General Coronavirus chit chat thread - non-travel specific

[ja1]

Has anyone taken the emotions and frustration out of their thinking and thought about what life would rationally look like in Australia with no vaccine and continued suppression and long term (years) border closures? Would be just readjust our economy to minimize imports remove international tourism and grow domestic production. Almost a throwback to Australia's manufacturing era, albeit with much less spending as things will be more expensive. . Will leisure travel overseas become obsolete? If the world doesn't get this under control soon this might happen? Thoughts?

I've been thinking about this for weeks (well, since Feb anyway) and here's what I've got so far:

There are going to be two groups of people

- Those that are able to think about this in the long term
- Everyone else (the vast majority) who rationally can think in terms of days (99%), weeks (90%), months (50%) but not years (5% or less)

There are going to be two groups of people

- Everything will go back to the way it was (most people)
- Even if it takes some time to get there
- Everything will fundamentally change
- Even if those changes take some time to permeate our social fabric

There are going to be two groups of people

- This is an unimaginable tragedy that we won't be able to go back to how things were
- This is an unimaginable tragedy and an opportunity to make changes that lead into a different path in the future


If you haven't worked out already I have to work with computers (and people) for a living and you often have to bring everything down to some binary option to get a decision even if real life is analog and not digital..

There's a (small?) group of people (perhaps a much larger one in the US) that still hold the thought process that you can 'have this and get over it and get through the other side'. I can understand why they might think this way but in my thoughts I cannot think of:

- Anyone who was a survivor of or a relative/family member of a survivor of the Holocaust that could think like this
- Anyone who served in the military in WW1 or WW2 who would do it all over again 'to get to the other side'

The numbers and projections of what could happen in NSW were difficult to comprehend and I assume most people (for the sake of their sanity) simply would prefer not to think about it (e.g. 25K deaths was one projection).

Will Australia need to change ? Absolutely. Are we at the point where that conversation is happening ? I don't think so. Will the change be driven by 'decision makers' at the top of a hierarchy ? I really doubt it.

Is it a chance to address a number of societal problems, inequities and issues ? Absolutely.

Should we address these issues ? Some people don't think so and others do..

 

[AisleSeat]

I've just received the latest update about WFH from my uni: End of July.

 

[blackcat20]

I've just received the latest update about WFH from my uni: End of July.

We've been extended too, no complaints here.

 

[Pushka]

Reports from NZ have indicated more cases found today. Seemingly from returned travellers; they are supposed to be tested twice before release but some report they were only tested once and a few not at all.

New Zealand officials point the finger as new coronavirus cases emerge

Three new cases of coronavirus have been reported in a single day in New Zealand.

www.news.com.au

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Reports from NZ have indicated more cases found today. Seemingly from returned travellers; they are supposed to be tested twice before release but some report they were only tested once and a few not at all.

New Zealand officials point the finger as new coronavirus cases emerge

Three new cases of coronavirus have been reported in a single day in New Zealand.

www.news.com.au

Not from returned travellers, they are returned travellers.


The woman arrived on June 20. She tested positive after routine testing on day three of her managed isolation.

Everyone on the bus from Auckland to Rotorua is being followed up, as is the driver. They will be tested.

Bloomfield conceded there "may be more" Covid cases in Rotorua after yesterday's new infection and the fact that travellers were taken there on crowded buses.

The second case is a man in his 70s, who arrived in New Zealand on June 20.


I have missed something, what is the issue of concern?

So they only flew into NZ on 20 June. Today is only 25 June. So they will not have served the 14 day quarantine period yet.
We know that returning travellers often fly back infected, so why the issue on testing. Just quarantine them for 14 days and they will not be infectious as long as they do not also have symtoms.

Is NZ going to have a major headline every time a returning traveller tests positive? That some will be infected and will test positive is to be expected.

The problem was when they were were allowing travellers to break quarantine to attend funerals etc.


