Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[oz_mark]

Yes - but I’m getting sick of waiting…

You're not alone

 

[drron]

Would have thought a Tourism Minister might be more concerned about allowing international tourists back in the country than singing and dancing but guess he hasn’t had to do his job much in the last few years so may have forgotten what’s really important.

Well the NSW Tourism Minister would hopefully have some input to the decisions made by the NSW Government on when their restrictions would end. however he has absolutely no ability to decide when International tourists are let in.

 

[drron]

I know you keep saying it's nothing more than a mild cold but I have several friends who have been very unwell (one compared it to a very severe flu) and two weeks later are still nowhere near 100% better - and yes triple vaxxed

And I have watched people with the flu get ventilated and die yet we don't have all these restrictions for the flu. And even know a fellow with a recent flu vaccine get the flu and died.
The stated mortality of Omicron 0.1%. Not been that much different to flu mortality. And with the flu a significant number of younger folk and chidren may die of the flu.

 

[OATEK]

I know you keep saying it's nothing more than a mild cold but I have several friends who have been very unwell (one compared it to a very severe flu) and two weeks later are still nowhere near 100% better - and yes triple vaxxed

And I have watched people with the flu get ventilated and die yet we don't have all these restrictions for the flu. And even know a fellow with a recent flu vaccine get the flu and died.
The stated mortality of Omicron 0.1%. Not been that much different to flu mortality. And with the flu a significant number of younger folk and chidren may die of the flu.

A close friend in her 70s contracted Covid just before she was to have booster. Yes, not pleasant at all, but also never felt it was life-threatening, more like a bad flu.

 

[jakeseven7]

What is it about WA that we have an (apparently) linear increase in number of cases that's been going on for about a week or more?

When is this thing going to go exponential like (apparently) everywhere else? It's a ridiculously slow burn.

One can only hope that the "infectious leading experts" (whoever the hell they are - but the 20-something wet-behind-the-ears junior reporters that infest the ABC these days ostensibly manage to find plenty of them ) are right.

We need to get this show on the road over here and punch through it.

And - just asking the rhetorical question for a friend: why would you do a (genuine ) QR checkin if you are likely to get ordered into the slammer for two weeks on a remote possibility that you might get a sniffle (that you really want anyway to get your killer T-cells going).

When you don’t test much, when you have an extremely highly vaccinated population which generates a lot of asymptomatic people, when a lot of casual and close contacts aren’t coming forward to get tested etc etc then your numbers aren’t going to sky rocket are they

 

[Pushka]

What is it about WA that we have an (apparently) linear increase in number of cases that's been going on for about a week or more?

When is this thing going to go exponential like (apparently) everywhere else? It's a ridiculously slow burn.

One can only hope that the "infectious leading experts" (whoever the hell they are - but the 20-something wet-behind-the-ears junior reporters that infest the ABC these days ostensibly manage to find plenty of them ) are right.

We need to get this show on the road over here and punch through it.

And - just asking the rhetorical question for a friend: why would you do a (genuine ) QR checkin if you are likely to get ordered into the slammer for two weeks on a remote possibility that you might get a sniffle (that you really want anyway to get your killer T-cells going).

From recent stories via work, being so well vaccinated, and symptoms can be minor or even non existent that just maybe people have it and have no idea. So not being tested. Unless symptoms are bad, or you are forced to be tested from the Govt, I'd suggest it's well and truly out there.

 

[Pushka]

And I’m not saying that’s not the case. I’m now up to over 20 friends who only knew they “had it” because they got tested. Maybe it’s the difference between the variants? I don’t know. But numbers do not lie, and they’re not providing any support to the theory that this is a serious illness.

This week we have been more active with work colleagues and the stories are exactly this. People have it, symptoms non existent or a cough on one day, yet are called to be tested because of being a close contact. And completely surprised when they test positive because they would not have been tested unless 'forced' to. All vaccinated.

 

[N860CR]

This week we have been more active with work colleagues and the stories are exactly this. People have it, symptoms non existent or a cough on one day, yet are called to be tested because of being a close contact. And completely surprised when they test positive because they would not have been tested unless 'forced' to. All vaccinated.

Random COVID tests to be conducted after survey finds 90 per cent of positive cases don't know they have it — ABC News

It’s time for a serious rethink about how we view this virus.

And before the lockdown lovers start getting too worked up, I’d love to know why stories like this are seen as “bad news”.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I'm half expecting to have a completely asymptomatic PCR test (for travel purposes) and discover I'm "positive" for that reason alone. For over 4 months now I've had almost daily RATs (would be over 100 for sure) and not a single positive but worked with over 25 colleagues who have turned out positive and been (for me, anyway) out and about a bit (movies, pubs, etc). Considering we were told ad-nauseum (in Victoria at least) how hyper-infectious and evil this virus was, I can't figure it out...

