Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[RAM]

This is not correct. The Registrar who ordered the swab was seeing the patient. She was doing a night shift and returned the following evening for another night shift.

Oops. It may have read more clearly if I had added, "at the time" of the cough.

I understand the definition of a 'junior' doctor to be a doctor who is working as a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd year intern - not as a Registrar. If I'm wrong - mea culpa. I did just do a search for the lady's name & 'Registrar' but cannot find a single reference to her as a registrar. One article published this afternoon does say the elderly lady was being examined for breathing difficulties - something that I hadn't seen in articles since Nov 13.

In a number of articles, early on, after a 'junior' doctor was identified - they stated that she was with a different patient when she heard a cough. Yes she was also the treating doctor for the elderly lady, but she was with another patient at the time of the 'quiet cough'.

The same registrars working for NSW Health doing the same night shifts for the same pay are swabbing people who don’t quite feel right all the time.

As you mention NSW Health, isn't the standard protocol that a 'junior' doctor (aka intern) normally deals with walk-ins and subsequently seeks guidance if needed from more senior doctors before even thinking of going to the registrar?

To draw a significant distinction at Nov13th:

• NSW had local transmission (cases outside of quarantine) within a week of that date
• Adelaide had zero local transmission (case outside of quarantine) reported for around six months or so.

But I guess that doesn’t fit your Ruby Princess narrative.
ABC News

No narrative just drawing a distinction between people at the top of the tree vs a junior (entry level?) doctor. Given the pressure junior doctors work under & documented excessive hours they're forced to work (not to mention the rate of suicide being many times that of the general population) - I stand by my opinion that I think she did brilliantly!

Reducing risk of suicide in medical profession | The Medical ...
www.mja.com.au › journal › reducing-risk-suicide-med...

“Over a matter of months, two female junior doctors committed suicide at our ... suicide at 2.27 times the rate of the general population, and male doctors only a ...

“In recent Australian surveys, one in five students reported suicidal ideation in the preceding 12 months, while 50 per cent of junior doctors experienced moderate to high levels of distress,” Ann McCormack, endocrinology specialist at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, wrote.

 

[dajop]

Was looking at Crikey today, and they pointed to an interesting comment (on Twitbook) from a federal parliamentarian asserting that "Masks and Lockdowns" don't work, citing the following study.

Even a Military-Enforced Quarantine Can’t Stop the Virus, Study Reveals | The Daily Economy

"The lockdowners keep telling us to pay attention to the science. That’s what we are doing. When the results contradict their pro-compulsion narrative, ...

www.aier.org

Perhaps someone should have told Dan & Brett before they locked down Victoria, because the lockdown and mask usage lead was an abysmal failure (well it was .... from the virus's point of view). Perhaps should have told Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore as well.

 

[Princess Fiona]

Oops. It may have read more clearly if I had added, "at the time" of the cough.

I understand the definition of a 'junior' doctor to be a doctor who is working as a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd year intern - not as a Registrar. If I'm wrong - mea culpa. I did just do a search for the lady's name & 'Registrar' but cannot find a single reference to her as a registrar. One article published this afternoon does say the elderly lady was being examined for breathing difficulties - something that I hadn't seen in articles since Nov 13.

In a number of articles, early on, after a 'junior' doctor was identified - they stated that she was with a different patient when she heard a cough. Yes she was also the treating doctor for the elderly lady, but she was with another patient at the time of the 'quiet cough'.

As you mention NSW Health, isn't the standard protocol that a 'junior' doctor (aka intern) normally deals with walk-ins and subsequently seeks guidance if needed from more senior doctors before even thinking of going to the registrar?

To draw a significant distinction at Nov13th:

• NSW had local transmission (cases outside of quarantine) within a week of that date
• Adelaide had zero local transmission (case outside of quarantine) reported for around six months or so.

No narrative just drawing a distinction between people at the top of the tree vs a junior (entry level?) doctor. Given the pressure junior doctors work under & documented excessive hours they're forced to work (not to mention the rate of suicide being many times that of the general population) - I stand by my opinion that I think she did brilliantly!

Reducing risk of suicide in medical profession | The Medical ...
www.mja.com.au › journal › reducing-risk-suicide-med...

“Over a matter of months, two female junior doctors committed suicide at our ... suicide at 2.27 times the rate of the general population, and male doctors only a ...

“In recent Australian surveys, one in five students reported suicidal ideation in the preceding 12 months, while 50 per cent of junior doctors experienced moderate to high levels of distress,” Ann McCormack, endocrinology specialist at St Vincent’s Hospital Sydney, wrote.

This is all completely OT
But for the record a junior doctor is a registrar, resident or intern.
Now back on topic

 

[nutwood]

Was looking at Crikey today, and they pointed to an interesting comment (on Twitbook) from a federal parliamentarian asserting that "Masks and Lockdowns" don't work, citing the following study.

