Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Lynda2475]

Howard Springs & a new venue in VIC (Avalon) build it & limit all returnee to these 2 locations.

Not feasible - that would reduce arrivals by 70%. Even with a new purpose built facility there are going to need to continue HQ. Unless you have purpose built facilities in each state capable of taking >2k/week each.

I keep hearing Vic say they would put the variants of concern in the dedicated facilities, but the issue is you don't know if someone has Covid let alone which variant until they do have it. There are multiple variants circulating in most countries.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

But there is absolutely no way a lockdown was justified on the basis of Wollert man alone....that IS crazy talk.

Plus quite possibly may have achieved absolutely nothing as who ever the missing link (to Case 5) was probably already infected and may still have met Case 5 to infect him. A 3 day lockdown may well have occurred and not actually prevented this current transmission chain..

Case 5 who was 12 days symptomatic while infectious, and another case reported on ABC New just now as having been potentially symptomatic and infectious for 12 days, along with the person who was 6 days symptomatic and infectious has been one of the two key problems of this outbreak.

Having such people creating transmission chains has been a key driver of this outbreak.

Contact tracing has been very good and despite the huge testing volumes most cases (including the asymptomatic) most cases have been found by contact tracing directing people to get tested.

The second key problem is how quickly this strain has seen some people get infected, and then infect others.

While much was made of the UK and SA Variants as being more contagious, they were mainly so due to people being contagious for longer. In Australia with our good contact tracing this has not really been a problem as they were found and quarantined so that that longer contagious period became irrelevant.. The problem we have had was that some people stayed contagious longer than the traditional quarantine period.

But with this new Indian Variant the problem is that some people can become contagious very quickly, and this means that it is a lot harder to chop off transmission chains. One can see why the Indian Variant has ripped through some countries overseas now.


How quickly this variant can infect was not really understood in Australia till it had starting doing its work in Australia (in Melbourne) and the contact tracing discovered this. If it had of been appreciated earlier, then SA Health may never have moved the person who shared a room with a carrier to the hotel where Wollert was infected. Mind you that person should never have been moved to that hotel regardless.

 

[Lynda2475]

Case 5 who was 12 days infectious, and another case reported on ABC New just now as having bee potentially infectious for 12 days, along with the person who was 6 days potentially infectious have been one of the two key problems of this outbreak.

This! There were bad decisions form SA govt re HQ, and Vic contract tracing failed to contain all the original links from SA, and were very late to mandate an official QR app but if Case 5 had got tested on the first day he had symptoms (or even just stayed home until symptoms resolved) we wouldn't be seeing the spread we are.

Similarly if the aged care workers had followed process and gone to state run vac centre for their shot in Feb when they were eligible (instead of lazily hoping for leftover from resident doses), all would have been fully vaccinated before this outbreak.

Some personal accountability required.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Looks like no new cases in aged care today (or at least till midnight last night, as new cases can be identified whenever a result comes back).

 

[dajop]

The significant factor here's seems to be that one of the early cases worked as a delivery driver with a very broad area of activity. Combine that with a variant that seems more transmissible and you can see where both the concern and the lockdown come from.

Yeah, but it's still the government's fault. Well it is least according to the TWIT-o-sphere. MIaybe they should have foreseen that and restricted all delivery drivers to a 5km radius during the pandemic (joking!).

 

[dajop]

Vic contract tracing failed to contain all the original links from SA

Of course contact tracing is only as good as the weakest link - and that's individuals (who chose to check-in to venues or not, if they don't who'd know they were there?. And also depends on those who chose to be honest or not.)

 

[Batterytraveller]

Of course contact tracing is only as good as the weakest link - and that's individuals (who chose to check-in to venues or not, if they don't who'd know they were there?. And also depends on those who chose to be honest or not.)

100% agree with this. I can honestly say I have breezed past the QR code more than once, and been in more than a few places (and Ubers) with no QR code to scan.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Disturbing if true.....

 

[SydneySwan]

Disturbing if true.....

View attachment 249329

WTF?

 

[Lynda2475]

100% agree with this. I can honestly say I have breezed past the QR code more than once, and been in more than a few places (and Ubers) with no QR code to scan.

Vic were very late to mandate an official state app though, people more inclined to use the official apps than random ones.

Uber doesn't need a QR code because they have your full details (and credit card) on your account for each booking - the same way there is no QR on planes, because its ticketed they know who you are. Taxis have QR because you can hail them, but ride shares have to be booked.

 

[jakeseven7]

Of course contact tracing is only as good as the weakest link - and that's individuals (who chose to check-in to venues or not, if they don't who'd know they were there?. And also depends on those who chose to be honest or not.)

Exactly which was a key issue in the Northern Beaches outbreak too, but really every outbreak. People are getting tired of..... well everything.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Exactly which was a key issue in the Northern Beaches outbreak too, but really every outbreak. People are getting tired of..... well everything.

I'll happily volunteer the fact that I am experiencing lockdown/covid fatigue and my standards are lower than what they were 12 months ago.

 

[Batterytraveller]

Vic were very late to mandate an official state app though, people more inclined to use the official apps than random ones.

Uber doesn't need a QR code because they have your full details (and credit card) on your account for each booking - the same way there is no QR on planes, because its ticketed they know who you are. Taxis have QR because you can hail them, but ride shares have to be booked.

Ubers in VIC have had mandatory QR codes for a while now.

 

[MooTime]

Vic were very late to mandate an official state app though, people more inclined to use the official apps than random ones.

Uber doesn't need a QR code because they have your full details (and credit card) on your account for each booking - the same way there is no QR on planes, because its ticketed they know who you are. Taxis have QR because you can hail them, but ride shares have to be booked.

But they have QR scan codes at airport lounges. They have your BP scanned so know exactly who's entered the lounge.
Why have the QR there on your Uber theory.

getting your info from Uber or banks I don't imagine is a swift process. QR codes IMO should be in Uber's / Taxi's.

 

[suze2000]

bad decisions form SA govt re HQ, and Vic contract tracing failed to contain all the original links from SA,

I don't see how you can blame contact tracing for this. The fault lies squarely at the feet of Case 5 and he, quite frankly, should be taken straight to jail when he recovers from Covid.

 

[serfty]

Why have the QR there on your Uber theory.

'Cause there can be more than one PAX.

Just like non travelling QP guests.

 

[MooTime]

'Cause there can be more than one PAX.

Just like non travelling QP guests.

yeah, I'm all for QR codes, I use them everywhere, it's so bloody simple. Now that there all the gov one with my details saved.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Of course contact tracing is only as good as the weakest link - and that's individuals (who chose to check-in to venues or not, if they don't who'd know they were there?. And also depends on those who chose to be honest or not.)

Contact tracing is actually very good at present. Most cases are being found by contact tracers directing people to get tested, rather than people randomly presenting for testing. Or as in the Berala Cluster presenting at a hospital for treatment and being found by chance due to that.

 

[N860CR]

Instead the Victorian government sat on their hands, didn't even mandate mask wearing until it was too late

I will admit that I’m not 100% over these cases, but would a mask mandate have prevented any of them?

 

[jakeseven7]

I will admit that I’m not 100% over these cases, but would a mask mandate have prevented any of them?

No one could possibly say really.... though I'm sure some one will (waiting......)