Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Bundy Bear]

I agree with DrRon the ship has sailed with the dedicated quarantine facilities, Darwin will likely be in used for another 12 months.

Wagners are just trying to get more use out of their airport.

Need to decide how to handle those that will soon be vaccinated, or how we handle vaccinations of those coming back to Australia.

 

[jase05]

South Africa suspends roll-out of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Is that a concern for us as that’s the vaccine most Australians will receive?

Oxford vaccine offers ‘minimal protection’ against SA variant

Early data from a new small-scale study suggests the jab offers only “minimal protection” against the South African variant.

www.theage.com.au

 

[Lynda2475]

I wonder how much the off shift testing will cost the government

Well if TGA approves the Australian made at home tests (which we are supplying to USA), workers could be provided with at home test kits that work with a mobile app to do their off shift testing. If positive head to test sites for nasal swab.

Or send them home with rapid saliva tests, and employ someone to collect from their home each day.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

My observation is that all variants have aerosol transmission - my recollection is that AHPPC did not fully support it as the Ro of around 3 does not support a conclusion of aerosol/airborne.

I recall/am aware of only 5 quarantine worker/quarantine acquired cases (excluding WA because the worker didn’t wear PPE).
2 x NSW workers neither have the UK/Sa strains
2x Vic workers, at least 1 had the UK/SA strain
1x Qld family in quarantine, had the UK/SA strain

So a 50% strike rate doesn’t suggest to me as more transmissible.

Don’t forget there is also the view/suggestion that the UK strain may become the dominant/majority strain soon.

I posed a question around the time WA got their worker case why it took so long for them to get their first case - what were they doing right? The only AFF response I got was essentially blind luck. Hopefully some smart brains in Public health Policy are working on what works well in quarantine and not just what went wrong in quarantine.

The 4 different strains that were at the start of the Vic second wave were not the mores transmissible strains.

Plus most of the many NZ HQ breaches have not involved the more transmissible strains.

I personally think it is more that just some individuals have higher viral loads irrespective of the strain type, are more infectious and due to that may aerosolise more.

So the newer strains show up more, but I suspect that this more just due these being the strains that are arriving at present. The longevity of the transmission period may also be longer (hence the testing in 16 days now) and if so reason why the new strains may be more transmissible. That is a one off exposure is not more transmissible by the strain, but the person with the new strain may be infectious for longer and thus potentially infects more people with a higher R0 number.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

The 4 different strains that were at the start of the Vic second wave were not the mores transmissible strains.

Plus most of the many NZ HQ breaches have not involved the more transmissible strains.

I personally think it is more that just some individuals have higher viral loads irrespective of the strain type, are more infectious and due to that may aerosolise more.

So the newer strains show up more, but I suspect that this more just due these being the strains that are arriving at present. The longevity of the transmission period may also be longer (hence the testing in 16 days now) and if so reason why the new strains may be more transmissible. That is a one off exposure is not more transmissible by the strain, but the person with the new strain may be infectious for longer and thus potentially infects more people with a higher R0 number.

Lets move away from the second wave cause - less relevant now since Victoria essentially stopped quarantine on a large scale basis for the second half of 2020. As I excluded the non-mask-wearing WA worker case, I think its fair to exclude the cause of the second wave.

So with the more recent 5 cases/instances:
2 x NSW workers - neither UK/SA strain - only Berala reached far into the community
1 x Qld family - UK/SA strain - not into the community
2 x Vic workers - at least 1 UK/SA strain not seemingly into the community

 

[drron]

South Africa suspends roll-out of AstraZeneca vaccine.
Is that a concern for us as that’s the vaccine most Australians will receive?

Oxford vaccine offers ‘minimal protection’ against SA variant

Early data from a new small-scale study suggests the jab offers only “minimal protection” against the South African variant.

www.theage.com.au

Though there isn't that much info on the Pfizer and Moderna results with the SA variant either.Testing with antibodies from vaccinated patients Pfizer found it worked well against the UK strain but although saying it would work against the SA mutation they as far as I am aware not tested it the same way on the SA mutation.