Even a Military-Enforced Quarantine Can’t Stop the Virus, Study Reveals | The Daily Economy

"The lockdowners keep telling us to pay attention to the science. That’s what we are doing. When the results contradict their pro-compulsion narrative, ...

www.aier.org

Perhaps someone should have told Dan & Brett before they locked down Victoria, because the lockdown and mask usage lead was an abysmal failure (well it was .... from the virus's point of view). Perhaps should have told Lee Hsien Loong in Singapore as well.

Thank you for posting this. The study is interesting reading. I'm too busy/lazy to track down the flaw although I can see that there's potential. I'm thinking this article will have been comprehensively "analysed". Does anyone have a link?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Thank you for posting this. The study is interesting reading. I'm too busy/lazy to track down the flaw although I can see that there's potential. I'm thinking this article will have been comprehensively "analysed". Does anyone have a link?

I think the point of a lockdown is to stop people from mixing. The more mixing you have the more likely transmission is.

They slept in double-occupancy rooms with sinks, ate in shared dining facilities, and used shared bathrooms.

How is that replicating a lockdown, and why would you not get transmission?

 

[VPS]

I arrived back into Launceston this afternoon. I came direct from Sydney having cancelled the SA component of the trip. They've set up an entirely new structure to greet arrivals, apparently in the last week or so. Seems like they're settling in for the long haul!
I was asked if I had been in SA or Victoria and when I replied in the negative was waved through. I'm not sure where they are going with it, now the Vic/NSW border is open. Sydney airport was the busiest I've seen it in a long while.

I'm surprised that they don't bother to check where you've been - it's pretty obvious some people lie (I'm not thinking that about you though

 

[dajop]

I think the point of a lockdown is to stop people from mixing. The more mixing you have the more likely transmission is.

They slept in double-occupancy rooms with sinks, ate in shared dining facilities, and used shared bathrooms.

How is that replicating a lockdown, and why would you not get transmission?

Yes, that was the one thing that struck me about the study. It says nothing about the effect of broader community lockdowns, which are about preventing mxing. The anecodatal evidence (from Victoria at least) suggest that they seem to work to a certain extent. Then it becomes an argument for the three e's - economists, ethicists and epidimiologists if they are of net benefit or harm over the longer term.

 

[jakeseven7]

Groan..... giving QLD a run for its money now do we smell ‘new rules made up on the run’ coming?

WA still won't set reopening date as Victoria nears COVID-19 'elimination' as pressure mounts​

WA still won't set reopening date as Victoria nears COVID-19 'elimination'

Western Australia will continue to "chart its own course" on border policy, with Premier Mark McGowan refusing to set a date or milestone for reopening to Victoria.

www.watoday.com.au

 

[jase05]

Groan..... giving QLD a run for its money now do we smell ‘new rules made up on the run’ coming?

WA still won't set reopening date as Victoria nears COVID-19 'elimination' as pressure mounts​

WA still won't set reopening date as Victoria nears COVID-19 'elimination'

Western Australia will continue to "chart its own course" on border policy, with Premier Mark McGowan refusing to set a date or milestone for reopening to Victoria.

www.watoday.com.au

Cheer up,
March isn’t that far away

Seriously this bloke should be called McClown

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Groan..... giving QLD a run for its money now do we smell ‘new rules made up on the run’ coming?

WA still won't set reopening date as Victoria nears COVID-19 'elimination' as pressure mounts​

WA still won't set reopening date as Victoria nears COVID-19 'elimination'

Western Australia will continue to "chart its own course" on border policy, with Premier Mark McGowan refusing to set a date or milestone for reopening to Victoria.

www.watoday.com.au

"We'll get advice on the 28 day mark [with Victoria] if there's no additional cases, but the other sorts of things you take account of in other states are sewage testing, their border arrangements ... and their testing regime," he said.

So just on that:
- Wastewater/sewage testing. Vic does comprehensively across the state. See Department of Health and Human Services Victoria | Wastewater monitoring - coronavirus (COVID-19) The WA program does not seem to be as comprehensive, or as advanced: Media Statements - Wastewater testing underway to boost COVID-19 surveillance
- Border arrangements? Are we not talking about no borders?
- Testing Regime. Well if we are talking about Vic then compared to WA the tests per capita is way higher. 2.45 times the population, but 6 times the tests today. Plus Vic are surveillance testing of high risk workplaces like Abattoirs etc.


I did like this comment though:

"People from Victoria can come here currently, they just have to quarantine and I haven't heard any complaints about that."

Surely he cannot be serious. Who would want to quarantine for 14 days for no reason? Just watch the numbers of travellers climb if the quarantine is removed.

