Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[jakeseven7]

Another whoopsie from Tassie HQ.
PS watch the video of the escape in the article / hilarious!

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Woman charged after another Tasmanian quarantine breach​

A woman has been charged in Tasmania after another alleged hotel quarantine breach, this time in Launceston.

Footage circulated on social media showed a woman climbing down from an awning outside the Peppers Seaport Hotel.

Police later said a 38-year-old woman was charged with failing to obey a direction of an emergency management worker after the alleged incident on Sunday.

She was left Tasmania yesterday following an appearance at the Launceston Magistrates Court.

The woman is due back before the court next month.

Victorian woman sent home from Tasmania as footage emerges of alleged quarantine breach

Police charge a 38-year-old Victorian woman with failing to obey the direction of an emergency management worker, as footage emerges on social media showing a person climbing down from a hotel awning.

www.abc.net.au

 

[drron]

Not probably but definitely given no mystery cases or cases in people that werent already identified as close contacts. The statewide lockdown has done nothing to limit spread, its only served to damage economy and mental health. It was unecessary over reach and knee jerk reaction.

There should be an unlinked mystery case before even considering wider community/region/statewide lockdown.

There is no reason to believe the outcome would have been different if this leak happened in NSW, as NSW is just as capable (if not more so) at track n trace (has a larger contract tracing team and better record for timely contacts) and tests its HQ workers just as frequently. So would have put all close contacts into 14 days iso, and casusal contacts into iso until negative result received. Not imposing restrictions on the rest of the state wouldnt have mattered, as they were not present at any exposure event.

They forgot there is a cost to lockdowns and what they were told after the first lockdown.

The lockdown has slashed A$100 million ($71 million) a day from economic activity and through August and September resulted in a daily average of 1,200 jobs being lost across the state, Luke Yeaman, a Treasury department official, told a parliamentary panel this week.

City Locked Down for Three Months Has Bleak Lessons for the World

As countries across the globe grapple with the prospect of renewed lockdowns, the Australian city of Melbourne offers a stark lesson on the costs of bringing the coronavirus under control.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[Must...Fly!]

They forgot there is a cost to lockdowns and what they were told after the first lockdown.

I doubt they forgot, more so they simply do not care. The lax standards at CQV (dedicated quarantine agency, don't forget) are indicative of no care for the consequence.

 

[jakeseven7]

14 is the new 28

And here I was thinking I'd have to do some 'creative border hopping' to get home again

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Queensland to lift border restrictions with Melbourne next week​

​

Queensland plans to lift all border restrictions for Greater Melbourne next Saturday (February 27).

The state’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young said the 27th would mark 14 days, or one incubation period, since the last confirmed local case in Victoria.

Queensland shut to Greater Melbourne on Saturday in response to a COVID-19 outbreak stemming from a quarantine hotel in Melbourne.

Dr Young said the border closure would last 14 days rather than the usual 28 days because the cases had been linked back to a known cluster.

As it happened: Victoria lockdown will lift from midnight as state records zero COVID-19 cases; AstraZeneca boss says vaccine safe for over-65s

Victoria has entered its fifth day of a ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown, and an announcement from Premier Daniel Andrews is expected later today on whether the lockdown will end at midnight.

www.theage.com.au

 

[jb747]

Dr Young said the border closure would last 14 days rather than the usual 28 days because the cases had been linked back to a known cluster.

A known cluster of tourist dollars.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I doubt they forgot, more so they simply do not care. The lax standards at CQV (dedicated quarantine agency, don't forget) are indicative of no care for the consequence.

I’m not sure it’s no care. Not trained, focus on menial task, poorly designed, no training on overall strategy, could be something other than no care.

Also the figures I suspect are quoted for Australia wide lockdown. It should be much less impact.

 

[jakeseven7]

Loving how SA and QLD both have said 14 days but arrived at different dates of opening

Oh dear old Premiers....

