Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[Pushka]

Looks like the Woodville Pizza Man is still in the Adelaide news. Still in hiding:

Woodville Pizza Bar worker 'in hiding' and feels like a political scapegoat, lawyer says

The Woodville Pizza Bar worker at the centre of South Australia's statewide lockdown last year is still "essentially in hiding" and feeling like "a political scapegoat", his lawyer has told a parliamentary committee.

www.abc.net.au

His visa was supposed to expire back in December. . His lawyer says he is still in hiding. Good grief. What from? We have moved on and it's simply a joke about pizza and not him specifically. Says he is not after compensation. His name was never released so Think he just wants PR. He doesn't want to go back to Europe. Goodness knows who is paying his lawyer when there are no charges outstanding and no official action being taken against him.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Perhaps a dumb question- with frontline quarantine workers getting vaccinated and continuing daily/shift testing, would they start to have positive PCR or rapid test results because of the inoculation? Or is it only on antibodies tests?

From the below:

• PCR will not generate a positive result due the vaccine (note vaccinated person can still develop the disease and test positive)
• Antibody tests can give a positive result due the antibodies generated by vaccination

2. Will the COVID vaccine make me test positive?​

No, a COVID vaccine will not affect the results of a diagnostic COVID test.

The current gold-standard diagnostic test is known as nucleic acid PCR testing. This looks for the mRNA (genetic material) of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. This is a marker of current infection.

This is the test the vast majority of people have when they line up at a drive-through testing clinic, or attend a COVID clinic at their local hospital.

Yes, the Pfizer vaccine contains mRNA. But the mRNA it uses is only a small part of the entire viral RNA. It also cannot make copies of itself, which would be needed for it to be in sufficient quantity to be detected. So it cannot be detected by a PCR test.

The AstraZeneca vaccine also only contains part of the DNA but is inserted in an adenovirus carrier that cannot replicate so cannot give you infection or a positive PCR test.

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Read more: How mRNA vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna work, why they're a breakthrough and why they need to be kept so cold

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3. How about antibody testing?​

While PCR testing is used to look for current infection, antibody testing — also known as serology testing — picks up past infections.

Laboratories look to see if your immune system has raised antibodies against the coronavirus, a sign your body has been exposed to it. As it takes time for antibodies to develop, testing positive with an antibody test may indicate you were infected weeks or months ago.


But your body also produces antibodies as a response to vaccination. That’s the way it can recognise SARS-CoV-2, the next time it meets it, to protect you from severe COVID.

So as COVID vaccines are rolled out, and people develop a vaccine-induced antibody response, it may become difficult to differentiate between someone who has had COVID in the past and someone who was vaccinated a month ago. But this will depend on the serology test used.

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Read more: Antibody tests: to get a grip on coronavirus, we need to know who's already had it

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The good news is that antibody testing is not nearly as common as PCR testing. And it’s only ordered under limited and rare circumstances.

For instance, when someone tests positive with PCR, but they are a false positive due to the characteristics of the test, or have fragments of virus lingering in the respiratory tract from an old infection, public health experts might request an antibody test to see whether that person was infected in the past. They might also order an antibody test during contact tracing of cases with an unknown source of infection.

Will the COVID vaccine make me test positive for the coronavirus? 5 questions about vaccines and COVID testing answered

Even if you're vaccinated, you still need to come forward for COVID testing, even if you have the mildest symptoms.

theconversation.com

 

[drron]

Though antibody testing may become much more frequently used for travel purposes.For example Greece's plan for reopening is for vaccinated individuals or antibody positive individuals getting the nod.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Though antibody testing may become much more frequently used for travel purposes.For example Greece's plan for reopening is for vaccinated individuals or antibody positive individuals getting the nod.

Who knows whether that’s what we will require to avoid quarantine on return. Antibody test 72 hours before flight and antibody test on arrival (maybe quarantine 1 day - possibly at home?? - assuming it takes 1 day for an antibody test to give a result)

 

[Pushka]

Who knows whether that’s what we will require to avoid quarantine on return. Antibody test 72 hours before flight and antibody test on arrival (maybe quarantine 1 day - possibly at home?? - assuming it takes 1 day for an antibody test to give a result)

I have to have antibody titre tests to manage autoimmune things and they can take a few days but maybe like the vaccination development everything will be thrown at it to make it fast.

 

[drron]

Who knows whether that’s what we will require to avoid quarantine on return. Antibody test 72 hours before flight and antibody test on arrival (maybe quarantine 1 day - possibly at home?? - assuming it takes 1 day for an antibody test to give a result)

It would be an antibody test even a week out from travel.The antibodies hang around for months at least when looking at people who have had Covid or been vaccinated.Only reason to repeat if for travel purposes would be if you didn't trust the lab or the person that did/had the test.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

It would be an antibody test even a week out from travel.The antibodies hang around for months at least when looking at people who have had Covid or been vaccinated.Only reason to repeat if for travel purposes would be if you didn't trust the lab or the person that did/had the test.

But won't there be a point when the antibodies will disappear? Are the antibody tests sensitive enough to be able to normally detect when in the future the antibodies disappear. So my suggestion is not for the purposes of trust, but more to gauge when antibodies no longer exist.

Not sure how this relates if variants come along that are not stopped by the specific antibodies/vaccines.