I did note that:
Bloomfield conceded there "may be more" Covid cases in Rotorua after yesterday's new infection and the fact that travellers were taken there on crowded buses.

So that is not good, but at least they all went into quarantine.

 

[drron]

Is NZ going to have a major headline every time a returning traveller tests positive? That some will be infected and will test positive is to be expected.

Of course they are.how do you think they will keep people scared witless if they don't.

 

[Pushka]

The woman arrived on June 20. She tested positive after routine testing on day three of her managed isolation

I didn't find that date mentioned for the woman and if that was the case, why was she catching a bus when she was supposed to be in quarantine!
" The woman also caught a crowded bus from Auckland to Rotorua".

I think that is the issue and not that she was a returned traveller already in quarantine.

 

[Flying mermaid]

Helps to explain the hotspot

Residents in one Melbourne hotspot not listening to advice as testing blitz gets underway

In Broadmeadows, one of 10 Melbourne suburbs with a worrying coronavirus spike, attitudes run from fear to a casual dismissal of COVID-19, with some continuing to hug and kiss each other in greeting and others describing the virus as "rubbish".

www.abc.net.au

 

[get me outta here]

I heard someone in Florida say that having to wear a mask is a “crime against humanity”.
And that masks interfere with god’s breathing apparatus.
Good luck over there, you’re gonna need it.

 

[Flying mermaid]

I heard someone in Florida say that having to wear a mask is a “crime against humanity”.
And that masks interfere with god’s breathing apparatus.
Good luck over there, you’re gonna need it.

Unfortunately a mask has become a political symbol over there

 

[Denali]

A friend, who lives in Florida, was streaming her local council as people were talking against the masks. According to some, its a 5G plot

 

[tgh]

There is a sea change in the tone of comments on Cruise critic .
They could be categorised as US centric, high moral ground folks who habituate the higher echelons of the food chain.
They have moved from mild irritation at the wait for the temporary viral annoyance to go away.. to quiet acceptance of the scale of US infections and the huge challenges ahead.

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I didn't find that date mentioned for the woman and if that was the case, why was she catching a bus when she was supposed to be in quarantine!
" The woman also caught a crowded bus from Auckland to Rotorua".

I think that is the issue and not that she was a returned traveller already in quarantine.

(My bolding)

I think you missed the part of my post that had the quote:

Bloomfield conceded there "may be more" Covid cases in Rotorua after yesterday's new infection and the fact that travellers were taken there on crowded buses .

So my understanding is that she was not a returned traveller who had broken quarantine and wassout on a jaunt, but rather a returned traveller who was being bussed by the NZ Government in quarantine transport to begin her 14 day quarantine at a Rotura Hotel.

I believe that it was the bus used to take returning travellers from the airport to the quarantine location. Rotura is a quarantine location that is being used as the Auckland quarantine hotels are currently full and so NZ is bussing new international arrivals 4 hours by bus to hotels in Rotura.
So I don't think that she caught the bus, but rather was put on it by quarantine officials.

So the article posted seems to be a drama panic piece by journos looking to fuel flames. Just look at how they are trying to get the toilet paper wars going.

Even the latest article by the well experienced Michelle Grattan sees her fuelling flames by including quarantined hotel travellers (ie stating 33 rather than 23 after taking off the 10 travellers in hotel quarantine) in the numbers involved in the current Victorian Outbreak when they clearly have nothing to do with it.

Date notified of potential case	Sex	Age group	DHB	Overseas travel	Last country before return	Flight number	Flight departure date	Arrival date
24/06/2020	Male	30 to 39	Managed isolation	Yes	India		20/06/2020	20/06/2020
24/06/2020	Male	70+	Managed isolation	Yes	India	AI1316	19/06/2020	20/06/2020
24/06/2020	Female	30 to 39	Managed isolation	Yes	Australia	NZ124	20/06/2020	20/06/2020

 

[lovetravellingoz]

Also just checking now I see the NZ Government has issued :

The first case we are reporting today is a woman in her 30s who arrived in New Zealand on June 20 from Peru. The woman has been staying at the Ibis Hotel in Rotorua since arriving in New Zealand, and tested positive for COVID-19 following routine testing around day 3 of her managed isolation. Everyone who was on the bus from Auckland Airport to the Ibis Hotel is being followed up – all passengers on the bus are already in managed self isolation, and the driver, who was wearing PPE, has also been followed up as a potential contact and will be tested. 　