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South Australia to reopen to Greater Melbourne next week​

South Australia will also reopen to regional Victoria from midnight tonight, as flagged yesterday and will open to Greater Melbourne on February 25.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has also announced the rollout of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will begin "very early next week, possibly Monday".

Experts say Japan's vaccine rollout too late for pre-Olympics 'herd immunity'

Japan starts giving coronavirus vaccines to frontline health workers, but the country is behind schedule after asking Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese people, in addition to other trials.

www.abc.net.au

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Loving how SA and QLD both have said 14 days but arrived at different dates of opening

Oh dear old Premiers....

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South Australia to reopen to Greater Melbourne next week​

South Australia will also reopen to regional Victoria from midnight tonight, as flagged yesterday and will open to Greater Melbourne on February 25.

South Australian Premier Steven Marshall has also announced the rollout of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine will begin "very early next week, possibly Monday".

Experts say Japan's vaccine rollout too late for pre-Olympics 'herd immunity'

Japan starts giving coronavirus vaccines to frontline health workers, but the country is behind schedule after asking Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese people, in addition to other trials.

www.abc.net.au

Does that account for SA starting early perhaps???

 

[jakeseven7]

Not that any state Premier cares what he thinks but anyway:

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BREAKING: Professor Paul Kelly has announced Greater Melbourne will no longer be a hotspot from midnight tonight​

"Last week I named Greater Melbourne as a hot spot from Commonwealth point of view, and just to remind everyone that that allows us to give further assistance, including financial assistance, to Victoria, to Melbourne. So, that was due to be rescinded at midnight tonight, and I can announce that that would go ahead on the basis of the information that has come out of Melbourne."

Experts say Japan's vaccine rollout too late for pre-Olympics 'herd immunity'

Japan starts giving coronavirus vaccines to frontline health workers, but the country is behind schedule after asking Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese people, in addition to other trials.

www.abc.net.au

 

[N860CR]

Not that any state Premier cares what he thinks but anyway:

To be honest, the fact that they went against their own model (just because it was the scary, mutant but seemingly less contagious COVID-21) doesn't give it a great deal of credibility anyway

 

[jakeseven7]

Does that account for SA starting early perhaps???

I don't waste my brain cells trying to work out these little State's counting these days

 

[dajop]

To be honest, the fact that they went against their own model (just because it was the scary, mutant but seemingly less contagious COVID-21) doesn't give it a great deal of credibility anyway

I'd suggest they probably tweaked their model, by altering the input parameter with the estimate of the level of infectivity of the UK variant, rather than going against it. It would be also overlaid with current levels of compliance with community control measures (such as mixing of people, mask wearing rates inside, etc).

Any model is only as good as parameters entered into it - and if the infectivity was over-estimated (say expected 70% increase in infectivity, whereas the real number might only have been 30%) could lead to very different outcomes from the model.

But of course Victoria wasn't the only state to enter snap short duration lockdowns after HQ breaches through spread of the UK variant, and even the Commonwealth designated Melbourne as a hotspot.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

I'd suggest they probably tweaked their model, by altering the input parameter with the estimate of the level of infectivity of the UK variant, rather than going against it. It would be also overlaid with current levels of compliance with community control measures (such as mixing of people, mask wearing rates inside, etc).

Any model is only as good as parameters entered into it - and if the infectivity was over-estimated (say expected 70% increase in infectivity, whereas the real number might only have been 30%) could lead to very different outcomes from the model.

But of course Victoria wasn't the only state to enter snap short duration lockdowns after HQ breaches through spread of the UK variant, and even the Commonwealth designated Melbourne as a hotspot.

Then perhaps the model didn’t clearly estimate the % of close contacts (or second ring close contacts) plus casual contacts plus public exposure sites not identified and isolated, and non-compliance thereof

 

[dajop]

Then perhaps the model didn’t clearly estimate the % of close contacts (or second ring close contacts) plus casual contacts plus public exposure sites not identified and isolated, and non-compliance thereof

The model wouldn't estimate those parameters though, the health officials would make assumptions about al those things and put those into the model to determine what course of action to take. There may well have (and probably were) different assumptions made this time compared to the Black Rock Cluster.

