Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[jakeseven7]

Cool and normal....

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Fines of up to $50,000 if West Australians fail to check in​

West Australians who fail to sign in or scan the QR code of venues on their SafeWA app will face fines of up to $50,000.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said the onus was currently on businesses to have a physical register or a QR code, but now patrons will be fined if they do not scan or sign in.

As it happened: Victoria hotel quarantine worker’s close contacts all test negative; WA reopens after snap lockdown

Investigations continue into the infection of a hotel worker in Melbourne as Western Australia lifts its lockdown.

www.theage.com.au

 

[jakeseven7]

Did QLD elaborate on the 3 local cases they found yesterday that they thought were all shedding?

Missed the press conference....

 

[jakeseven7]

National Cabinet Key Points

- Vaccine roll out discussed
- 15th Feb the capacity of quarantine will increase thank goodness
- They are working towards moving away from case numbers to hospital presentations once vaccine rolls out as a metric (better tell the media)
- Looking to expand capacity of Howard Springs

 

[RooFlyer]

I’m posting this from cycle in the gym, so, truely breathless:

Press conference by Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein ( AKA ‘Guts’ For those that like the diminutive ) this afternoon, Most likely announcing reduced inbound travel restrictions. Perhaps he’s regretting not getting enough air time.

 

[Pushka]

They are working towards moving away from case numbers to hospital presentations once vaccine rolls out as a metric (better tell the media)

Hallelujah

 

[hydrabyss]

All but 2 of the close social contacts of the index case have now had their results - all negative so far.

This terrifying mutant virus certainly needs to up its game on transmission...

EDIT: now all but 1 have come back negative

It's been a bit of a fizzer so far. My take is the majority of people are more conscious of not spreading germs and if enough follow some simple guidelines it makes spreading it that much harder.

 

[N860CR]

Interesting to see relatively low testing numbers in Melbourne given there is a threat of the big scary UK virus out there. I think that’s a pretty strong sign that people are well over it, and perhaps not buying the political spin quite as much.

A few days ago I did say what would happen if they pulled the “breakout” (per Brisbane, Auckland and Perth) again, and a few hours later it happened. It does seem that the spin isn’t working anymore, and I’m glad to see the government planning a way forward by eventually ditching talk of case numbers.

Realistically, if they want to talk about hospitalizations, they might as well open the border to Los Angeles in 2 months times, because we’re not having a single hospitalisation if they don’t.

 

[jakeseven7]

Interesting to see relatively low testing numbers in Melbourne given there is a threat of the big scary UK virus out there. I think that’s a pretty strong sign that people are well over it, and perhaps not buying the political spin quite as much.

A few days ago I did say what would happen if they pulled the “breakout” (per Brisbane, Auckland and Perth) again, and a few hours later it happened. It does seem that the spin isn’t working anymore, and I’m glad to see the government planning a way forward by eventually ditching talk of case numbers.

Realistically, if they want to talk about hospitalizations, they might as well open the border to Los Angeles in 2 months times, because we’re not having a single hospitalisation if they don’t.

I'm not sure you would categorise 22.5K as relatively low? - its just under double their 'normal' testing which is already higher than other states.... So less room to go up I guess

Plus the exposure sites are really quite limited - they were the only people directed to get tested remember plus the close social contacts (hardly any) plus 500 AO people and the workers who already test daily (all negative so far).

 

[Aeolus]

Hi all, haven't been keeping track as I didn't need to travel until next week, what are the chances of SA removing the Day 1, 5, 12 testing for NSW arrivals by end of next week, etc? I dread the prospect of getting my nasal system prodded so I'm really hoping for some form of miracle to happen.

 

[dajop]

I'm not sure you would categorise 22.5K as relatively low? -

Don't let the facts get in the way of a narrative. I thought 22.5K was relatively high, given that it was just 1 case (and not an atypical number throughout the peak of the second wave). But we all have our own view of the world.

 

[Pushka]

Hi all, haven't been keeping track as I didn't need to travel until next week, what are the chances of SA removing the Day 1, 5, 12 testing for NSW arrivals by end of next week, etc? I dread the prospect of getting my nasal system prodded so I'm really hoping for some form of miracle to happen.

