Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Must...Fly!]

I am livid beyond belief that tennis players are considered essential “workers” when so many others will be unable to go to work

Fact is they are workers, but your government that you pay taxes to fund spent your money to allow them to work. While telling many thousands they can not for the next 5 days...

Post automatically merged: Feb 12, 2021

The worrying sign is that given T4 MEL is impacted, that means the virus is most likely to be exported to other states already .....

As far as I am aware there is not a positive case that can be attributed to the worker at Brunetti T4, so for now it is firmly in the realm of "possible"

 

[jakeseven7]

The worrying sign is that given T4 MEL is impacted, that means the virus is most likely to be exported to other states already .....

Why is it likely? Masks are worn in airport terminals, social distancing is pretty good. There might be a couple of unlucky cases but I'm not convinced it will be huge.

I hate the state rivalry stuff.

Didn't take long disappointingly.....

And as far as I can recall no other state has had to deal with the (unintentionally) covert use of a machine that transforms the virus into tiny particles that then trot along infecting loads of people.

And great news, because of this we will have HQ bag searches, probably another hold on caps for returning Australians etc - just making life generally more awful for people.

Its just awfully bad luck - but with VIC controls and a snap lockdown, I'm sure it will be handled and hopefully won't get as big as the recent Sydney outbreak either with these measures.

I'm just bummed I only saw 3 tennis matches

 

[ethernet]

News on containing the spread:
I cant find the link where a professor stated he did not think the nebuliser was likely, as any expelled particles would be clean, having not touched the lung lining.
1) Friends bypassing quarantine to drop off goodies to mates.
2) New Zealanders are smarter: Jabs are likely to start there sooner than us. And at the hotel guard level and border posts. I believe the first 70K or so shipment would not cover the quarantine hotel workers alone.. Nursing homes are not the tip of the spear.
3) GM816 Digital Anemometer Wind Speed Mini Air Velocity Airflow Temperature with LCD Backlight Wind Speed Meter AUD $14 odd delivered.
If I was a guard, I would pack one, to record on the job pressure gusts. I have not heard any 'gas leak' inspectors being phoned up to test airflow in rooms - yes they do more than just gas leaks. If you dont look for trouble - you wont find any.
4) Moving from 'bad luck' hotels is not the solution. Finding the weakest link is.
5) Sadly the cost of skipping *active* enforcement. has led to loss of confidence, once again.

 

[zenyattamondatta]

Wouldn't a nationwide lockdown make roughly as much sense as a Victorian lockdown?

 

[nutwood]

NSW brings in restrictions for those in MEL T4 at the times listed

View attachment 241069

I notice this refers to "any terminal". Why? Someone flying Qantas transiting through T1 has no connection with T4. They're well removed physically and are at no more risk than anyone else. Probably less, given there's security in between.

 

[kamchatsky]

I notice this refers to "any terminal". Why? Someone flying Qantas transiting through T1 has no connection with T4. They're well removed physically and are at no more risk than anyone else. Probably less, given there's security in between.

Maybe a WP wants to go to T1 to access Qanta's lounges whilst flying Jetstar?

 

[jase05]

I notice this refers to "any terminal". Why? Someone flying Qantas transiting through T1 has no connection with T4. They're well removed physically and are at no more risk than anyone else. Probably less, given there's security in between.

I hadn’t seen that. So transits are out too

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I notice this refers to "any terminal". Why? Someone flying Qantas transiting through T1 has no connection with T4. They're well removed physically and are at no more risk than anyone else. Probably less, given there's security in between.

I guess they are regarded as a casual contact - perhaps a shared ventilation - who knows? Weird that the ‘any terminal’ dates is 7&8 February

It’s not that onerous - test and isolate until negative result. They asked household contacts of people visiting T4 on 9 February to isolate until the visitor’s test is negative. But the visitor has to isolate for 14 days.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

ABC news summary

All states and territories declare travel restrictions from Victoria​

We've now heard from all of the states and territories in response to the news that Melbourne is going into lockdown. Here are the travel restrictions each state has imposed:

ACT: From midnight, Victorians will have to apply for an exemption to enter the territory, and must quarantine on arrival. Returning residents will be permitted entry but must self-quarantine.

NSW: Anyone who has arrived from Victoria since January 29 will have to follow the same 'stay-at-home' rules Victorians are under from midnight tonight for five days.

NT: All arrivals from Greater Melbourne will be directed into mandatory quarantine for 14 days. Anyone who has arrived from Greater Melbourne from February 7 is also required to self-isolate, get tested and stay in isolation until receiving a negative result.

Qld: Queensland will close its border for 14 days from 1:00am Saturday to anyone who has been in Greater Melbourne.

SA: South Australia will extend its hard border to cover the whole state of Victoria from midnight. From today, anyone transiting through Tullamarine Airport must go into quarantine for 14 days.

Tas: Tasmania has declared the entire state of Victoria as high-risk as of midnight tonight. All travellers from Victoria to Tasmania will have to self-isolate for 14 days, at their home or in hotel quarantine.

WA: There will be a 72-hour hard border with Victoria put in place at 6pm tonight. This means that only exempt travellers from Victoria will be allowed into WA after that time.

 

[nutwood]

Maybe a WP wants to go to T1 to access Qanta's lounges whilst flying Jetstar?

