Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[oznflfan]

Huge shift from the Victorian premier with him just saying that there may come a point where “the stubbornness of this thing is entrenched, and we may need to open up because this is as good as it’s going to get”.

Sounds like we will start seeing restrictions lifted

That was always going to happen, it will never get eradicated in Victoria. He'll start using words similar to March when use COVID safe practices, and ensure our hospital ICU's not overrun.

He knows he can't keep the lockdown happening past Christmas, let alone Easter. He knows he will destroy Melbourne for a decade (thousands of businesses would be shuttered, homelessness skyrocketing, CBD would be a ghost town, no tourists wanting to visit the cultural hub of Australia - with none of the restaurants/theatre/culture to speak of). Even the AFL, religion to many, would not survive another two seasons like we just had.

 

[oznflfan]

Under new EU proposals, as I calculate, for Melbourne to be 'Green' and no restrictions for travel in or out, they would need max of 88 cases per day averaged over 14 days. They are killing it right now. At least get rid of the stupid 5KM rule and allow people to move around for reasons OTHER than the four reasons. I'm not saying allow the MCG 100% capacity for footy & cricket, can we meet halfway?

 

[dajop]

That was always going to happen, it will never get eradicated in Victoria. He'll start using words similar to March when use COVID safe practices, and ensure our hospital ICU's not overrun.

What's going to happen with interstate borders though? They going to be closed ad infinitum I guess, as they can't even open up to regional Vic*, which except for the seemingly well managed Kilmore cluster, has no active cases left.

Maybe there's an opportunity for Melbourne to become Australia's "world city" and open up in a controlled way to the US, Europe, India, Indonesia ME, Africa and Latin America. Whilst the rest of Australia remains closed to all but East Asia and SW Pacific.

* except for the eminently sensible NT, who said they will open up at the end of the month. Who would have thought NT the voice of reason?

 

[Flying mermaid]

Are those not wearing masks sitting around or are they exercising? The latter have never been required to wear masks.

From my experience here in Singapore, people don't care that much about the restriction of wearing a mask, whilst they are free to largely live their lives in other ways.

Mask wearing + severe restrictions is enough to force rebellions, but if the police are letting things go in parks, and focussing their attention on people wearing masks inside (eg supermarkets, public transport), that is probably a good thing. How often do you hear of a spreader event "All people who were in Flagstaff gardens playground between 5pm and 5:30pm on Friday, should isolate and get tested if they have the slightest of symptoms"??

Not exercising

 

[jakeseven7]

* except for the eminently sensible NT, who said they will open up at the end of the month. Who would have thought NT the voice of reason?

Amazing what an election win will do to make people act rationally

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Friend is currently down in Melbourne for the birth of her latest grandchild. She has been taking the oldest one to the park for some fresh air. She says heaps of people not wearing masks. Talking to people at the park, they all seem angry and have had enough.

Facemasks: Given the other recent mask observations in Vic.
Location; Middle suburbs 12 km from CBD. Bike/footpaths and parks.

Everyone wearing one apart from:

• Some riding bikes and a couple of joggers. Though some cyclists wearing them.
• Some people picnicking/sitting on benches in pairs eating/drinking
• Some of the walkers, if in a pair had one person who may have had their mask dropped to chin (normally older and/ or less fit person)

Though I am in a postcode that had mystery case announced yesterday, and so that may have caused a bias (Though all in all most things seemed the same). However I rode away from my postcode (yes being cautious!) and so most people I saw were in adjoining suburbs.

School on, as so no kids about except for toddlers (maskless as normal).

What was different was no one was wearing faceshield (with or without a mask). So that change was being acted on. It had been becoming more common to see more and more people in faceshields with no mask., and not just the elderly. A month ago one was starting to more youngish couples out walking both in faceshields.

 

[Pushka]

The Victorian premier looks utterly defeated at today’s presser. Not a fan of him but he probably needs a bit of time away for the sake of his health. Not sure why he has to front up to the media everyday

I'd say he doesn't. Certainly that wasn't the case in SA where the rotation was between Police Commissioner, CHO and Premier. I'd say it's his choice entirely.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I'd say it's his choice entirely.

Yes fully agree.

Personally I think he should not do it every day. But yes should be there regularly.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

A breakdown of the 15 new cases recorded in Victoria
By Chanel Zagon15:28

Victoria's 15 new COVID-19 cases include four infections linked to a family cluster in Melbourne's south-east, two linked to a family cluster in Melbourne's north, two household contacts of a case linked to Box Hill Hospital, one household contact linked to a case at Sunshine Hospital and one close contact of an existing case. The remaining five cases are under investigation.

Of today's 15 new cases, four are in Monash, three are in Banyule and Hume and there are single cases in Casey, Darebin, Melton, Moreland, and Stonnington.

There have been no new cases linked to the outbreaks at Chadstone Shopping Centre or Oddfellows Café in Kilmore.

Two of today's cases are household contacts linked to a case from Box Hill Hospital. (NIne)

.....