Early Evidence Suggests Pfizer Vaccine Works Against New Coronavirus Variant

Scientists are hard at work testing out whether mutations found in new variants of the coronavirus could bypass the immunity offered by currently

gizmodo.com

Moderna again testing vaccinated patients antibodies against the mutations found no problem with the UK strain but with the SA mutation it produced only a sixth of the level of neutralising antibody though they say that is enough.

Early Evidence Suggests Pfizer Vaccine Works Against New Coronavirus Variant

Scientists are hard at work testing out whether mutations found in new variants of the coronavirus could bypass the immunity offered by currently

gizmodo.com

All of them though are working on boosters that should cope.

 

[jakeseven7]

Tasmania goes first after NSW’s new local case.

Im sure VIC will also have some locations added to the hotspot shortly.

———


Tasmania declares NSW areas as 'high risk', imposes border restrictions


Tasmania has declared 12 locations in NSW as high risk after a returned traveller tested positive for coronavirus after finishing their hotel quarantine.

Health authorities say the man visited 11 locations in Wollongong and one in Sydney while potentially infectious.

Anyone who arrived in Tasmania who was in NSW on or after the second of February and visited the high risk locations is being urged to self-isolate and arrange to get tested for COVID-19.

Tasmania's Public Health Director will issue further advice about a new coronavirus case in Victoria later today.

Live: Victoria lifts border restrictions on last-affected region of NSW

Sydney residents from the coughberland local government area will be allowed to travel into Victoria without quarantining from 6:00pm on Monday. Follow live.

www.abc.net.au

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Tasmania goes first after NSW’s new local case.

Im sure VIC will also have some locations added to the hotspot shortly.

———


Tasmania declares NSW areas as 'high risk', imposes border restrictions


Tasmania has declared 12 locations in NSW as high risk after a returned traveller tested positive for coronavirus after finishing their hotel quarantine.

Health authorities say the man visited 11 locations in Wollongong and one in Sydney while potentially infectious.

Anyone who arrived in Tasmania who was in NSW on or after the second of February and visited the high risk locations is being urged to self-isolate and arrange to get tested for COVID-19.

Tasmania's Public Health Director will issue further advice about a new coronavirus case in Victoria later today.

Live: Victoria lifts border restrictions on last-affected region of NSW

Sydney residents from the coughberland local government area will be allowed to travel into Victoria without quarantining from 6:00pm on Monday. Follow live.

www.abc.net.au

So essentially taking a four/fifth/sixth ring approach lol - when you think about it that's what LGA method is doing.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Nephew is in the Air Force and lives in the general community. Only his work is on base.

Appreciate that, but there is nothing to stop members living 'on base' if that's their assignment?

 

[RooFlyer]

I just heard the Victorian health minister say on ABC radio news
that with the new case in HQ there, that they are going to start voluntary daily testing for HQ guards. Huh? Haven’t we heard here how it was already daily?

The minister said that they hope to make it mandatory, but daily testing voluntary for now.

Jeez, after what they have been through AND the HQ case last week I wouldn’t have thought it would take to now to have mandatory daily testing. But there you go.

Amazing how things aren’t as they have been indicated.

 

[Must...Fly!]

All of them though are working on boosters that should cope.

I'm sure Pfizer and Moderna are working extremely hard on these given they are profiting from the vaccine sales.

 

[jase05]

Appreciate that, but there is nothing to stop members living 'on base' if that's their assignment?

I know Edinburgh doesn’t have anywhere near enough dorms on base

 

[jakeseven7]

I just heard the Victorian health minister say
that with the new cases in HQ there, that they are going to start voluntary daily testing for HQ guards. Huh? Haven’t we heard here how it was already daily?

The minister said that they hope to make it mandatory, but daily testing voluntary for now.

