Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[ethernet]

Name the states that don't want quarantine in their own backyard, but are more than happy to shift it to the Cwth and Howard Springs. In China your mobile phone alone is sufficient. Anyone who cheats becomes an involuntary organ donor.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

You keep saying this as if it is only naughty overseas Australians who would do this. Most of whom are not covid positive and are vaccinated. We trust people with actual covid to quarantine at home. Continuing to force overseas arrivals into HQ is just ridiculous At this point.

Not at all and apologies if I gave that impression. I see no distinction between resident Aussies returning, or ex-pat Aussies returning. We know some of those returning early in the pandemic did not follow the home Q rules. That's why hotel Q had to be introduced. If we have an effective enforcement regime for home Q then let's go for it. But that's not available everywhere as of the time of this post.

(The problem is we don't trust everyone with covid to Q at home - it's why we have to have police/ADF/authorised officers going around to do compliance checks )

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

Not at all and apologies if I gave that impression. I see no distinction between resident Aussies returning, or ex-pat Aussies returning. We know some of those returning early in the pandemic did not follow the home Q rules. That's why hotel Q had to be introduced. If we have an effective enforcement regime for home Q then let's go for it. But that's not available everywhere as of the time of this post.

(The problem is we don't trust everyone with covid to Q at home - it's why we have to have police/ADF/authorised officers going around to do compliance checks )

so now you have the unlikely event of them having some sort of new unheard of strain ..
this being able to be effective on people who are double vacc'd ....
not showing on a test before travel (so gotta get the timing on new super strain just right) ...
then the person doesnt follow home Q for 13 days even after waiting 10 months to come home ...

how many times has this person won the lottery ?

does this HONESTLY seems like a valid reason to restrain peoples freedom to come home to you?

 

[Seat0B]

Not at all and apologies if I gave that impression. I see no distinction between resident Aussies returning, or ex-pat Aussies returning. We know some of those returning early in the pandemic did not follow the home Q rules. That's why hotel Q had to be introduced. If we have an effective enforcement regime for home Q then let's go for it. But that's not available everywhere as of the time of this post.

(The problem is we don't trust everyone with covid to Q at home - it's why we have to have police/ADF/authorised officers going around to do compliance checks )

So really your concern is that there are not enough people to check that people are abiding by the rules, and you don’t want to add more to that mix?

I can understand that line of thinking, but it’s really all a moot point now - there are tens of thousands of known COVID positive people just in NSW alone who are being “trusted” to quarantine at home. When daily positives are over 1000, plus who know how many close and casual contacts, it really does not make a lot of difference if several hundred people a day, let alone a week, are also “trusted“ to home quarantine. The vast majority of people in HQ do not have COVID. The number of cases being reported each day in hotel quarantine is incredibly low, often just 1 or 2 and some days none at all. Once upon a time, that may have mattered - because even 2 cases was 2 more than the community had. Personally, I think that even that risk threshold was too risk averse, but I accept that others disagree.

But now, it honestly does not matter at all whether NSW reports 1200 or 1202 cases. Those extra 2 cases pose no additional risk to the community. I’d even say it doesn’t much matter whether Vic posts 92 or 94 cases a day either. There is no reason therefore to keep running HQ at least in VIC and particularly NSW, which is still doing, and always has done, the lion’s share of it.

 

[N860CR]

But now, it honestly does not matter at all whether NSW reports 1200 or 1202 cases. Those extra 2 cases pose no additional risk to the community. I’d even say it doesn’t much matter whether Vic posts 92 or 94 cases a day either. There is no reason therefore to keep running HQ at least in VIC and particularly NSW, which is still doing, and always has done, the lion’s share of it.

Correct. And, sadly, the only reason there’s no movement on it is because of the stigma that’s attached to scary people from overseas.

I was chatting with the A330 captain today who’s mopping floors on the ward. Even in NZ now they are allowing aircrew who are vaccinated and get a test on return home to only “quarantine” until receiving the result. Here in Aus, the poor QF crew are thrown into 2 weeks quarantine until going back to work and starting the process over. Why? Because no polli is going to standup and say “hang on, maybe not everyone from overseas is evil?”