 

[VPS]

I think a number of people are confusing my point. We do have to open up and live with the disease but I keep hearing that people aren't affected by it and my experience is there have been some friends that have been very unwell and they certainly knew they had it. I know that some people wouldn't have known they had it without testing but that is not always the case

 

[Lynda2475]

I think a number of people are confusing my point. We do have to open up and live with the disease but I keep hearing that people aren't affected by it and my experience is there have been some friends that have been very unwell and they certainly knew they had it. I know that some people wouldn't have known they had it without testing but that is not always the case

However were those symptomatic people more unwell than they would have been had they caught seasonal influenza or a bad cold?

No one is saying that some people don't experience more severe symptoms, we see that about 1% end up in hospital, but the majority have mild symptoms or are completely asymptomatic.

The evidence is clear that the hospitalization rate for Omicron is lower then Delta and the death rate at 0.1% (mostly in those cohorts who would have a similar outcome if they got the flu) does not warrant closed borders anymore.

The pandemic is giving media attention to hospitalizations and deaths that if were due to flu no one would bat an eyelid at.

Very few of these deaths are excess deaths as most of the people who have dies have had serious comorbidities.

We know beyond a doubt covid 19 is not about to wipe out humanity.

 

[JohnM]

From recent stories via work, being so well vaccinated, and symptoms can be minor or even non existent that just maybe people have it and have no idea. So not being tested. Unless symptoms are bad, or you are forced to be tested from the Govt, I'd suggest it's well and truly out there.

Well, if that is the case, then it’s a non-event - despite the hysterical fear-mongering and onerous isolation if deemed a contact.

 

[N860CR]

oh FFS that is not my point. You always have to put another slant on it

My point is people are saying it is either asymptomatic or just like a cold. It isn't always (just like any disease)

Just like any disease

You’ve nailed it there. If I power through two bottles of wine in a night, I can get up the next morning and go for a run. Some would be out for the count for the day. If I trip up a flight of stairs, people laugh. If an old lady does it, they gasp.

The question now has to be; it covid any worse than any other disease that exists in society that doesn’t receive the same level of attention? It seems that Omicron sits somewhere between a cold and influenza. That’s how it needs to be treated.

Stockholm syndrome is setting in with everybody. But let’s not forget that Australia still has hard internal borders and we still abandon citizens overseas because they “test positive”. Surely not a single person who has any sense of logic or rationality can believe that’s anywhere near justified anymore.

 

[burmans]

It’s important for one reason. Mardi Gras is a week later.

Sydney is hosting WorldPride 2023 and no singing and dancing won’t do much for people considering attending from overseas.

At the moment with Federal politicians running the show those international tourists wont be coming anyway.

 

[antycbr]

At the moment with Federal politicians running the show those international tourists wont be coming anyway.

That's true and they weren't expected this year. But reputation matters and Sydney nightlife is already awful without everyone telling their friends how bad it was in 2022 and don't come in 2023.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

NSW (102,847 active (PCR+) – 21,000 public hospital beds, 884 public/private ICU beds)
[previous peak hospital/ICU: 1268/242 - September 2021]
Certain elective surgery suspended/paused - announced 7/1
Paused surgery to 75% capacity (private, regional/rural public) resuming 7/2 - announced 1/2

27/1 9934 PCR+, 65k tests, 7382 RAT+, 2722 hospital, 181 ICU
28/1 6256 PCR+, 37k tests, 7077 RAT+, 2737 hospital, 189 ICU
29/1 7928 PCR+, 58k tests, 5426 RAT+, 2693 hospital, 186 ICU
30/1 7492 PCR+, 50k tests, 6032 RAT+, 2663 hospital, 182 ICU
31/1 7362 PCR+, 37k tests, 5664 RAT+, 2779 hospital, 185 ICU *2000 historic PCR+ included
1/2 4905 PCR+, 36k tests, 7913 RAT+, 2749 hospital, 186 ICU
2/2 5493 PCR+, 42k tests, 6314 RAT+, 2622 hospital, 170 ICU *move from 8pm to 4pm cutoff
3/2 5485 PCR+, 38k tests, 7147 RAT+, 2578 hospital, 160 ICU
4/2 4576 PCR+, 39k tests, 6122 RAT+, 2494 hospital, 160 ICU

