Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[blackcat20]

Because they worked hard and sacrificed much during lockdown and (jealously) guard what they have achieved.

You clearly have been missing the Vic press conferences involving the Vic Premier

Exactly; with over 100 days of lockdown under our belts, we don't want to risk our freedom for anyone or anything. We lost a lot already. For example, my nephew just turned one and I havent seen him since he was a newborn). My parents went months without seeing my daughter, she was still a crawling baby when they'd last seen her and is now a walking/talking child (one who is quite afraid of her grandma ).

 

[antycbr]

Seeing all the states coming up with a remarkably similar list at least keeps things consistent...

I hope they acknowledge copyright

 

[Must...Fly!]

Exactly; with over 100 days of lockdown under our belts, we don't want to risk our freedom for anyone or anything. We lost a lot already. For example, my nephew just turned one and I havent seen him since he was a newborn). My parents went months without seeing my daughter, she was still a crawling baby when they'd last seen her and is now a walking/talking child (one who is quite afraid of her grandma ).

I feel sorry for you and others in your position. That is a very sad story.

But I also feel sorry for the many thousands with family in (until recently) Brisbane and also Sydney who were locked out of even coming home, much less visit family. And those with family in WA remain locked out of seeing any loved one as well. (I am not suggesting you are not aware and have compassion for those)

Everyone has their own story and I fully understand that but one has to be aware that this is a nation, and we really need to start behaving and operating like one, or the consequences will be horrid for everyone.

 

[blackcat20]

I feel sorry for you and others in your position. That is a very sad story.

But I also feel sorry for the many thousands with family in (until recently) Brisbane and also Sydney who were locked out of even coming home, much less visit family. And those with family in WA remain locked out of seeing any loved one as well. (I am not suggesting you are not aware and have compassion for those)

Everyone has their own story and I fully understand that but one has to be aware that this is a nation, and we really need to start behaving and operating like one, or the consequences will be horrid for everyone.

I dont disagree, but a lot of Victorians will be very twitchy about this year turning out like last year. Unless you lived it, you cannot understand it.

And yes, I feel sympathy for those stuck in other states (though the rethink travel warnings were there long before the borders shut). And WA is its own special case....

 

[N860CR]

Just occurred to me that we've now gone past the incubation period from the New Years Fireworks in Sydney.

“New Year’s Eve is going to be the mother of all super-spreading events because the people who get infected on Christmas Day are going to be at their absolute maximum infectiousness on New Year’s Eve,” said UNSW Professor Raina MacIntyre.

Shortly the Sydney Test Cricket will pass the same barrier... I guess the next superspreading event is Australia Day. We need to schedule some more events to keep our epidemiologists in work... and where are the opinion articles on the Australian Open from Rania et al?

Next thing she'll be having a go at the Sydney Festival...

Havent these people read “the boy who cried wolf”. SA and Qld pulled something similar. It’s a great way to lose public support, especially now we’re a year in and people are getting very fatigued.

 

[N860CR]

The red-orange zone split is always funny on the ground. In King Street Newtown you can eat in the City of Sydney on the eastern side of the street (e.g. Thai Pothong, an institution on King St), but if you go to the Dendy cinema on the opposite side of the street you are in the Inner West and are verboten.

I was about to give this exact example. This is the problem with the council mergers... very different areas have been mixed together to create “super-areas”. The former Marrickville and Leichhardt council areas have no COVID exposure and realistically little mixing with the former Ashfield council (no more than any other part of Sydney would have). Most in my part of the Inner West we’re doing seriously cringing when Croyon was connected to us.

Perhaps a better arrangement would be postcode based using a distance ring around the “area of concern” (was going to say hotspot, but we don’t have any of those).

The fact that I walk the dog and cross between Sydney and Inner West really does show that it’s somewhat of a flawed system.

 

[antycbr]

I was about to give this exact example. This is the problem with the council mergers... very different areas have been mixed together to create “super-areas”. The former Marrickville and Leichhardt council areas have no COVID exposure and realistically little mixing with the former Ashfield council (no more than any other part of Sydney would have). Most in my part of the Inner West we’re doing seriously cringing when Croyon was connected to us.

Perhaps a better arrangement would be postcode based using a distance ring around the “area of concern” (was going to say hotspot, but we don’t have any of those).

The fact that I walk the dog and cross between Sydney and Inner West really does show that it’s somewhat of a flawed system.

Perhaps Clover could erect signs along King St - Checkpoint Charlie Style

YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE CLOVER SECTOR...

