Aussies: Football, Meat Pies, and Rampant SARS

[Horza]

The Victorian situation is bad less because of the raw numbers than the fact it’s swept through aged care centres and is hitting hospital staff hard.

It’s one thing to say the virus has to be lived with but unless that is accompanied by fast and effective tracing (something Vic DHHS doesn’t appear to be managing) and efforts to support those on the frontline (and this means casual workers, particularly in meatpacking, logistics, retail and carers) a contained outbreak will still inflict substantial harms on some of the most vulnerable among us.

[The Drunkard]

Soon.

Might have to open a Westralia thread depending on how Clive goes in the High Court.

[Stubby]

55 minutes ago, The Drunkard said:

Soon.

Might have to open a Westralia thread depending on how Clive goes in the High Court.

Clive may win. The fucker.  Seriously, all his companies have done here in WA is get involved in litigation.

[Paxter]

4 hours ago, The Drunkard said:

Soon.

Might have to open a Westralia thread depending on how Clive goes in the High Court.

Haha, we already had our shot at that. 2/3 said secede and we still wound up staying in the Federation .

[Paxter]

6 hours ago, Horza said:

The Victorian situation is bad less because of the raw numbers than the fact it’s swept through aged care centres and is hitting hospital staff hard.

It’s one thing to say the virus has to be lived with but unless that is accompanied by fast and effective tracing (something Vic DHHS doesn’t appear to be managing) and efforts to support those on the frontline (and this means casual workers, particularly in meatpacking, logistics, retail and carers) a contained outbreak will still inflict substantial harms on some of the most vulnerable among us.

Fair call. I would say that Australia (and Vic) is still tracking top of (an admittedly under-performing) class on protecting vulnerable people from the virus. As a comparison point, roughly 7,000 Canadians have died so far in aged care settings, with some outrage and some shrugging from the electorate. No ministers have lost jobs over it AFAIK.

[Jeor]

Yes, the raw numbers are "okay" but the fact it's gotten into the aged care system is a big worry as this is where the real tragedies will occur.

NSW still clinging on by tracking every case but all it takes is a couple to slip the net and we'll lose control of it. The fact we've hung on for three weeks since the Victorian outbreak is a good sign but we've got to keep it up. The fact the outbreaks are starting to be seen all over Sydney (and not in a few concentrated locations) is a worrying sign.

[Paxter]

1 hour ago, Jeor said:

Yes, the raw numbers are "okay" but the fact it's gotten into the aged care system is a big worry as this is where the real tragedies will occur.

As things stand, I'd still argue that it's possible more lives have been saved than lost in Australia (so far) through better practices in aged care settings. As a simple example, no one is allowed to visit my grandmother's nursing home now without evidence of a 'flu shot. In times gone by, there would never have been such a strict requirement, even in peak 'flu season. 

Separately, some of the reporting on the Vic outbreak is infuriating. Headlines that the "lockdown is not working" etc. are just ridiculous. We know from other countries' experience that these types of restrictions are one of the only effective tools, reducing cases in places like Europe and New York to more manageable levels. 

[Jeor]

The lockdown in Melbourne is working. If there was no lockdown, the cases would be in the several thousands per day by now or more. I think the 700+ spike was also due to a lot of aged care facilities getting everyone mass tested at around the same time, so they were bound to find a lot more cases.

[karaddin]

I wish we'd just go with a lockdown of 1-2 weeks in NSW, the longer you leave it the more painful it is. The track and trace is working, I'm not discounting the work being done there at all - just give it the time to do it's job without overloading it. And I feel like Gladys at the start of all this would have felt the same, but the bullshit politicisation of this issue and the PM are forcing her hand.

[Impmk2]

I think Sydney should at least move to mandatory masks. The clusters are becoming a little widespread for comfort.

[Paxter]

Agree on both some sort of reintroduction of restrictions in NSW and masks.

Even if there is only, say, a 20% chance of NSW emulating Vic, the new rules would still be worth it.

For the record, the “lockdown isn’t working” headline was from the ABC! I’ve now switched to The Guardian and the Tele home page to see what the other mob is thinking :P. Maybe I should try some Sky After Dark for some lolz.

[Impmk2]

I guess "lockdown working, but not as effectively as hoped" isn't as snappy a headline. Need to look at the week on week trendline rather than single day figures which are prone to testing anomolies. Having said that, a couple days running of record / near record cases and a higher positive test % is concerning.

But yes, I'm becoming more annoyed at the clickbaity headlines on the ABC news website as of late, they've started using ones which intentionally leave out key bits of information to force clicks.

[Fragile Bird]

I just took a look at Worldometer, holy smokes, 721 cases and 13 deaths.

Damn, this stupid virus is infectious.

[Starkess]

My boyfriend started wearing a mask in Sydney now. He said he felt a little silly, but glad to have it.

[Horza]

They’re a pain in the bum. You always get halfway down the street before you realise you forgot it.

[Jeor]

Word on the street is that Melbourne is going to a New Zealand-style hard lockdown with only supermarkets, petrol stations and pharmacies open. Restaurants takeaway only, and in effect a hard stay-at-home order. I wonder whether they could have waited another week to see whether cases did eventually start coming down, but it sounds like they're going to go hard.

[Paxter]

5 hours ago, Jeor said:

Word on the street is that Melbourne is going to a New Zealand-style hard lockdown with only supermarkets, petrol stations and pharmacies open. Restaurants takeaway only, and in effect a hard stay-at-home order. I wonder whether they could have waited another week to see whether cases did eventually start coming down, but it sounds like they're going to go hard.

Lol. I love the idea that this is a “hard” lockdown. For a lot of the developed world (USA excepted), these are the basic restrictions that countries lived in for months and may well have to reintroduce. Going to the supermarket was the most exciting event of the week.

[Paxter]

Morrison concedes defeat and pulls the C’th out of Clive’s border challenge. All hail King Mark I!

[Jeor]

4 hours ago, Paxter said:

Lol. I love the idea that this is a “hard” lockdown. For a lot of the developed world (USA excepted), these are the basic restrictions that countries lived in for months and may well have to reintroduce. Going to the supermarket was the most exciting event of the week.

The million dollar question is whether this stays confined to Victoria or whether an outbreak jumps state borders. I'm actually very surprised that NSW have managed to keep track of it until now when pubs, restaurants and other gatherings have still stayed open.

[Raja]

12 hours ago, Jeor said:

Word on the street is that Melbourne is going to a New Zealand-style hard lockdown with only supermarkets, petrol stations and pharmacies open. Restaurants takeaway only, and in effect a hard stay-at-home order

I..what was the lockdown before if it wasn't that? Or did Melbourne not have one?  I'm curious ( I mostly read these threads as my knowledge of Aussie politics is similar to my knowledge of Aussie rules)