Victoria (65,968 active – 15,000 public hospital beds, 476 public/private ICU beds)
[previous peak hospital/ICU: 851/163 - October 2021]
Certain elective surgery suspended/paused - announced 6/1

27/1 6130 PCR+, 31k tests, 60% of 7625 RAT+, 1057 hospital, 117 ICU
28/1 5345 PCR+, 24k tests, 61% of 7410 RAT+, 988 hospital, 114 ICU
29/1 6244 PCR+, 31k tests, 6006 RAT+, 953 hospital, 114 ICU
30/1 4479 PCR+, 25k tests, 6110 RAT+, 889 hospital, 111 ICU
31/1 3568 PCR+, 20k tests, 6485 RAT+, 873 hospital, 102 ICU
1/2 4251 PCR+, 23k tests, 7060 RAT+, 851 hospital, 106 ICU
2/2 7621 PCR+, 35k tests, 6932 RAT+, 768 hospital, 99 ICU
3/2 5588 PCR+, 29k tests, 6569 RAT+, 752 hospital, 82 ICU
4/2 3889 PCR+, 24k tests, 7351 RAT+, 707 hospital, 79 ICU

Qld (50,522 active – 13,000 public hospital beds, 408 public/private ICU beds)
Certain elective surgery suspended/paused - announced 8/1

27/1 7614 PCR+, 26k tests, 3986 RAT+, 829 hospital, 48 ICU
28/1 6014 PCR+, 19k tests, 3960 RAT+, 818 hospital, 54 ICU
29/1 7147 PCR+, 25k tests, 3244 RAT+, 833 hospital, 53 ICU
30/1 8580 positives, 22k tests, 745 hospital, 41 ICU *no RAT+ provided
31/1 4613 PCR+, 15k tests, 2849 RAT+, 744 hospital, 46 ICU
1/2 3876 PCR+, 13k tests, 3712 RAT+, 801 hospital, 50 ICU
2/2 6211 PCR+, 22k tests, 3419 RAT+, 763 hospital, 49 ICU
3/2 5295 PCR+, 19k tests, 3348 RAT+, 749 hospital, 71 ICU
4/2 3841 PCR+, 14k tests, 3016 RAT+, 732* hospital, 50* ICU *+67 private hospital (total: 799) and +2 ICU (total: 52) [Qld press conference - per ABC blog]

SA (18,308 active 3/2 – 4500 public hospital beds, 161 public/private ICU beds)
Certain elective surgery suspended/paused - announced 28/1
Paused surgery gradually recommencing from 7/2 - announced 1/2

27/1 1953 positives, 10k tests, 288 hospital, 27 ICU
28/1 1846 positives, 9.1k tests, 285 hospital, 24 ICU
29/1 1740 positives, 9.9k tests, 283 hospital, 29 ICU
30/1 1663 positives, 9.1k tests, 289 hospital, 25 ICU
31/1 1505 positives, 8.8k tests, 281 hospital, 25 ICU
1/2 1266 positives, 7.0k tests, 273 hospital, 22 ICU
2/2 1723 positives, 10k tests, 233 hospital, 21 ICU
3/2 1583 positives, 9.1k tests, 226 hospital, 18 ICU
4/2 about 1300 positives, 220 hospital, TBA ICU - per ABC blog

Tasmania (3712 active – 1500 public hospital beds, 38 public/private ICU beds)

27/1 246 PCR+, 1.5k tests, 480 RAT+, 12/24 hospital, 0 ICU
28/1 135 PCR+, 1.6k tests, 449 RAT+, 9/19 hospital, 1 ICU
29/1 208 PCR+, 1.5k tests, 475 RAT+, 7/17 hospital, 1 ICU
30/1 188 PCR+, 1.7k tests, 406 RAT+, 10/20 hospital, 1 ICU
31/1 157 PCR+, 1.2k tests, 347 RAT+, 7/16 hospital, 1 ICU
1/2 103 PCR+, 1.1k tests, 596 RAT+, 8/16 hospital, 1 ICU
2/2 172 PCR+, 1.3k tests, 494 RAT+, 8/13 hospital, 2 ICU
3/2 179 PCR+, 2.7k tests, 477 RAT+, 7/13 hospital, 2 ICU
4/2 179 PCR+, 1.6k tests, 391 RAT+, 9/13 hospital, 2 ICU

ACT (2954 active – 1200 public hospital beds, 37 public/private ICU beds)
Certain elective surgery suspended/paused at 1 hospital - announced 7/1