Jeez, after what they have been through AND the HQ case last week I wouldn’t have thought it would take to now to have mandatory daily testing. But there you go.

Amazing how things aren’t as they have been

They are are already doing daily testing - every single day the worker comes to work....

Now they are introducting testing the worker on their days off as well.

Hopefully other states follow this improvement too...

 

[N860CR]

Because only Australians and Australian citizens could stop themselves being infected by a virulent bug in the middle of a global pandemic....? actually sounds a little bit more like something else than provocative....

I would say people who are highly skilled with a proven history of procedural compliance would do a better job than those who are running around doing multiple jobs on the side. The whole hotel quarantine staffing arrangement smacks of cheap outsourcing and while it may not be the direct cause of the breaches, it’s certainly not helping the situation.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

32mminutes ago
By Dannielle Maguire

Victoria's latest case was probably only infectious for one day​

Just going back to the Victorian press conference for a moment.

Authorities reckon the woman who works as an 'authorised officer' at the quarantine hotel in Melbourne was only infectious for about one day before she tested positive yesterday.

"We think this person turned infectious probably yesterday or the day before," Victoria's COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said.
"So we have a very short period now to chase around after.
"That is why we're in I think in a in a strong position."

Mr Weimar said the woman's movements around the community "have been relatively modest".
"So not not many exposure sites, not much perimeter outside the house," he said.
He also said the woman was being very helpful to the contact tracing effort.
"We've had extensive conversations last night — with a positive case, with our with our public health teams — they provided very good information.
"Our lead assumption at the moment is that there's been some connection back to hotel quarantine because that's the largest risk of this individual faces."

I hope that's reassuring to our mates in Melbourne.

 

[jakeseven7]

32mminutes ago
By Dannielle Maguire

Victoria's latest case was probably only infectious for one day​

Just going back to the Victorian press conference for a moment.

Authorities reckon the woman who works as an 'authorised officer' at the quarantine hotel in Melbourne was only infectious for about one day before she tested positive yesterday.

"We think this person turned infectious probably yesterday or the day before," Victoria's COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar said.
"So we have a very short period now to chase around after.
"That is why we're in I think in a in a strong position."

Mr Weimar said the woman's movements around the community "have been relatively modest".
"So not not many exposure sites, not much perimeter outside the house," he said.
He also said the woman was being very helpful to the contact tracing effort.
"We've had extensive conversations last night — with a positive case, with our with our public health teams — they provided very good information.
"Our lead assumption at the moment is that there's been some connection back to hotel quarantine because that's the largest risk of this individual faces."

I hope that's reassuring to our mates in Melbourne.

Great news.....

The NSW exposure site list is much longer but hopefully because the case was lower infection risk it also turns out to be nothing much....

 

[bcworld]

I recall/am aware of only 5 quarantine worker/quarantine acquired cases (excluding WA because the worker didn’t wear PPE).
2 x NSW workers neither have the UK/Sa strains
2x Vic workers, at least 1 had the UK/SA strain
1x Qld family in quarantine, had the UK/SA strain

NSW has certainly had more than 2 total.

2 security guards were infected last year.
Then there were the 3 December ones. I believe Cleaner, Bus Driver and Nurse.

 

[RooFlyer]

On the ABC radio: latest Victorian case was a HQ paperwork person, not in contact with HQ ‘inmates’. If true, that’s interesting.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Nz have had a few test positive in community after completing 14 days HQ and now NSW has this case. If the case was indeed acquired overseas (and not somehow contracted whilst in HQ) then maybe the new strains take longer to develop disease?

An extra long incubation period in a returned traveller may have been the source of Northern Beaches cluster. Ive never understood why they test on HQ day 11 and not on 14.

Because it takes time to get the tests returned. Effectively you have to extend the quarantine period if you test on day 14. Dr FM is getting tested today which is day 12 and they will be testing in the afternoon.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Repatriation flight just landed in Canberra with 160 on board. Workers will have a daily saliva test.