Given the politics of Inner West Council, it may as well be the Soviet sector...

 

[N860CR]

Given the politics of Inner West Council, it may as well be the Soviet sector...

No argument there! Try getting a DA for a garage through without passing the paper bag around... (and don’t leave negative comments on their Facebook page, they’ll have the solicitor send you a dirty letter)

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Well im off to a meeting with my solictor whose office is in Canada Bay, I know that will alarm the Victorians on this thread.

But im pretty confident i wont contract covid by doing so, despite conjecture mask usage is good in that area and there are no local cases there to be exposed to.

Because they all seem to think it being a Red Zone is justified so some high risk to the health of anyone who dares to go there.

Did anyone from Victoria actually say that today? Let alone all of us?

As I have posted a number of times my views on recent border travel restrictions are quite different from those recently required by the Vic DHHS.

All I have said today is that the Health Officials regularly talk and exchange information with their counterparts in other states, that they vary in their opinions and conclusions, and lastly that there will be some logical basis as to the VicDHHS current travel restrictions from Sydney even if you and I both disagree with their current requirements.

 

[antycbr]

Did anyone from Victoria actually say that?

As I have posted a number of times my views on recent border travel restrictions are quite different from those recently required by the Vic DHHS.

All I have said today is that the Health Officials regularly talk and exchange information with their counterparts in other states, that vary in their opinions and conclusions, and lastly that there will be some logical basis as the VicDHHS current travel restrictions from Sydney even if you and I both disagree with their current requirements.

Much of this pandemic has seen the demise of traditional forms of governmental accountability, including the public release of health information which would support these decisions being made, such as the risk assessment documents used by the CHOs to inform the Premier and associated Cabinet.

Instead we have a cabinet in confidence based decisionmaking process that is highly opaque and states of emergency are used to prevent Auditor General and parliamentary committee/parliamentary oversight of decisions. When the big decisions have been shown to be wrong, the concept of Westminster ministerial accountability seems to be right out the window.

I think it's important that we don't lose these concepts and learn for the inevitable next pandemic.

 

[drron]

Because they worked hard and sacrificed much during lockdown and (jealously) guard what they have achieved.

You clearly have been missing the Vic press conferences involving the Vic Premier

North west Tasmania also went through a severe lockdown.It is also a lot smaller than Victoria and most knew someone with covid and their 2 major hospitals in the area closed.And they worked hard and indeed more successfully not letting the disease get a hold in Aged Care.Only 1 case who was taken out and isolated immediately.
Yet even when the Victorian second wave was in full swing Tasmania would still give compassionate exemptions for people in Melbourne to quarantine at their families home.Also have always let their own residents return.

And Victoria did go through a bad time but there are many places around the world who have done it harder with many more cases and deaths.
So I don't buy fear as a reason for hard border closures.Aren't we supposed to believe the science?

Because QLD, VIC and TAS are run by 3 different governments, with 3 different health departments, 3 individual CHO's and make their own independent decisions based on the information they receive, the advice they are given and the politics of the day... Has that not become clear to you yet ?

Hello.... WA and the Mysterious Case of their supposed 'Health Advice' from an Invisible CHO?

And why do you suppose that it isn't clear to me?
I have been complaining of the different State politics continuously.Tasmania used to be up there with the worst but has lifted it's game.
Victoria was up there with the best but now basically has only WA below it.And that puts it in with the legendary Drover's dog.

 

[jakeseven7]

Much of this pandemic has seen the demise of traditional forms of governmental accountability, including the public release of health information which would support these decisions being made, such as the risk assessment documents used by the CHOs to inform the Premier and associated Cabinet.

Instead we have a cabinet in confidence based decisionmaking process that is highly opaque and states of emergency are used to prevent Auditor General and parliamentary committee/parliamentary oversight of decisions. When the big decisions have been shown to be wrong, the concept of Westminster ministerial accountability seems to be right out the window.

I think it's important that we don't lose these concepts and learn for the inevitable next pandemic.

Like WA burying their CHO for 101 days? That won't be allowed in the next pandemic? Bummer

 

[lovetravellingoz]

The Covid test results are not yet known for Matt Damon and family who have just arrived in NSW courtesy of a number of exemptions and who are outside the arrivals cap, are in private quarantine and were exempted from HQ.

 

[Lynda2475]

The Covid test results are not yet known for Matt Damon and family who have just arrived in NSW courtesy of a number of exemptions and who are outside the arrivals cap, are in private quarantine and were exempted from HQ.