 

[SydneySwan]

HQ is just using people resources that could more usefully be used elsewhere.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

So really your concern is that there are not enough people to check that people are abiding by the rules, and you don’t want to add more to that mix?

I can understand that line of thinking, but it’s really all a moot point now - there are tens of thousands of known COVID positive people just in NSW alone who are being “trusted” to quarantine at home. When daily positives are over 1000, plus who know how many close and casual contacts, it really does not make a lot of difference if several hundred people a day, let alone a week, are also “trusted“ to home quarantine. The vast majority of people in HQ do not have COVID. The number of cases being reported each day in hotel quarantine is incredibly low, often just 1 or 2 and some days none at all. Once upon a time, that may have mattered - because even 2 cases was 2 more than the community had. Personally, I think that even that risk threshold was too risk averse, but I accept that others disagree.

But now, it honestly does not matter at all whether NSW reports 1200 or 1202 cases. Those extra 2 cases pose no additional risk to the community. I’d even say it doesn’t much matter whether Vic posts 92 or 94 cases a day either. There is no reason therefore to keep running HQ at least in VIC and particularly NSW, which is still doing, and always has done, the lion’s share of it.

I’d be ok with what you say for a post 80% of eligible 16+ world

Even Aus-leading NSW is undervaccinated - 66% 1 dose and 36% 2 dose is really 53% and 29% of NSW population.

Over 30 NSW LGAs without a Delta case, over 50 NSW LGAs without a case this week. The current strategy is to contain in LGAs until 80% fully vaccinated.

ICUs stretched.

There is a strategy to mandatory vaccinate healthcare, aged care, teachers, critical workers, etc.

With likely less than 10 weeks until these goals are met, it seems a better option to wait for the strategy to play out.

Then go for you life and lobby your NSW and Federal Minister to bring Aussies everyone to NSW.

 

[burmans]

You might say that by in other realms journalists' tweets have got their employers in trouble......bygones.

Some would also say that media is media, plenty of journalist use their social media profile to link to their stories or in many cases use social media as the first place to break news. Everyone’s entitled to their opinion but the line between official and non-official channels is very blurred these days, particularly when journalists post under the company account.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

So really your concern is that there are not enough people to check that people are abiding by the rules, and you don’t want to add more to that mix?

It's two issues. One is the potential for new variants. The second is an effective - and widespread - way to monitor home Q and ensure compliance. This could be via phone or other tracking device.

It wouldn't be ideal if a person enters Australia with a new 'super' variant, gets home, gets symptoms, calls an ambulance, and the crew/hospital staff get exposed. There'd need to be protocols in place to make sure paramedic call-outs to those in home Q have extra PPE etc.

 

[ketsuzei]

It wouldn't be ideal if a person enters Australia with a new 'super' variant

Like the old sex in an elevator line… wrong on so many different levels.

 

[Must...Fly!]

We're special in Australia, nothing evolves here, apparently...

 

[Must...Fly!]

The number of emotions flowing through my veins at the moment leaves me unable to write sensible comment. Maybe in the morning.

Unbelievable and as a few on here (including myself) have long suspected to be the case.

Western Australia will postpone about half of its elective surgeries from Wednesday despite its Covid-free status, amid fresh warnings that the state’s health system would be overwhelmed almost immediately in the event of a large-scale outbreak.

...

Ambulance ramping – a tally of the number of hours patients spend waiting in ambulances for admission into one of the state’s hospitals – has soared this year and is expected to exceed 6000 hours for the month of August. When in opposition, current Health Minister Roger Cook described 1030 hours of monthly ramping as a “crisis”.

