Australian Reports of the Virus Spread

[RooFlyer]

Well done Tassie for assisting so much with all the returning Australians

You're welcome. You obviously recall that the Tasmanian government did a deal with the Victorian government. Victoria takes our allocation of returning Australians and HQs them in exchange for us taking Pacific Island workers destined for Victoria and HQing them. Works for us.

 

[antycbr]

You're welcome. You obviously recall that the Tasmanian government did a deal with the Victorian government. Victoria takes our allocation of returning Australians and HQs them in exchange for us taking Pacific Island workers destined for Victoria and HQing them. Works for us.

Given how few Vic are quarantining is that deal actually being honoured?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Still no community spread from the returned traveller.

 

[bcworld]

Given how few Vic are quarantining is that deal actually being honoured?

It is probably not difficult to honour. Presumably it only means that Vic does not send a bill for any Tasmanians who make it to Melbourne? How many will arrive in Melbourne? I would've thought a very small number as they will no doubt accept a flight into any destination for which they can find availability.

 

[drron]

Above and beyond. Just shows what can happen when government pulls its finger out!

A bit different organising just over 20000 doses of vaccine than over 50 million doses.
Nauru population 10881.

Nauru Population (2024) - Worldometer

Nauru Population: current, historical, and projected population, growth rate, immigration, median age, total fertility rate (TFR), population density, urbanization, urban population, country's share of world population, and global rank. Data tables, maps, charts, and live population clock

www.worldometers.info

 

[RooFlyer]

Given how few Vic are quarantining is that deal actually being honoured?

I don't follow what's happening in Vic, but Tasmania is still accepting Victoria's Pacific Islander workers

It is probably not difficult to honour. Presumably it only means that Vic does not send a bill for any Tasmanians who make it to Melbourne? How many will arrive in Melbourne? I would've thought a very small number as they will no doubt accept a flight into any destination for which they can find availability.

Tasmanian international arrivals 'quota' wasn't going to be just Tasmanians that would get HQed in Tasmania - like in other states, it would be "all comers" (ie a planeload at a time).. Victoria agreed to accept all of Tasmania's share, for which we'd pay them. They pay us for the HQing of their Pacific Islander workers. When and how Victoria do their bit is up to them.

Anyway, not having community transmission for over a year is a double edged sword. Its bound to happen sometime, and when it does, the result might be ugly.

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Given how few Vic are quarantining is that deal actually being honoured?

I thought I saw that there are spare spaces in the Vic HQ system because the flights were coming in under their caps?

 

[Lynda2475]

Sydney to ease COVID-19 restrictions despite authorities being unable to identify 'missing link' in cases

Masks will not longer be compulsory on public transport, guest limits at private homes will be lifted and people will be able to dance at nightclubs again from Monday.

www.abc.net.au

 

[suze2000]

I don't understand why NSW is so desperate to get rid of masks on PT. To me, that seems like an outbreak prevention no-brainer.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Just had a look. Vic now have 31 State Run Vaccination Centres in operation across the state.

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Victoria

What you need to know about COVID-19 in Victoria.

www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au

These are in addition to the GP or community health service.

 

[antycbr]

I don't understand why NSW is so desperate to get rid of masks on PT. To me, that seems like an outbreak prevention no-brainer.

Compliance was patchy at best last week, I think the idea is that you ratchet it up as needed to get a high level of compliance when required and then dial it back to stop fatigue setting in.

 

[SydneySwan]

Compliance was patchy at best last week, I think the idea is that you ratchet it up as needed to get a high level of compliance when required and then dial it back to stop fatigue setting in.

I got a bus on Friday from Greenwich to Lane Cove in lower north shore of Sydney. Apart from me there were 5 pax - 3 * 60+ all unmasked, one schoolkid and one 20s - both masked. I rarely get a bus but expected better from the oldies.

 

[kyle]

I rarely get a bus but expected better from the oldies.

As I said earlier, the oldies are the ones coughing without covering their mouths.

 

[OATEK]

I don't understand why NSW is so desperate to get rid of masks on PT. To me, that seems like an outbreak prevention no-brainer.

How many cases of community transmission have been traced back to public transport?

 

[lovetravellingoz]

How many cases of community transmission have been traced back to public transport?

