Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Can an entire region be nominated for a Darwin Award.
Or perhaps better to just refer to it as social Darwinism...

The Covid specific version in the US is called the Herman Cain Award.

 

[burmans]

Dan has shut down all construction for 2 weeks.
Hope those idiots that caused the commotion today are happy with themselves

Not smart enough to understand they are responsible for the outcomes of their actions I fear, I’m sure for them it’s always someone else’s fault.

 

[moa999]

That's what you call an own goal by the protestors in Vic today.

 

[SydneySwan]

I am not in Vic but what is going on there? Has Dan shutdown construction because there was an unauthorised protest? Or because the protest got out of hand? Or because of health orders - most weren’t masked? Perhaps someone in Vic can explain.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Would he have shutdown public transport for 2 weeks if the protesters had been train drivers? Or closed grocery shops if they were Coles or Woollies workers? This does not seem anyway to run a state.

Just asking. No doubt I will be flamed.

 

[TomVexille]

I am not in Vic but what is going on here? Has Dan shutdown construction because there was an unauthorised protest? Or because the protest got out of hand? Or because of health orders - most weren’t masked? Perhaps someone in Vic can explain.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Would he have shutdown public transport for 2 weeks if the protesters had been train drivers? Or closed grocery shops if they were Coles or Woollies workers? This does not seem anyway to run a state.

Just asking. No doubt I will be flamed.

I get the feeling that it was the final straw. I hear that something like 73% of the sites that they inspected over the last week were not even close to being compliant. And having occasionally worked on some large construction sites until recently, I can say that covid compliance was not very good.

 

[nutwood]

I am not in Vic but what is going on here? Has Dan shutdown construction because there was an unauthorised protest? Or because the protest got out of hand? Or because of health orders - most weren’t masked? Perhaps someone in Vic can explain.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Would he have shutdown public transport for 2 weeks if the protesters had been train drivers? Or closed grocery shops if they were Coles or Woollies workers? This does not seem anyway to run a state.

Just asking. No doubt I will be flamed.

I would have to agree with you, unless there's more to this than meets the eye.
Shutting down an industry in revenge for bad behaviour by some members of that industry? What country are we in again?

 

[nutwood]

I get the feeling that it was the final straw. I hear that something like 73% of the sites that they inspected over the last week were not even close to being compliant. And having occasionally worked on some large construction sites until recently, I can say that covid compliance was not very good.

In which case you prosecute the non compliant sites. What about the 27% who were doing the right thing?

 

[OATEK]

I am not in Vic but what is going on there? Has Dan shutdown construction because there was an unauthorised protest? Or because the protest got out of hand? Or because of health orders - most weren’t masked? Perhaps someone in Vic can explain.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Would he have shutdown public transport for 2 weeks if the protesters had been train drivers? Or closed grocery shops if they were Coles or Woollies workers? This does not seem anyway to run a state.

Just asking. No doubt I will be flamed.

The was a report this morning that the Vic CHO was already moving to shut construction down before the militants descended on the CFMEU. The TTIQ processes had been showing that this industry was increasingly responsible for virus spread. So I suspect the militants book-ended what was already coming.

 

[Pushka]

I am not in Vic but what is going on there? Has Dan shutdown construction because there was an unauthorised protest? Or because the protest got out of hand? Or because of health orders - most weren’t masked? Perhaps someone in Vic can explain.

Does the punishment fit the crime? Would he have shutdown public transport for 2 weeks if the protesters had been train drivers? Or closed grocery shops if they were Coles or Woollies workers? This does not seem anyway to run a state.

Just asking. No doubt I will be flamed.

I'd say he has just had a gutful of their antics. Not an Andrews fan but sometimes it's a hard line call. Given his affiliations and they seem renegade even to the Unions, well, it's a gutsy move. Awful for those compliant workers though.

 

[Princess Fiona]

IIRC NSW Govt shut down all construction in Greater Sydney in July for 2 weeks due to concerns over cases and compliance

Don’t see much difference here in Victoria.

 

[antycbr]

IIRC NSW Govt shut down all construction in Greater Sydney in July for 2 weeks due to concerns over cases and compliance

Don’t see much difference here in Victoria.

One fundamental difference in NSW is they gave the industry plenty of notice to wind down (at least 48 hours).

Construction starts early and the order closing it down in Vic happened around 9pm effective at midnight. You can't stop an industry that employs a quarter of a million people in such a short amount of time.

Hopefully we don't see an escalation of violence as Victoria Police would be stretched to the maximum right now.

 

[Pom-DownUnder]

I would have to agree with you, unless there's more to this than meets the eye.
Shutting down an industry in revenge for bad behaviour by some members of that industry? What country are we in again?

It certainly does raise some questions of where is the line between:

- these measures are in place because they are the only way to ensure civilian safety
and
- these measures are in place because you will do as you are told by the authorities and will be punished elsewise.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I am pretty sure today will either be the most boring or the most interesting day in the Victorian pandemic.

I am rather concerned the decision to close all construction without notice after making every possible effort to keep it open over the past year or so will lead to some really ugly scenes.

I can kind of understand the argument that the government had a hand in what happened yesterday.

 

[Lynda2475]

So NSW is introducing 3 friend bubble for children until end of current stay at home orders, withing 5km. Children can have friends visit in the home (their parents are not welcome though).

I've witnessed downstairs neighbours have other kids coming and going from their place for weeks, with school holidays Gov knew it was happening, so may as well make it legal.

I do think it is somewhat unfair that fully vaccinated adults have to have their catch ups in a park yet vaccinated kids can run riot indoors irrespective of the vaccination status of the kids in the house. They could have their play dates outside the same way that the adults have to.