Non-aged care outbreaks with the highest number of active cases:
• 19 active cases are currently linked to the Chadstone Shopping Centre outbreak (total cases: 33)
• 11 active cases are currently linked to the Box Hill Hospital outbreak (total cases: 11)
• 8 active cases are currently linked to the Frankston Family outbreak (total cases: 13)
• 6 active cases are currently linked to Electra Park Medical Centre Ashwood (total cases: 6)
• 5 active cases are currently linked to the Oddfellows Café in Kilmore (total cases: 6)



(This reads like the daily Vic DHHS report..so will probably be on that website soon)

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

NSW mystery case watch

Today's reports indicate:
- 4 in the past 7 days
- 1 in the period 8-14 days
- 0 in the period 15-28 days
- 29 older than 28 days but since Crossroads emerging.

NSW mystery case watch

Today's reports indicate:
- 5 in the past 7 days
- 1 in the period 8-14 days
- 0 in the period 15-28 days
- 29 older than 28 days but since Crossroads emerging.

 

[jb747]

That's what I'm seeing too. Lock down fatigue is becoming more prevalent.

I'm in a regional area in which there have been no cases. People still wear the masks. I haven't seen anything I'd consider a slackening of that discipline.

But, I think the Victorian premier (and co) have burnt their bridges in the regions. Whilst we were let out of gaol a couple of weeks ago, businesses haven't taken off. Most coffee shops, etc, still seem to be closed. The issue here is that we've had 12 weeks of total lockdown, in areas in which there were no cases. It was wasted lockdown. If people are prepared to put up with it for a while, I'm sure there's a limit to just how long, and it should not have been wasted on keeping people in other areas (i.e. Melbourne) happy.

 

[jakeseven7]

I'm in a regional area in which there have been no cases. People still wear the masks. I haven't seen anything I'd consider a slackening of that discipline.

But, I think the Victorian premier (and co) have burnt their bridges in the regions. Whilst we were let out of gaol a couple of weeks ago, businesses haven't taken off. Most coffee shops, etc, still seem to be closed. The issue here is that we've had 12 weeks of total lockdown, in areas in which there were no cases. It was wasted lockdown. If people are prepared to put up with it for a while, I'm sure there's a limit to just how long, and it should not have been wasted on keeping people in other areas (i.e. Melbourne) happy.

We have family in regional VIC and they haven't bothered reopening yet because more than half their trade is from Greater Melbourne so no point for them...

 

[kyle]

The Vic. premier looks utterly defeated at today’s presser. Not a fan of him but he probably needs a bit of time away for the sake of his health. Not sure why he has to front up to the media everyday

Because others around him are possibly more incompetent?

 

[jakeseven7]

That was always going to happen, it will never get eradicated in Victoria. He'll start using words similar to March when use COVID safe practices, and ensure our hospital ICU's not overrun..

It hasn’t been ‘eradicated’ anywhere in Australia let’s be very clear, because we are still accepting returns of infections from overseas and movement in and out of each state.

As NZ discovered it can and will pop up sooner or later again - even in the states that have on the surface appeared to have eliminated community transmission. It’s only a matter of time.

- VIC, NSW (and by default eventually ACT) and QLD will just have to live with varying levels of deep suppressIon. Several waste water tests indicate it is present in QLD whether it suits our political narrative or not. It didn’t magically appear in FNQ sewerage by beaming in from Wuhan via teleportation

- TAS, SA, NT are all opening their Domestic borders so inevitably will import cases and move from their current state of undetected community transmission to having low levels and moving to a deep suppression strategy as well. They appear to be waking up to this being the only real way forward for them.

- WA we will just have to wait until April to see, because we definitely won’t get any sense from them until after their election and they’ve had enough time to work through how to upskill and upgauge their health resources and infrastructure in preparation.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

https://pic.twitter.com/X54b3HNyb1

12 new cases

2 new Mystery cases

 

[jakeseven7]

11 Cases now in VIC, one already reclassified and ALL linked to existing clusters which is great news, zero mystery cases straight off the bat.

Hang in there Team VIC

 

[lovetravellingoz]

From the presser, 1 of the 12 cases is probably not a new case (Evidently just has trace amounts and so will be an old infection).

Of the 11, 2 are already linked to known outbreaks/cluster and the other 9 are all provisionally linked. On previous days this was not as advanced so early in the day.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Drama Queen at the Vic Presser strikes again stating that NSW has more cases than Vic today with 13 cases.

But of course does not mention 6 are in hotel quarantine and so local cases are in fact 7 and not 13. Hence NSW is not more than Vic.

Post automatically merged: Oct 13, 2020

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Just on Vic School closures given yesterday's discussion.

The Vic Presser confirmed that schools if closed will be closed for typically 2 days to allow time for deep cleaning etc. The school closed on Monday this week is following this standard plan, and so is likely to be open tomorrow if all goes to plan.

 

[dajop]

Drama Queen at the Vic Presser strikes again stating that NSW has more cases than Vic today with 13 cases.

But of course does not mention 6 are in hotel quarantine and so local cases are in fact 7 and not 13. Hence NSW is not more than Vic.

If I were a journalist I would probably ask Brett Sutton, not the Premier, for the reason why they can’t draw on the NSW experience more in relaxing restrictions - as NSW had more active cases than Victoria currently does, for almost a month, and was able to dramatically reduce the numbers (29 July - 26 August). Might be a good question, and I’m pretty sure Prof Sutton would have a good answer (cluster related?).