Also people do compare to Sydney, but I suspect one parameter - mobility/movement around different parts of the city is a lot higher than in Sydney (although would be interesting to see that data on this, my suspicion is purely anecdotal).

But's important to remember these are just models. and garbage in = garbage out.

 

[Pushka]

Looks like the person who used the nebuliser isn't going to settle for an apology.
"The man who used a nebuliser in hotel quarantine kickstarting Victoria’s latest outbreak has requested an independent review of his case.". There is no one in ICU anymore so he has improved. We all know what a review will find though, no one to blame.

 

[dajop]

We all know what a review will find though, no one to blame.

Rightly so. Good quality investigations into serious health and safety incidents do not seek to apportion blame. They seek to find out what went wrong and what should be done about it.

But the moment politics and media become involved there is no hope of this ever happening. And guess what? It will happen again and again.

The media and the state government (politicians) should butt out and leave it some experts in investigation of incidents (not judicial processes, not police and definitely not lawyers or politicians where it is either to find someone specifically to blame, or to orchestrate a piece of political theatre) to find out what went wrong. I am sure WorkCover has that expertise, as do hundreds of corporations and consultants.

 

[Pushka]

Rightly so. Good quality investigations into serious health and safety incidents do not seek to apportion blame. They seek to find out what went wrong and what should be done about it.

But the moment politics and media become involved there is no hope of this ever happening. And guess what? It will happen again and again.

The media and the state government (politicians) should butt out and leave it some experts in investigation of incidents (not judicial processes, not police and definitely not lawyers or politicians where it is either to find someone specifically to blame, or to orchestrate a piece of political theatre) to find out what went wrong. I am sure WorkCover has that expertise, as do hundreds of corporations and consultants.

Ok. I'll rephrase. Then no opportunity to determine what went wrong and so no corrective action because each party seems convinced they did the right thing.

 

[dajop]

Ok. I'll rephrase. Then no opportunity to determine what went wrong and so no corrective action because each party seems convinced they did the right thing.

The elephant in the room is not the nebuliser but the ventilation system in a 50yo building. I’m roughly the same age and I know my ventilation system isn’t quite what it was 30 years ago

 

[jakeseven7]

NT has fully reopened to VIC effective immediately.

Crickets from WA....

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NT reopens borders to Victoria, revokes Greater Melbourne hotspot declaration​

The Northern Territory Government has revoked the coronavirus hotspot declaration for Greater Melbourne effective immediately.

From 6:00pm this evening, anyone from the hotspot in quarantine in the Northern Territory will be released, and anyone travelling from Greater Melbourne will not be required to quarantine.

The NT Chief Health Officer says all cases linked to the cluster have been traced and tested.

The removal of the Melbourne hotspot declaration comes hours before the city's five-day lockdown ends at midnight tonight.

Experts say Japan's vaccine rollout too late for pre-Olympics 'herd immunity'

Japan starts giving coronavirus vaccines to frontline health workers, but the country is behind schedule after asking Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese people, in addition to other trials.

www.abc.net.au

 

[jakeseven7]

Tasmania fully reopens to VIC from Saturday

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Tasmania reopens its border with Victoria on Saturday​

Travel restrictions imposed last Friday will ease as long as there is no evidence of mystery cases in the next 48 hours.

Victoria was designated a high-risk location on Friday after the Holiday Inn outbreak lead to a snap five-down lockdown.

Experts say Japan's vaccine rollout too late for pre-Olympics 'herd immunity'

Japan starts giving coronavirus vaccines to frontline health workers, but the country is behind schedule after asking Pfizer to conduct clinical trials with Japanese people, in addition to other trials.

www.abc.net.au