 

[drron]

But won't there be a point when the antibodies will disappear? Are the antibody tests sensitive enough to be able to normally detect when in the future the antibodies disappear. So my suggestion is not for the purposes of trust, but more to gauge when antibodies no longer exist.

Not sure how this relates if variants come along that are not stopped by the specific antibodies/vaccines.

We don't know how long they will last as the virus has only been around for ~ 18 months.The vaccines for ~ 6 months.Some people though will quite possibly not have adequate antibody formation.

However my personal feeling that it will be around for many years and basically become another viral respiratory illness like the flu.Probably killing 100-600000 people a year as the flu has and necessitating an annual flu jab due to the virus mutating and which particular strain is more prevalent that year.

So we will have to live with it which is going to be very hard due to the vast numbers that have had the wits scared out of them by various doomsayers and politicians.

 

[Carrots]

SA Health has med hotels in the CBD as well but they keep saying all positives are put into a different hotel and not in this catchment. Completely ignoring the fact that people can be positive for a couple of days before they get tested again (days 1 5 and 12 I believe) and then they test to check if it's an old infection and if so, they stay in that catchment. So possibly up to seven days in the area while being positive. Seems a no brainer if they are testing positive from an old infection then likely their poop is doing the same thing. But no, drama drama drama, get tested and all the while the Fringe et al continues amidst no social distancing. If they were the least bit worried then they should have shut that down.

A cynic may suggest it is relevance deprivation syndrome at play.... not that I am much of a cynic. Much.

 

[Pushka]

A cynic may suggest it is relevance deprivation syndrome at play.... not that I am much of a cynic. Much.

I think they wanted to highlight social distancing at the festival events (currently not well done apparently); improve the testing rate (around 2000 a day) and bingo, just this morning CHO mentioned it was a timely reminder that Covid is still around (except it wasn't) and this is why we need to be vaccinated. . Of course I agree with that but the strategy has so many glaring holes.

 

[jase05]

Queensland’s turn now

And right on cue.............

Brisbane hospital locked down after doctor tests positive for COVID-19 - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

 

[DC3]

And right on cue.............

Brisbane hospital locked down after doctor tests positive for COVID-19 - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

Get ready to start cancelling your Oz government el-cheapo airline bookings.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

Get ready to start cancelling your Oz government el-cheapo airline bookings.

Only to WA from Qld (and lower chance WA won’t allow returning residents)....there’s a small chance the others won’t increase restrictions for a day or two (fingers crossed)

 

[kamchatsky]

And right on cue.............

Brisbane hospital locked down after doctor tests positive for COVID-19 - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

<sarcasm> Lock QLD out of NSW now !!!!!! </sarcasm>

 

[Princess Fiona]

And right on cue.............

Brisbane hospital locked down after doctor tests positive for COVID-19 - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

Get ready to start cancelling your Oz government el-cheapo airline bookings.

I’m already here

 

[lovetravellingoz]

We should just be expecting that this will happen from time to time, and just roll out the two rings of containment method.

The virus is infectious and readily transmissible, but quite controllable. We should have faith in what has been shown to work well.

So hopefully that will happen, and not more unnecessary lockdowns or border closures.

 

[jakeseven7]

And right on cue.............

Brisbane hospital locked down after doctor tests positive for COVID-19 - ABC News

amp.abc.net.au

Hating being right all the time. Ok here we go.

1) Bets on how long it takes QLD CHO to panic and lock down Brisbane

2) Bets on how long the lockdown will be

3) Bets on how long the poorly prepared / hyperventilating states like WA (perfect timing for today as well!) TAS and SA will take to close their borders

 

[jakeseven7]

We should just be expecting that this will happen from time to time, and just roll out the two rings of containment method.

The virus is infectious and readily transmissible, but quite controllable. We should have faith in what has been shown to work well.

So hopefully that will happen, and not more unnecessary lockdowns or border closures.

Far too logical a thought process for QLD health I’m afraid...

They haven’t had the experience of NSW and VIC and the decision will be made by a very highly strung CHO. At least this time around they have 1000’s and 1000’s of vulnerable senior citizens vaccinated, maybe that will help...?

Money is on them totally panicking.... but I hope you are right.

Anyway: off to quickly ‘tweak’ a few travel plans just in case the mad premiers of Australia decide to wake up

 

[I love to travel]

Far too logical a thought process for QLD health I’m afraid...

They haven’t had the experience of NSW and VIC and the decision will be made by a very highly strung CHO. At least this time around they have 1000’s and 1000’s of vulnerable senior citizens vaccinated, maybe that will help...?

Money is on them totally panicking.... but I hope you are right.

Anyway: off to quickly ‘tweak’ a few travel plans just in case the mad premiers of Australia decide to wake up

No panic buying at the supermarkets (yet) in Brisbane. Very quiet actually I was surprised

 

[Flying mermaid]

No panic buying at the supermarkets (yet) in Brisbane. Very quiet actually I was surprised

Kinda hoping that they might be sensible this time. Surely now that vaccinations have started we can have a more moderate response.

we have a trip to Brisbane in May and I booked accommodation yesterday, hoping that the era of hysterical responses was finally over. Was thinking of Port Douglas in August. If they go over the top again, I am inclined just to cancel everything and give up on travel, at least to Queensland. Darwin is very nice in August as well.