It really isn't that bad at all. Over before I knew it. This was at Victoria Park.

 

[N860CR]

I'm not sure you would categorise 22.5K as relatively low? - its just under double their 'normal' testing which is already higher than other states.... So less room to go up I guess

That’s more what I meant. I worded it poorly. Given Vic regularly has just under 20k tests a day, this incident didn’t exactly send people into a mad testing rush.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Border restrictions for WA travellers to be eased in SA, ACT​

South Australia and the ACT will remove their border restrictions with Western Australia today.

In a statement, the ACT government said people who had recently been in Perth, the Peel and South West regions of WA and had been instructed to quarantine in the ACT would be able to leave quarantine from 6pm AEDT.

As it happened: Victoria hotel quarantine worker’s close contacts all test negative; WA reopens after snap lockdown

Investigations continue into the infection of a hotel worker in Melbourne as Western Australia lifts its lockdown.

www.theage.com.au

Hoping Victoria will do this in coming days. Then WA put Victoria back to very low risk, and I can head over for the weekend...

Very glad to hear of the shift to using hospital admissions -probably should've been that all along anyway? At least after the initial scare...

 

[jakeseven7]

​

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Queensland maintains closed border to WA until Feb 14​

The declaration will lift from 1:00am on February 14 if the state continues to record no new cases of coronavirus.

Herd immunity may need us to vaccinate children, Brendan Murphy says

Health Department secretary Brendan Murphy tells a parliamentary committee that if herd immunity against COVID-19 is possible, we may need to vaccinate children, who are not currently included in the vaccine roadmap as "if recommended".

www.abc.net.au

 

[jakeseven7]

Very glad to hear of the shift to using hospital admissions -probably should've been that all along anyway? At least after the initial scare...

I suspect it won't shift to that until vaccines hit some decent numbers. BUT it is a really important start and they are thinking and planning for it - it is a good sign. Apparently all the states are working with the Feds on it. POSITIVE.

I think even the most political state premier has now seen the writing on the wall if they don't start thinking and behaving more rationally in the future.

 

[Must...Fly!]

I think even the most political state premier has now seen the writing on the wall if they don't start thinking and behaving more rationally in the future.

Funny you say that. I don't see it but my mother did say yesterday (she is anti lockdown/restrictions when case numbers are low despite being in a vulnerable group - so far untreated leukaemia) - she has observed a moderation in his tone of language and style of delivery at press conferences. I hope you (and her) are correct!

 

[Peter78]

Hi all, haven't been keeping track as I didn't need to travel until next week, what are the chances of SA removing the Day 1, 5, 12 testing for NSW arrivals by end of next week, etc? I dread the prospect of getting my nasal system prodded so I'm really hoping for some form of miracle to happen.

I am trying to find the information but no success so far - I know they are moving away from that requirement, I think from Feb 13 onwards. Maybe your Google search is more successful, good luck that it happens before you plan on heading to SA.

 

[nutwood]

I'm fascinated by the area of WA defined as a hotspot after one case. I haven't seen the exact area marked on a map but the general description of Perth, Peel and SW covers an area not much less than Tasmania and a lot more people. If they want to be taken seriously, they might have to start being a bit more specific!

 

[oz_mark]

I'm fascinated by the area of WA defined as a hotspot after one case. I haven't seen the exact area marked on a map but the general description of Perth, Peel and SW covers an area not much less than Tasmania and a lot more people. If they want to be taken seriously, they might have to start being a bit more specific!

It covered about 80% of the population of the state. I don't know why the South West was included, but they are free tonight

 

[nutwood]

It covered about 80% of the population of the state. I don't know why the South West was included, but they are free tonight

The number of small towns, suburbs encompassed is ridiculous. Many of those areas would have had no contact, even twice removed, from a genuine hotspot. Now they face $50,000 fines for not signing into their local deli. To put it in context, driving through a red light is $300!
Mind you, having a radar detector fitted to your car is $1200. Do we see a trend here?