In better news all of the theatres last night sending emails honouring bookings from 20th Oct for fully vaxed audiences, cant wait to be there on 24th, all adults in our group are fully vaxed and the 14 year old is currently half vaxed but will be fully jabbed by reopening. 20th is conservative, as reopening can happen as early as the 11th, but 18th is pretty much guaranteed.

 

[jakeseven7]

I would have to agree with you, unless there's more to this than meets the eye.
Shutting down an industry in revenge for bad behaviour by some members of that industry? What country are we in again?

It wasn’t even all union members protesting it was professional anti vaxxer groups. But the construction ban was coming anyway. Give them a couple of weeks to go get vaccinated.

 

[Pushka]

So NSW is introducing 3 friend bubble for children until end of current stay at home orders, withing 5km. Children can have friends visit in the home (their parents are not welcome though).

I've witnessed downstairs neighbours have other kids coming and going from their place for weeks, with school holidays Gov knew it was happening, so may as well make it legal.

I do think it is somewhat unfair that fully vaccinated adults have to have their catch ups in a park yet vaccinated kids can run riot indoors irrespective of the vaccination status of the kids in the house. They could have their play dates outside the same way that the adults have to.

In better news all of the theatres last night sending emails honouring bookings from 20th Oct for fully vaxed audiences, cant wait to be there on 24th, all adults in our group are fully vaxed and the 14 year old is currently half vaxed but will be fully jabbed by reopening. 20th is conservative, as reopening can happen as early as the 11th, but 18th is pretty much guaranteed.

The children have suffered awfully in social development and education. They need every assistance they can get to normality as the impact of Covid on them is a great deal longer than adults.

 

[OATEK]

One fundamental difference in NSW is they gave the industry plenty of notice to wind down (at least 48 hours).

Construction starts early and the order closing it down in Vic happened around 9pm effective at midnight. You can't stop an industry that employs a quarter of a million people in such a short amount of time.

Hopefully we don't see an escalation of violence as Victoria Police would be stretched to the maximum right now.

They are back outside the CFMEU in Melbourne this morning, but nothing being thrown as yet.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

On the traveller who caused the lockdown of Byron Kempsey and Tweed for 7 days:

Details on case in northern NSW​

Hi Dan/Jon, are you able to shed any more light on the Northern NSW Case where an authorised person was cleared to travel from Sydney to Ballina... Our understanding is that it was a NSW Police Officer sent up here due to the expected protests?

Thanks.

-Curious George

Health Minister Brad Hazzard says he doesn't have all that many details, but...

"It's somebody who has travelled into the area with an appropriate permit and had actually had both a rapid antigen test and a PCR test.

"It's one of the problems, and we've talked about this before, rapid antigen tests have a certain degree of efficiency and they don't always show up and in this case it didn't.

"A PCR test then showed later that there was positive case, which is good. The person did what was needed, but again it's a balancing act as to how you deal with this, particularly when people go for work reasons."

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Victorian authorities on the construction shutdown​

Mr Foley is speaking now about the construction shutdown. He said a public health team has analysed the spread of COVID in the construction industry and said there were currently 403 direct cases linked to the industry, linked in turn to 186 construction sites.

"The public health team had no choice but to hit the pause button and continue working with the sector to improve compliance [and] COVID safety in the industry," he said.

Victorian Treasurer and Minister for Industrial Relations Tim Pallas is speaking now.

"What we have seen is a need for the government to intervene and take strong action... in order to protect the community and the workers and their workmates and their families. The construction industry is effectively amplifying and spreading the virus," he said.

edit to add

'We've seen poor compliance'​

Mr Pallas continues.

"We put the industry on notice, you'll recall, a week ago that we needed to see a substantial improvement and we made it very clear then that the permitted worker status would be reviewed if, in fact, those issues were failed to be adhered to.

"Since then, we've seen poor compliance and further transmission sites being identified and that just cannot continue."

He said authorities had hoped to conduct 7,000 inspections over a two-week period, and although they didn't do that full amount, 50 per cent of sites inspected failed to meet safety requirements.

"The Chief Health Officer, of course, has the responsibility to take these actions but we stand, without hesitation or reservation, in support of those orders and we believe that they are absolutely appropriate in the circumstances."

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Details on young people friendship bubble in NSW​

There will be more young people able to gather in households with double-vaccinated guardians.

Health Minister Brad Hazzard has given some details...

"I'm absolutely delighted that crisis Cabinet has accepted the proposition that because our vaccination rates have now reached such a high level that it's now acceptable for a limited number of young people to be able to come to one of their friend's houses and to be able to stay there and do what young people want to do.

"It will basically be you can have the same two young people coming over to one person so that's a bubble of three effectively that will be the friendship group that can be in the house. Of course, not forgetting that we do have the five people, children or adults or whatever have you, outside as well. So there are, larger numbers have been possible outside for quite a while but this will allow young people to have friendship groups inside their home.

"But I emphasise that it must be in households where the adults are all double-vaccinated."

Emphasis on young people in NSW​

Alyssa, a Year 9 student who is part of the advisory group to the advocate for children and young people, is speaking to the media (unbelievably eloquently) right now.

"I'm 15 years old and I know that lockdown has been incredibly hard for everyone lately. However, children and young people definitely want to do the right thing and also be able to socialise because lockdown is incredibly isolating for everyone.

"Helping everyone feel connected will undoubtedly benefit their mental health in this time and for children and young people will this will impacted their studies because I know from personal experience that there is a lot of lack of motivation regarding schooling due to lockdown and not being able to see our friends.

"Children and young people at the moment want to do the right thing but we also want to stay connected. Therefore being able to socialise whilst also abide by the new rules through the friendship travel bubble will definitely help us all greatly at the moment."