28 COVID-19 infections recorded in the ACT

One of Canberra's 19 new cases is a student at Lyneham High School, another is a worker at an aged care facility in Greenway. Of the 28 cases active in the ACT so far, 12 remain under investigation.

www.abc.net.au

two additional weeks of lockdown in ACT

 

[jase05]

As predicted, Dan has been angling for it

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1427086096484036608

 

[Must...Fly!]

As predicted, Dan has been angling for it

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1427086096484036608

Novel idea: throw the book at the 70 odd morons who hosted an engagement party instead of 5 million in Melbourne. And at the press conference just tell people to find their local pharmac_ and get vaccinated. Instead of waving a big stick in everyone's face. Again.

 

[oz_mark]

Don't tar us all with the same brush. Considering he called a snap press conference just to announce that had me scratching my head.

Part diversion. Part fear mongering.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

As predicted, Dan has been angling for it

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1427086096484036608

Novel idea: throw the book at the 70 odd morons who hosted an engagement party instead of 5 million in Melbourne. And at the press conference just tell people to find their local pharmac_ and get vaccinated. Instead of waving a big stick in everyone's face. Again.

The Vic Premier is certainly a true believer in his covid policy......but still no ring of steel yet.

 

[Seat0B]

Sounds like a "mockdown"... drinking runs, regional tourism, engagement parties? What's going on in Victoria?

Lockdown fatigue? Civil disobedience campaign? Reality bites? People sick of "doing the right thing" for no apparent benefit (yes I know they don't catch COVID and die, but probably most people out and about won't catch COVID and die either)? People sick of taking one for the team? People no longer believe that it makes a blind bit of difference to the outcome?

Take your pick - and I'm sure there are other reasons.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

 

[jase05]

The Vic Premier is certainly a true believer in his covid policy......but still no ring of steel yet.

Dan about to announce 2 week lockdown extension and 2 week curfew. Will need a permit to be out between the hours of 9pm-5am

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Lockdown fatigue? Civil disobedience campaign? Reality bites? People sick of "doing the right thing" for no apparent benefit (yes I know they don't catch COVID and die, but probably most people out and about won't catch COVID and die either)? People sick of taking one for the team? People no longer believe that it makes a blind bit of difference to the outcome?

Take your pick - and I'm sure there are other reasons.

I think the poster was having a virtual reply to a prominent Vic poster who loves the word mockdown to describe Sydney's lockdown.....I'm guessing its the frustration.

II'm not sure lockdown fatigue is accurate because of course Melbourne has the most lockdowns - it possibly more accurate to be called 'on edge (aka ever present risk of life turned upside down) because of covid' fatigue.

 

[Seat0B]

I understand what you are saying but I don't want to live in a society where people consider it optional to follow the laws. It's the price we pay for living in a democracy.

Tend to agree, but the laws need to be proportionate and reasonable - many genuine and law abiding people don't follow all laws blindly, and some laws are just wrong from my perspective (eg previously the way we prosecuted gay people, or women having pregnancy terminations; charging people for assisting a relative with terminal illness to commit suicide, some of the refugee laws, banning citizens from returning if they were in India, impossible caps on other citizens' return, requiring an exit permit, prohibiting people from crossing a state border etc etc etc).

Sometimes the price we pay for living in a democracy is diverse views, and I for one am pretty tired of the governments usurping my freedom and my citizenship rights for little apparent benefit to the community (look where we are today - it clearly does not work) all on the basis of non-transparent "medical advice". I was willing to go along in the early stages, but they have had more than enough period of grace to get quarantine and vaccination sorted. YMMV.

 

[Seat0B]

As a resident of Canberra, we have been very lucky up until recently. Canberra in winter is not your favourite destination due to the coughpy temperatures, and that played in our favour until recently.

As a result, ACT Government became more and more complacent with enforcing social distancing and gathering sizes and now this has happened. Yes people may have assumed it was just a winter flu. But in the absence of community reminders, many would have just kept working from home.

My daughter's high school was an exposure zone, so now our entire family is housebound (Quarantine) for two weeks. A negative COVID test is meaningless and just means we don't become a primary contact. Meanwhile, I'm the only one who can work from home, with my wife an aged care worker and two adult sons working essential jobs, all stuck at home waiting for the end of 14 days. I even had some essential travel to SA booked that is now hosed.

Very sorry to hear it @MikeG. That must feel so frustrating for you and your family.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Watching Gladys comparing numbers in NSW to Florida and foreshadowing ongoing restrictions even at 80% double vaccinated.