Also should not have been allowed - force actors to suck it up in HQ liek everyone else.

But main difference is whilst NSW let Matt Damon they arent in parallel denying NSW residents currently in other states from returning (unliek another state who lets high risk tennis players in whilst locking out their own tax payers, or voters as they are sometimes known).

 

[Lynda2475]

After going on about no risk of CAnada Bay, you just prove the connectedness of Inner West to Canada Bay.

I never said people from inner west do not go to Canada Bay or vice versa. You have to go through Inner West LGA to get to the city, but you dont have to go through Strathfied or Burwood. Canada Bay and Inner West are next to each other - Five dock (Canada Bay) connects with Ashfield and Haberfield (Inner West).

oday your post 15274. So not from the beginning.

Go back to #14,875 that's where i first raised the Canada Bay inconsistency (NT and ACT did it first and now Vic has copied) I noted the listed exposure sites and that none were in Canada Bay on that post. That pre-dates the Concord Hospital visit.

However I hold my point that NSW Health has not put out any calls for anyone who was at Concord Hospital on those recent dates to get tested or isolate (apart from work place contacts who have already tested negative), because the person wasnt dealing with the public or patients. There are no shopping centre, restuarnt, gyms etc where the public would have interacted with that person in the Canada area on any of the official lists.

 

[SydneySwan]

I will be driving from lower north shore to Strathfield via Canada Bay (Five Dock) tomorrow morning and back in the late afternoon. Best to wear a mask in the car to minimise the risk I think.

 

[Lynda2475]

xactly; with over 100 days of lockdown under our belts, we don't want to risk our freedom for anyone or anything.

If this is true there would be more uproar from Victorians en mase re the AO which is greater risk than a Victorian who has been visiting Sydney relos in a suburb with zero cases, returning to their home and waiting for a test result.

The reason Victorians suffered through such a long lockdown was your government let you down by not controlling the second wave and then being super slow to release restrictions when things started resolving.

No one is saying you didnt have a rough period, but it is nonsensical to over-react to a small number of cases in NSW and assume the worst of us when there is no history of cases exceeding capacity of contrat tracers or exploding to scary levels. There is a reason the Feds dont consider anywhere NSW a hotspot, that is because the numbers just dont tell that story.

The NB cluster is resolving much faster than the Crossroads Hotel, NSW proving yet again they can manage cases without having to shut down the whole city or state, NSW's slogan may not be "Stay Safe, Stay Open" like Victoria, but we have managed to Stay open and stay a lot safer. a handful of cases is not a reason for anyone except close contacts to lose any freedoms.

 

[Lynda2475]

I will be driving from lower north shore to Strathfield via Canada Bay (Five Dock) tomorrow morning and back in the late afternoon. Best to wear a mask in the car to minimise the risk I think

Do you self a favour, done a mask and stop at Pasticceria Tamborrino on Great North Rd for some delicious italian treats, kicks butt over Papa's at Leichhardt everytime for ricotta cheesecake and other pastries (but skip the coffee which is lacking).

 

[jakeseven7]

A handful of cases is not a reason for anyone except close contacts to lose any freedoms.

Agreed. But no other state buys into that unfortunately

 

[jakeseven7]

Pretty coughpy news from Tasmania with Brisbane and Sydney basically still banned from travel (have to do 2 weeks quarantine)

Tassie now the second most draconian state after WA....

Tas has flagged they will review Brisbane at the end of the week, no review date at all set for Sydney......

-----​

Tasmania downgrades Greater Brisbane as medium risk​

"Effective immediately, Greater Brisbane will step down to a medium risk location. One of the key reasons for that, a relatively cautious assessment, is the matter of the UK strain of the virus which has been detected in six people linked to their hotel quarantine. We want to be confident that all contact efforts have been exhausted by the end of this week.

"In terms of the Greater Sydney region, this is currently classified as medium risk. While New South Wales has recorded no cases of locally acquired infection in the past 24 hours ... based on this and informed by our public health officials, we intend to maintain our medium risk classification for the time being. [He adds this includes the Wollongong area]

"We need to ensure we are confident there are no growing cases in the community which haven't been detected before moving that risk assessment to a lower rating.

"In terms of Victoria, travel from the entirety of the state of Victoria goes back to being low risk."

'The answer is no': Daniel Andrews' stern rebuke to quarantining Australian Open stars

The Victorian Premier says "the virus doesn't treat you specially, so neither do we", amid claims from some players that they were not made fully aware of quarantine rules ahead of the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne on February 8.

www.abc.net.au