NoCookies | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au

 

[drron]

In the interests of equal time:

TikTok, Reddit, and Facebook Are Killing People by Publishing Ivermectin Disinformation

Link to: https://www.theverge.com/2021/8/27/22644579/tiktok-reddit-facebook-ivermectin-covid-19-misinformation

daringfireball.net

this ivermectin bullshit — along with all the rest of the anti-vax nutjob liturgy — clearly and obviously should be considered in the same “beyond the pale” territory. Anti-vax cultism is literally killing people, including innocent kids with susceptible parents. There is no legitimate debate: everyone who can get vaccinated should get vaccinated, and dummies should not be self-medicating with horse de-wormers.

And it is causing problems.

In August 2021, the Texas Poison Center Network (TPCN) experienced a more than 150% increase in the number of calls received about ivermectin exposures compared with the previous month.
From January to August 24, 2021, the TPCN received a total of 159 Ivermectin exposure calls, more than triple the 48 calls received in all of 2020.
The largest number (64) occurred in August 2021.

Welcome to Precision Vaccinations News

Precision Vaccinations News publishes vaccine news patients can trust to make informed immunization decisions in partnership with doctors, nurses, and pharmacists.

www.coronavirustoday.com

 

[Tiki]

Personally, I think premiers need to be looking ahead to how the reopening will play out. Won't they want tourists to feel comfortable to book holidays in Australia? If I were Gladys, I would be scrapping HQ except maybe for positive testing cases. Home quarantine with the phone app and facial recognition should be ample to maintain compliance and huge fines for non-compliance that people have to agree to before being allowed on the plane. Still 40,000 Aussies stranded overseas, many of whom are double vaxxed. Think of these people arriving back home at the airport, and the positive PR worldwide at least ONE premier has a heart. If I were a potential tourist, I know which state I would rather spend my $$ in. I would be scared to go to QLD with a premier who is known for heartless border closings and paranoia about even ONE case. Hell I live here and still can't get my head around this being a "thing".

The obsession with case numbers at this stage is ridiculous. The better message should be:

xx_ vaccines done.
xx_ tests were performed of which XX were negative and XX were positive.
Of those positive results, XX were asymptomatic and XX are in hospital (which is a very small percentage).
X fatalities occurred of which % were unvaccinated.

Just leave the word "case" off the announcement because that word freaks people out and learn how to present stats that sell the desired message!

 

[lovetravellingoz]

​

Rafael Epstein
@Raf_Epstein

Vic Covid number in the 70s today

 

[Pushka]

It's two issues. One is the potential for new variants. The second is an effective - and widespread - way to monitor home Q and ensure compliance. This could be via phone or other tracking device.

It wouldn't be ideal if a person enters Australia with a new 'super' variant, gets home, gets symptoms, calls an ambulance, and the crew/hospital staff get exposed. There'd need to be protocols in place to make sure paramedic call-outs to those in home Q have extra PPE etc.

You are sounding like Prof Spurrier and pizzagate who decided that in all the places in the world, Woodville in South Australia had developed a new variant.

 

[ketsuzei]

The obsession with case numbers at this stage is ridiculous.

And then 32 minutes later:

Vic Covid number in the 70s today

OMG.

 

[jakeseven7]

The number of emotions flowing through my veins at the moment leaves me unable to write sensible comment. Maybe in the morning.

Unbelievable and as a few on here (including myself) have long suspected to be the case.

NoCookies | The Australian

www.theaustralian.com.au

Yes WA Health is a complete basket case which I and a few others have been posting about for months now… - and it’s the real reason WA has been deflecting the way that they have - look look over here at our tough big border to fight the virus / because they have their own massive bin fire they can’t put out.

They can’t vacciante, can’t contact trace, run sloppy HQ procedures second only to QLD’s messy protocols and couldn’t deal with 5 covid patients in their hospital system.

This is the real story and it’s all on the people who have been in power.

For once I’m happy Murdoch is fanning those flames and hope SevenWest get onboard too…

 

[ketsuzei]

Those coming in could have a new, more virulent strain.

Come to think of it, they could also be terrorists from another galaxy masquerading as Australian citizens, permanent residents, tourists, or worst of all, “business” (scare quotes) travelers.

Better get a thicker doona.

 

[justinbrett]

Can we start a new thread called “Delusional fears of the virus spread“ and let this one get back to the topic?