 

[nutwood]

I'm surprised that they don't bother to check where you've been - it's pretty obvious some people lie (I'm not thinking that about you though

That's a very valid point. My job was actually in Albury. I flew return from Sydney to Albury. Had I wished, I could have visited a substantial part of Victoria in the time available.
That said, the same defect has applied to much of the paper-work surrounding State entries. They tend to focus far more on where the plane came from than where the travellers might have been. They're not negligent, the correct questions are asked but if someone was prepared to lie, there's no real check on this. I've always played it absolutely straight but I have to confess to sometimes wondering why I bothered. An example being having my risk status ramped up in Adelaide because thirteen days previously, I had transited Melbourne airport for all of 75 minutes. Why did I answer that question honestly?!
Ultimately, in that instance, careful calculation established that it was actually just over the fourteen days, but really? 11.59 pm; risk to society. 12.01am; welcome!

 

[jase05]

Seems like we might have a new case at Woodville High
SA Health have advised those that attended Woodville High School on 23rd November (and their families) to self isolate until further notice.

 

[RooFlyer]

I did like this comment though:

"People from Victoria can come here currently, they just have to quarantine and I haven't heard any complaints about that."

Surely he cannot be serious. Who would want to quarantine for 14 days for no reason? Just watch the numbers of travellers climb if the quarantine is removed.

I dare say Mr McGowan only has ears for Western Australians "People from Victoria" - meh ...

 

[dajop]

"People from Victoria can come here currently, they just have to quarantine and I haven't heard any complaints about that."

Surely he cannot be serious. Who would want to quarantine for 14 days for no reason? Just watch the numbers of travellers climb if the quarantine is removed.

Yes, there's a difference between being no compliants and not hearing about them ...

Having said that, I would be happy to self-quarantine for two weeks when I travel to Australia in a couple of weeks time instead of staying for two weeks at Hotel Petri Dish TM.

 

[Pushka]

Seems like we might have a new case at Woodville High
SA Health have advised those that attended Woodville High School on 23rd November (and their families) to self isolate until further notice.

Damn. Hopefully not the first community spread. Woodville Pizza. Good they were tested.

 

[sinophile888]

Seriously this bloke should be called McClown

Around these parts, he's called St. Mark.

 

[Lynda2475]

Lots of different tourist operators from WA on numerous news programs tonight very concerned as that WA is now the only state not to announce reopening they are missing out on all the Christmas/Summer spend from NSW and Vic tourists - they didnt seem to think the WA Premiere was saintly because he rather taking away any opportunity to benefit form the domestic tourist boom given overseas travel is out.

 

[jakeseven7]

Lots of different tourist operators from WA on numerous news programs tonight very concerned as that WA is now the only state not to announce reopening they are missing out on all the Christmas/Summer spend from NSW and Vic tourists - they didnt seem to think the WA Premiere was sainty rather taking away any opportunity to benefit formt he domestic tourist boom given overseas travel is out.

They are delaying and dithering because they have sat around the last 8 months doing sweet nothing.... I suspect they are in a mad scramble to get ready for opening to VIC and then NSW - I mean WA only just got their location QSR code tracking up and running - its not like they've been that busy, this could have been done a long time ago....

Anyway, Friday is D day for VIC if they make it and according to WA rules, they should be reopened by then. I think NSW is a little behind VIC from memory about 1.5 weeks. Given VIC is almost 40% of WA's tourism trade - their biggest market, this will be a huge boost to their tourism, hospitality industry... I mean some hotels in Perth CBD just CLOSED.....

SA into WA - will JUST sneak in before Xmas if no more community transmission cases - but the new school case might jettonise that....

 

[jakeseven7]

Seems like we might have a new case at Woodville High
SA Health have advised those that attended Woodville High School on 23rd November (and their families) to self isolate until further notice.

Breaking: Coronavirus case identified in Adelaide school student, SA Health says

A student at an Adelaide high school has tested positive to COVID-19, South Australian health authorities say.

• A female student who attended Woodville High School has tested positive to COVID-19
• The school will be closed from tomorrow "until further notice"
• It is unclear whether the case is linked to the Parafield cluster

SA Health issued an alert at 7:30pm on Wednesday, confirming the female Woodville High School student had returned a positive test.

She attended the school "while potentially infectious", the Department of Education said.

Anyone who attended the school on Monday, November 23, has been told to "isolate immediately with all members of their household until further notice".

School student tests positive to coronavirus in Adelaide

A student at an Adelaide high school tests positive to COVID-19, with South Australian health authorities telling all those who attended the school on Monday to isolate at home with their household "immediately".

www.abc.net.au

 

[Lynda2475]

More inconsistencies though, Queensland recoginsed NSW hitting 28 days without a mystery case a day before Vic. WA obviously counting any case even if linked if it puts NSW behind Vic. Southern WA is nice to viist over summer, but anywhere north of Perth is pretty uncomfortable until Dry season in late April.