3 new cases of COVID-19

There are three new cases of COVID-19 to report in managed isolation facilities in New Zealand today, one in Rotorua and two in Christchurch. Once again, there is no community transmission in New Zealand.

www.health.govt.nz

 

[lovetravellingoz]

I heard someone in Florida say that having to wear a mask is a “crime against humanity”.
And that masks interfere with god’s breathing apparatus.
Good luck over there, you’re gonna need it.

At yesterday's press conference by Florida's Governor when he was reinforcing that he would not make the wearing of masks in public compulsory despite the surge in cases there, and like his mentor he is also refusing to wear one, I noted that all the public officials on the stage with him had masks on and that the lady standing immediately behind him not only was wearing a mask, but full face shield as well.

All on a day when cases in Florida are surging, the USA was setting a near record high for new cases, and where it is the only developed nation in the world to not have new cases trending down and indeed is spiking up.


The chart below tracks the daily positive cases and provides a 7-day average trend line based on cases reported by the Florida Department of Health (DOH) through June 25th. (Note: The population of Florida is 21.5 million or about 86% of Australia's population)

November 29: Tracking Florida COVID-19 Cases, Hospitalizations, and Fatalities

NOTE 11/27: There was no report from FDOH on 11/26. NOTE 10/11: There was no DOH COVID daily report on 10/10. Therefore, the 10/11 daily number for cases and deaths will include two days. The current hospitalization numbers and the seven day average numbers will not be impacted. NOTE 9/1...

tallahasseereports.com

 

[Pushka]

Reading this from the USA but sadly maybe there needs to be some (tragic) consequences for those who continue to party in Australia.

“For the Barbosa family, a gathering to mark a loved one’s milestone birthday has turned into a nightmare after 18 people caught COVID-19.

Rob Barbosa said that only seven of his family members who attended the May 30 bash for his daughter-in-law’s 30th contracted the bug, but then took it home and infected nearly a dozen others, KHOU-TV reported Thursday.

Mr Barbosa, a volunteer paramedic who is married to a doctor, didn’t attend the event but described it as taking only a “couple of hours” before 18 people had been infected.

“When people started getting sick, we really let everyone have it,” Mr Barbosa said. “We knew this was going to happen. I mean this whole time this has been going on we’ve been terrified.”

A total of 25 people came and went during the party, Barbosa said, including his nephew, who KHOU-TV have identified as being the person who unknowingly infected the others with the virus.

The report stated he had a slight cough which he had put down to being a symptom from his construction job.

The infected partygoers include two young children, two elderly grandparents, Mr Barbosa’s sister Kathy, who is battling breast cancer, and his parents, Frank and Carole, both in their 80s.

In total three people within the family have been hospitalised, with Frank currently in the emergency ward and on life support where he’s been since June 17.“

 

[Steady]

CMO Murphy is stepping down to take up a new position

 

[drron]

Although New York state has had 161 deaths per million population and Florida 15.
In deaths per million Florida comes in at 28th place and New York is 1st.

U.S. COVID death rate by state 2023 | Statista

As of March 2023, Arizona had the highest COVID death rate in the U.S., with 455 deaths per 100,000 population. Hawaii had the lowest death rate.

www.statista.com

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

CMO Murphy is stepping down to take up a new position

Did he say what he’s doing or who is taking his place?

I think a lot would like Dr Coatsworth to take over.

 

[Steady]

Did he say what he’s doing or who is taking his place?

I think a lot would like Dr Coatsworth to take over.

Secretary of health IIRC, today is his last day as CMO