Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Pushka]

I think someone needs to whisper in the ears of ABC Tv who are apoplectic that the daily statistics are blown out in WA because a family of four in Quarantine have tested positive and this has ruined Australia's recovery rate.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I think someone needs to whisper in the ears of ABC Tv who are apoplectic that the daily statistics are blown out in WA because a family of four in Quarantine have tested positive and this has ruined Australia's recovery rate.

Agree. But by and large one needs to ignore most media headlines these days.

There are still I think about three hundred thousand odd Australians living overseas. Iif they wanted to who could return back to OZ with the potential to rocket up the number of infected Australians. But even if they all did, it is irrelevant to controlling the virus as all would be be put through quarantine.

 

[Pushka]

Agree. But by and large one needs to ignore most media headlines these days.

There are still I think about three hundred thousand odd Australians living overseas Oz if they wanted to who could return back to OZ with the potential to rocket up the number of infected Australians. But even if they all did, it is irrelevant to controlling the virus as all would be be put through quarantine.

Trouble is the average person hears this and panics and reinforces the "message" that we need to keep our state borders closed.

 

[p--and--t]

Agree. But by and large one needs to ignore most media headlines these days.

There are still I think about three hundred thousand odd Australians living overseas Oz if they wanted to who could return back to OZ with the potential to rocket up the number of infected Australians. But even if they all did, it is irrelevant to controlling the virus as all would be be put through quarantine.

And I suspect that's why ScoMo will very very reluctant to lift the no travel ban quickly and only very judiciously.

We need a few hundred thousand going away on holiday o/s and coming back expecting to have a second free holiday on the taxpayer purse in a 4-5* hotel like a hole in the head.

 

[jase05]

And I suspect that's why ScoMo will very very reluctant to lift the no travel ban quickly and only very judiciously.

We need a few hundred thousand going away on holiday o/s and coming back expecting to have a second free holiday on the taxpayer purse in a 4-5* hotel like a hole in the head.

Anyone who leaves the country now should have to pay quarantine costs out of their own pockets when they return

 

[Princess Fiona]

Anyone who leaves the country now should have to pay quarantine costs out of their own pockets when they return

I don’t think you can have a blanket rule like that. If either of my parents ends up in ICU or worse with COVID-19 I will jump on the first aircraft to LHR that I can, no hesitation.
Yep I can afford to pay for my quarantine on return but there would be a ton of others returning following compassionate leave who wouldn’t be able to.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I don’t think you can have a blanket rule like that. If either of my parents ends up in ICU or worse with COVID-19 I will jump on the first aircraft to LHR that I can, no hesitation.
Yep I can afford to pay for my quarantine on return but there would be a ton of others returning following compassionate leave who wouldn’t be able to.

Yes I think there will remain, as there is now special exemptions.

But if just a normal work trip, or holiday, the quarantine cost should be looked upon as part of the overall trip expense.

 

[drron]

If we go OS on holiday in the next 12 months I fully expect to pay for quarantine on return.

 

[VPS]

If we go OS on holiday in the next 12 months I fully expect to pay for quarantine on return.

Except Tasmania, KI or New Zealand

 

[Princess Fiona]

If we go OS on holiday in the next 12 months I fully expect to pay for quarantine on return.

Yes I think there will remain, as there is now special exemptions.

But if just a normal work trip, or holiday, the quarantine cost should be looked upon as part of the overall trip expense.

Yep and I totally agree with this. But there definitely needs to be compassionate leave which is exempted from blanket mandatory payments.
I am wondering if moving forward there will be a risk stratification of returned travelers?
Eg. NZ bubble exempt, point to point travel from a country with little /zero covid.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Yep and I totally agree with this. But there definitely needs to be compassionate leave which is exempted from blanket mandatory payments.
I am wondering if moving forward there will be a risk stratification of returned travelers?
Eg. NZ bubble exempt, point to point travel from a country with little /zero covid.

Yes.

My guess is that you will have your CV Free Countries where you can travel freely too. ie NZ, Fiji, Cook Islands etc.. No exemptions required as one can freely travel as in in pre-CV days.

And then you CV Countries where eventually you will be able to travel to but where you bare all CV health costs and a quarantine fee.

• At present you need an exemption to travel, but eventually most if not all will be able to travel subject to the above. Travellers to bare any CV Health costs including evacuation. Evacuation Charters like still occurring will be ceased in the not too distant future.
• For those with an exemption the quarantine fee will be free or much reduced. I suspect CV health costs overseas will be at the travellers risk in the main. Quarantine costs at the country you are going too would also most likely be at the travellers cost if charged.

What may occur though as well is the Government may make some extra rules, or restrictions, on movements (internationally) on those who are in high risk groups due the high probably of very serious negative outcomes if they travel to a CV Country.

TI in any form, even excluding CV, may also be impossible to gain for those in high risk groups.

 

[oz_mark]

I agree, why they report based on the end destination boggles the mind. The numbers should count where the infection happens and is treated will there is no longer an infection. Lies, damn lies & statistics. Tell the story around the numbers to make it look the way you want.......

It's pretty much the standard for this type of reporting in Australia - back to the place of residence. It's not something invented for Covid-19.

 

[p--and--t]

Going to be interesting where the balance is going to be struck between allowing the freedom for citizens to travel and take the risk (previously able to be moderated by insurance policies) versus not getting back to the situation where you have 10'000s on social media bleating they have been abandoned and it's the gov absolute responsibility to send rescue flights for repatriation at taxpayers expense

 

[lovetravellingoz]

As part of the preparation of Victorians Schools being more widely re-opened (Note that they have continued to operate with some students as some student for various reasons could not be taught at home. ie both parents were essential workers, were from disadvantaged backgrounds etc) the Vic Government decided as a preventive measure, and as part of the testing blitz, to widely test Victorian School teachers just before the students started back.