27/1 648 PCR+, 236 RAT+, 73 hospital, 4 ICU
28/1 478 PCR+, 256 RAT+, 66 hospital, 5 ICU
29/1 438 PCR+, 182 RAT+, 61 hospital, 5 ICU
30/1 377 PCR+, 207 RAT+, 62 hospital, 3 ICU
31/1 331 PCR+, 206 RAT+, 62 hospital, 2 ICU
1/2 326 PCR+, 196 RAT+, 64 hospital, 1 ICU
2/2 352 PCR+, 197 RAT+, 61 hospital, 1 ICU
3/2 317 PCR+, 212 RAT+, 63 hospital, 1 ICU
4/2 274 PCR+, 175 RAT+, 65 hospital, 1 ICU

NT (6900 active 3/2 – 1000 public hospital beds, 20 public/private ICU beds)

27/1 626* positives, 1.6k tests, 95 hospital, 4 ICU *amended to 747 positives on 28/1
28/1 940* positives, 1.6k tests, 105 hospital, 3 ICU *amended to 1006 on 29/1
29/1 828* positives, 1.4k tests, 111 hospital, 5 ICU *amended to 879 on 30/11
30/1 849* positives, 1.3k tests, 121 hospital, 3 ICU *amended to 901 on 31/1
31/1 760* positives, 0.9k tests, 114 hospital, 5 ICU *amended to 912 on 1/2
1/2 970* positives, 1.8k tests, 132 hospital, 4 ICU *amended to 1038 on 2/2
2/2 1133* positives, 1.9k tests, 129 hospital, 5 ICU *amended to 1217 on 3/2
3/2 977 positives, 141 hospital, 6 ICU
4/2

WA (192 active 3/2 – 5900 public hospital beds, 179 public/private ICU bed)

27/1 10 local positives, 5.6k tests, 2 hospital, 1 ICU
28/1 9 local positives – 2 unlinked, 7.4k tests, 2 hospital, 1 ICU
29/1 22 local positives – 1 unlinked, 7.0k tests, 1 hospital, 1 ICU
30/1 20 local positives – 1 unlinked, 5.4k tests, 1 hospital, 1 ICU
31/1 12 local positives, 4.7k tests, 1 hospital
1/2 13 local positives – 5 unlinked, 6.9k tests, 1 hospital
2/2 17 local positives – 2 unlinked, 7.7k tests, 1 hospital
3/2 19 local positives – 3 unlinked, 7.6k tests, 1 hospital
4/2

 

[exceladdict]

And - just asking the rhetorical question for a friend: why would you do a (genuine ) QR checkin if you are likely to get ordered into the slammer for two weeks on a remote possibility that you might get a sniffle (that you really want anyway to get your killer T-cells going).

Well, if that is the case, then it’s a non-event - despite the hysterical fear-mongering and onerous isolation if deemed a contact.

I would much rather be prompted to get a test so I can know if I'm positive and infectious. As a triple vaxxed person, I'm more likely to be infectious but asymptomatic, and I'd rather know so I can avoid people I care about who are at higher risk of serious health consequences if infected.

 

[Pushka]

I would much rather be prompted to get a test so I can know if I'm positive and infectious. As a triple vaxxed person, I'm more likely to be infectious but asymptomatic, and I'd rather know so I can avoid people I care about who are at higher risk of serious health consequences if infected.

For this reason it's why the UK model of free RAT to families works so well. My son tests regularly before visiting the in laws.

 

[VPS]

Nope, it is proving to be precisely like the flu or a cold, most people feel a bit off and recover without medical intervention, a small minority of people will be bed ridden for a couple of days and a smaller number with comorbidities will end up in hospital and a fraction of those will die.

Not a single person on this thread has ever stated that 100% of cases are mild or asymptomatic. so to quote your own rude language FFS, accept that just because you know a couple of people who have felt really lousy doesn't change the fact that Omicron is proving no different to seasonal colds and flus in terms of how many individuals are unwell across the board. Numbers dont lie.

What is unusual is all this effort to find asymptomatic cases which we need not worry about. If you are asymptomatic or have a sniffle it is not like you are sitting on a health time bomb.

None of that provides another option. This “let it rip” mantra is getting old. It’s a virus. The options are lockdown forever, or live with it. NSW, Vic, SA and Qld are following identical trajectories however NSW cops the blame because it’s on trend to attack the conservatives.

Fortunately, in our 90%+ vaccinated population, it’s providing to be nothing more than a mild cold. Clearly, however, getting that message across is a bit of a struggle.

N860CR said it's proving to be nothing more than a mild cold. He doesn't mention flu. That was my point.

You can argue semantics all you like (as you often do) but I won't be bothering to respond to anything else you say.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Fair point, but RATs don't seem that accurate either - not that we have a better/timely alternative - so we make do.