Today might be the day governments lost the public...

For everyone's information this is the quote of NSW Premier - courtesy of ABC blog

"What I have just said is no different to what we have said for weeks and weeks and weeks. It is no different from what we have said to the start of the pandemic. Whilst COVID is active globally, and whilst the Delta strain is causing carnage all around the world, we can't pretend we will get to zero and stay at zero forever."

"Even when you follow the Doherty Institute report ... after you have 80 per cent of double doses and you open up to an extent, depending on your case numbers, you are still at risk and you will see cases pop up.

"When you have 80 per cent of your population vaccinated, that reduces the number of people that will end up in hospital and the number of people that will die. Let me make this very clear, which I have said from day one, it is always our aspiration and we have to work hard to get the case numbers down.

"It is not a pleasant — pleasant is the wrong word to use, but it is not a situation that rests comfortably with anybody, quite the opposite. It is a horrible situation. We need to turn it around. But to suggest that we are going to have zero the whole way through until the pandemic ends across the world is I don't think a realistic proposition."

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

To put it bluntly, the more DISEASE that is spreading around the pool the less reasonable keeping australians locked out of coming home seems.

if SYD can handle 400+ cases a day spreading around, would allowing 5-10 a day through international travel be anything other than a drop in the pool?

 

[antycbr]

When Gladys said this it was the point that I lost it:

"There is a difference between a lockdown and restrictions. We will need to live with restrictions so long as Delta is around. So long as Delta has a presence in the world, even if we had zero cases and we were at 80% double dose, you would still have to respect rules that exist around vaccinations, around social distancing, around mask-wearing, so long as Delta and deadly Covid is around, we will always need to live with a measure of restriction."

No. Just no.

 

[kookaburra75]

As a resident of Canberra, we have been very lucky up until recently. Canberra in winter is not your favourite destination due to the coughpy temperatures, and that played in our favour until recently.

As a result, ACT Government became more and more complacent with enforcing social distancing and gathering sizes and now this has happened. Yes people may have assumed it was just a winter flu. But in the absence of community reminders, many would have just kept working from home.

My daughter's high school was an exposure zone, so now our entire family is housebound (Quarantine) for two weeks. A negative COVID test is meaningless and just means we don't become a primary contact. Meanwhile, I'm the only one who can work from home, with my wife an aged care worker and two adult sons working essential jobs, all stuck at home waiting for the end of 14 days. I even had some essential travel to SA booked that is now hosed.

I feel your pain. While not getting locked in like you and your family, I only missed being trapped as I visited the nearby supermarket at 11am, while the contact visited at 6pm that day. I've also just cancelled a trip up to Noosa at the end of next week for me and MrsK, as the two week extension to the ACT Lockdown has scrubbed that idea.
The old 'stand by, to stand by'.

 

[Pushka]

When Gladys said this it was the point that I lost it:

"There is a difference between a lockdown and restrictions. We will need to live with restrictions so long as Delta is around. So long as Delta has a presence in the world, even if we had zero cases and we were at 80% double dose, you would still have to respect rules that exist around vaccinations, around social distancing, around mask-wearing, so long as Delta and deadly Covid is around, we will always need to live with a measure of restriction."

No. Just no.

Well, we are under restrictions here in SA - masks compulsory everywhere and limit of 10 to household etc etc and we, touch wood, have not had any unknown community transmission in 3 weeks. So if you think NSW might be bad, stay away from SA.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I was willing to go along in the early stages, but they have had more than enough period of grace to get quarantine and vaccination sorted. YMMV.

More or less agree. I, like almost everyone else, have followed the rules to the best of my ability and capability. Booked and received vaccinations the minute I was regarded as eligible by the Victorian government. Unfortunately it seems like none of the sacrifices we as a people made over the past 18 months have earned anything. Feel like I am pretty much done, as much as I would still like to believe.

I know the above isn't quite true but I am just frustrated now. About to start 3 weeks of annual leave, and I won't even be able to go for my usual late night walk & podcast time. Sigh.

 

[antycbr]

Well, we are under restrictions here in SA - masks compulsory everywhere and limit of 10 to household etc etc and we, touch wood, have not had any unknown community transmission in 3 weeks. So if you think NSW might be bad, stay away from SA.

It's not the short term implications, its the long term ones. If we vaccinate everyone possible then we need to drop all restrictions or you'll have an insurrection on your hands.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Vic Presser.
Dan:

Lockdown extended by a further 2 weeks.

69 at engagement party, and confirmed that transmission occurred at the event.