.17,500 staff were tested as part of this and 1 teacher tested positive.

A teacher at Melbourne's Keilor Downs Secondary College has tested positive for COVID-19 as part of a blitz of tests on education staff.

The teacher was not at school and Victorian Education Minister James Merlino said there was no exposure to other staff, students or the school site itself.

"There was no exposure to the school site and no close contacts were identified at the school so there are no further actions required at the school," he said.

The teacher returned the positive test last Friday.

There were 17,500 staff tested, as of last night, ahead of the staggered return to school.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

5 cases reported in Vic today. But 3 are returned quarantined travellers.
1 case was the second now reported at the Hammond Care Aged Care Facility and so this is obviously a concern due the age of people at the centre and hence risk to life. However spread from this facility is most unlikely but obviously it may possibly become a cluster now from internal spread which may have already occurred, but where residents have not yet for whatever reason returned a positive result. Though the other Vic aged Care facilities have not become large clusters.

So in effect there is 1 new case.


There have been a further five cases of coronavirus reported in Victoria on Tuesday morning.

Of the new cases, three were in recently returned travellers in mandatory quarantine.

The fourth was discovered during routine testing and the fifth – a nursing home resident – is being investigated.

The resident is the second confirmed case to date from the HammondCare aged care facility at Caulfield.

It was one of four nursing homes placed into lockdown last week when a resident tested positive.

Whether the second case acquired the infection as a close contact of the first is still being determined.

They have been separated from the rest of the residents in order to prevent an outbreak.

All of their close contacts are being retested for the virus.


Prior to today's positive test all 200 other residents (including today's positive test) and staff had been tested and all results had been negative. apart from the very first positive test till to today.

This facility has residents in cottage style single level dwellings and so are not all mixing in the one building.

At HammondCare, we ensure each resident lives in a cottage that matches their individual needs, with the right level of care, the right type of carers, and with other residents who need the same level of care.

This may suggest that any spread may be limited to a cottage or cottages, rather than than in every cottage die the physical separation and lack of shared spaces and facilities. Especially if the carers were minimising how much they were in different cottages. Note though that no staff member has tested positive as yet.

 

[p--and--t]

It will be interesting to see if the figures go up in the next 2-3 weeks after this next group arrive back from cruise ships

'I'm so excited to come home': Aussie performers stranded at sea return home

After more than 70 days stuck at sea, dozens of Australian performers on cruise ships are finally heading home, due to land on home soil tonight.

www.abc.net.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

It will be interesting to see if the figures go up in the next 2-3 weeks after this next group arrive back from cruise ships

'I'm so excited to come home': Aussie performers stranded at sea return home

After more than 70 days stuck at sea, dozens of Australian performers on cruise ships are finally heading home, due to land on home soil tonight.

www.abc.net.au

Personally I am not worried at all. They all go into hotel quarantine and so basically are irrelevant. Most days you see a few returned travellers show up in the stats.

There is I believe at least three hundred thousand Aussies still overseas who could return. So you could well have massive numbers of Aussies infected outside of Australia compared to those that have become cases here in Australia.


The only infected who are of concern to me are the still unknown community spreaders that may still be here at large in Australia. (Though yes naturally I am concerned for the health of anyone currently recently infected, and morseo if they are from a high risk group).

 

[p--and--t]

Personally I am not worried at all. They all go into hotel quarantine and so basically are irrelevant. Most days you see a few returned travellers show up in the stats.

There is I believe at least three hundred thousand Aussies still overseas who could return. So you could well have massive numbers of Aussies infected outside of Australia compared to those that have become cases here in Australia.


The only infected who are of concern to me are the still unknown community spreaders that may still be here at large in Australia. (Though yes naturally I am concerned for the health of anyone currently recently infected, and morseo if they are from a high risk group).

Largely they shouldn't be an issue, but there have been some odd cases of people becoming infected after they leave quarantine and no testing being done before they leave quarantine. Also wondering with them living on board for so long whether they have been exposed to higher than normal viral loads over a protracted period.

 

[drron]

Largely they shouldn't be an issue, but there have been some odd cases of people becoming infected after they leave quarantine and no testing being done before they leave quarantine. Also wondering with them living on board for so long whether they have been exposed to higher than normal viral loads over a protracted period.

After 70 days there should be less chance now of an infection as those infected have been totally isolated.So unless evidence of continuing infections on board that the media would have been all over it is unlikely many would be infected.But then they have to quarantine anyway.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Largely they shouldn't be an issue, but there have been some odd cases of people becoming infected after they leave quarantine and no testing being done before they leave quarantine. .

(my underlining)

I think more correctly that they have been tested after leaving and have shown then to be positive. Some people can stay infected for lengthy periods and still test positive. Jury is still out on whether people after 14 days still have enough viral load to infect anyone.

So today's SA case will be interesting to see if she has infected anyone as SA Authorities state:
Dr Spurrier said the woman in question has had a "significant number of contacts" since arriving in South Australia.

as this will now be a documented case of follow up and testing of all contacts.

It is not yet known if she completed 14 days (You would guess she had) in Victoria in a hotel quarantine and whether she was tested in Victoria.

So assuming she did complete a 14 day hotel quarantine it will provide a useful case study. But remember the 14 days is not meant to be long enough a time that people will definitely not test positive. It is meant to enough time that they will not be infectious unless showing more than mild symptoms. ie That they have a fever etc