Rare. ie Read What's the risk of catching COVID-19 on public transportation? or COVID-19: How safe is public transport? | RACV@Home | RACV

However transmission from "fleeting" contact has occurred.

ie Three examples of such spread that spring to mind are:

1/ Genomic sequencing that was completed just prior to the Sunday morning press conference revealed the virus strain was instead linked to a patient transport worker who took a family returned from overseas to a health facility.

2/ The worker was infected and passed the virus on to a colleague who then attended the BWS Berala bottle shop on December 20 for a “very fleeting amount of time” and passed the virus on there.

3/ At the Butcher Club (is a butcher and not a club!). Chadstone, Melbourne, 2 or 3 customers who were wearing masks caught the virus from a the shop assistant/butcher in the time it took to make a meat purchase.

So the determinant is probably just how infectious (ie super-spreader or not) is that person in the ambulance/train/shop/cafe/etc rather than the setting. Most positive people will not infect another with fleeting contact, but some do.

 

[Lynda2475]

How many cases of community transmission have been traced back to public transport?

None (unless you class ruby princess as PT).

Patient transport is not public transport and it can take an extended time from airport /hotel to Concord hospital which is where they most often treat arrivals.

People will wear a mask if they feel the need. In my observation if someone on bus coughs or sneezes you see more people dig a mask out of pocket/bag and put it on. During periods where it is required old men and teenagers seem to be the least compliant.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Just more on public transport and super-spreaders (and while most cases are not super spreaders, as HQ has clearly demonstrated some are):

How a bus ride turned into a coronavirus superspreader event​

Sep. 1, 2020 at 1:26 pm Updated Sep. 2, 2020 at 5:15 am

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By

RONI CARYN RABIN​

The New York Times​

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In late January, as the new coronavirus was beginning to spread from China’s Hubei province, a group of lay Buddhists traveled by bus to a temple ceremony in the city of Ningbo — hundreds of miles from Wuhan, center of the epidemic.​

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It was a sunny day with a gentle breeze, and the morning service was held al fresco, followed by a brief luncheon indoors.​

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A passenger on one of the buses had recently dined with friends from Hubei. She apparently did not know she carried the coronavirus. Within days, 24 fellow passengers on her bus were also found to be infected.​

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It did not matter how far a passenger sat from the infected individual on the bus, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine on Tuesday. Even passengers in the very last row of the bus, seven rows behind the infected woman, caught the virus.​

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The only factor that may have mitigated the risk of infection was sitting near a window that could be opened, or near the door.​

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The incident adds to a large body of evidence indicating that the coronavirus can be transmitted by tiny particles that linger in the air, and not just through large respiratory droplets that fall quickly to the ground.​

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How a bus ride turned into a coronavirus superspreader event

In late January, as the new coronavirus was beginning to spread from China’s Hubei province, a group of lay Buddhists traveled by bus to a temple ceremony in the city of Ningbo — hundreds of miles from Wuhan, center of...

www.seattletimes.com

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And on an Australian Flight:​

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The research found that flight-associated SARS-CoV-2 transmission occurred on a medium haul flight from Sydney to Perth in March 2020, leading to the infection of at least eight other passengers.​

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COVID-19 update: World-leading research paper released into air travel transmission

World-leading research into flight-associated transmission of COVID-19 led by Western Australian communicable disease control experts has been published overnight.

ww2.health.wa.gov.au

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[jakeseven7]

How many cases of community transmission have been traced back to public transport?

The last few NSW outbreaks have had untraceable mystery cases, including the most recent one (again) so it is possible I guess.

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

How many cases of community transmission have been traced back to public transport?

There was a cases ages ago, about a masked passenger giving it to an unmasked passenger....travelling from Bondi or Clovelly or Coogee.... or something like that.

Edit: according to this link it was a Clovelly bus around August 2020 NSW records 10 new coronavirus cases as Sydney CBD COVID-19 cluster grows - ABC News

 

[OATEK]

I guess my point was that I have not seen evidence that public transport is more likely to cause spread than say a crowded restaurant, perhaps less so as long as social distanced seating continues. So when people say why don't people wear them on trains for instance, then I think the answer is clear - they do not see the risk.