I've been known to do that but what's the scenario where there's potential virus transmission? As I understand it, the potential source of infection was a T4 coffee shop. Leaving aside the probability of stopping to purchase coffee whilst en-route to the lounge, how would it work? You purchase your coffee, spend some time close to the infectious person, then head for T1. On the short walk, the virus does it's stuff and by the time you arrive at T1 you're ready to spread it?
Basically, unless there's some other factor, the chances of spreading it from T4 to T1 are such that, if it occurred, we might as well give up as it's all over the country now. There's been plenty of flights out of T4 and whilst it might be possible to round up the PAX, the secondary contacts are huge.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Vic Premier’s statement

Statement From The Premier

I won’t waste words: today hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, just how deeply. But as we’ve seen – here in Australia and around the world – we are facing a new kind of enemy. A virus that is smarter, and faster, and more infectious. And until we have a vaccine, we need to do everything...

www.premier.vic.gov.au

First half

I won’t waste words: today hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, just how deeply.

But as we’ve seen – here in Australia and around the world – we are facing a new kind of enemy.

A virus that is smarter, and faster, and more infectious.

And until we have a vaccine, we need to do everything we can to keep this virus at bay.

In the past 24 hours, five new cases have been identified.

It shows just how incredibly infectious this virus is. And our public health team tell us it’s only getting faster.

Right now, we are reaching close contacts well within the 48-hour benchmark. But the time between exposure, incubation, symptoms and testing positive is rapidly shortening. So much so, that even secondary close contacts are potentially infectious within that 48-hour window.

In short: this hyper-infectious variant is moving at hyper-speed.

It’s why on the advice of our public health experts, the whole of Victoria will move to circuit-breaker action from 11:59pm tonight until 11:59pm on Wednesday, 17 February.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Vic Premier’s statement

Statement From The Premier

I won’t waste words: today hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, just how deeply. But as we’ve seen – here in Australia and around the world – we are facing a new kind of enemy. A virus that is smarter, and faster, and more infectious. And until we have a vaccine, we need to do everything...

www.premier.vic.gov.au

First half

I won’t waste words: today hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, just how deeply.

But as we’ve seen – here in Australia and around the world – we are facing a new kind of enemy.

A virus that is smarter, and faster, and more infectious.

And until we have a vaccine, we need to do everything we can to keep this virus at bay.

In the past 24 hours, five new cases have been identified.

It shows just how incredibly infectious this virus is. And our public health team tell us it’s only getting faster.

Right now, we are reaching close contacts well within the 48-hour benchmark. But the time between exposure, incubation, symptoms and testing positive is rapidly shortening. So much so, that even secondary close contacts are potentially infectious within that 48-hour window.

In short: this hyper-infectious variant is moving at hyper-speed.

It’s why on the advice of our public health experts, the whole of Victoria will move to circuit-breaker action from 11:59pm tonight until 11:59pm on Wednesday, 17 February.

So much spin and hyperbole.

Get to the point. I'm sick of his pandering, we all know why we were watching the live stream.

The attacks toward Feds regarding vaccines is also disturbing me. TGA has a job to do, let them do it. We're in a globally competitive market for the approved Pfizer vaccine, I can't see how we could've (or even should've) got it any earlier.

 

[clifford]

We're in a globally competitive market for the approved Pfizer vaccine, I can't see how we could've (or even should've) got it any earlier.

Goodness!

Well I wonder how the likes of Israel and the UK got their hands on lots of the Pfizer vaccine.

Australia couldn't have possibly done as well, really, could they, even if they had tried. I concede.

And, as for "should've", the mind boggles...













'should'vr"

 

[Pushka]

Goodness!

Well I wonder how the likes of Israel and the UK got their hand on lots of the Pfizer vaccine.

Australia couldn't have possibly done as well. I concede.

I think UK is mainly using Oxford. First round was Pfizer. I've had older relatives in UK who've had both varieties.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Lockdown is coming over ZERO mystery cases, millions put out of work and thousands of businesses ruined, but this lot will still be able to play tennis of course...

7 News had two Professors speaking. One said the lockdown was essential and absolutely the right thing to do. The other said the lockdown was unnecessary.

What's the government supposed to do? These are both supposedly professionals at the top of their field and they have wildly different views.

The Chamber of Commerce or whatever is saying we can't these lockdowns going forward and we 'need to sort this out once and for all'. But they offer no solution.

 

[Must...Fly!]

Goodness!

Well I wonder how the likes of Israel and the UK got their hands on lots of the Pfizer vaccine.

Australia couldn't have possibly done as well, really, could they, even if they had tried. I concede.

And, as for "should've", the mind boggles...













'should'vr"

I'm quite happy to wait several months if it means millions of doses go to people who need them.

 

[TheRealTMA]

I'm quite happy to wait several months if it means millions of doses go to people who need them.

And given that we are not in a desperate situation in Australia, we can look and see the side effects etc and learn by the results from others.

 

[dajop]

The Chamber of Commerce or whatever is saying we can't these lockdowns going forward and we 'need to sort this out once and for all'. But they offer no solution.

The Singapore solution is mask mandates everywhere other than when eating, drinking and exercising, strict check-ins and check-outs in all venues, and limits on gatherings to just 8 people (recently lifted from 5), and there hasn't been strict lockdown for > 6 months, despite small numbers of cases bubbling along.

These restrictions would not be acceptable to the Australian population on an ongoing basis so it has to be bouts of almost unlimited activities followed by border closures and short strict lockdowns.

 

[dajop]

Any news on new positives in Victoria today? Yesterday there was drip feeding of new positive cases, today do we have to wait until tomorrow morning's official release?

 

[drron]

Goodness!

Well I wonder how the likes of Israel and the UK got their hands on lots of the Pfizer vaccine.

Australia couldn't have possibly done as well, really, could they, even if they had tried. I concede.

And, as for "should've", the mind boggles...













'should'vr"

You need to look at the number of cases and deaths Israel has had compared to Australia.
716643 cases and 5286 deaths.In a country with a population of less than 40% of Australia's at just over 9 million.
They qualified for emergency authorisation.
I prefer to have a lot less deaths and wait a little longer for the vaccine.