Author Topic: Covid restrictions  (Read 1473 times)

Offline Evolver

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I'm interested to hear what Covid restrictions are being applied in your area.

We've been extremely lucky in Australia, with a TOTAL of only 36000 cases and just less than 1000 deaths (out of a population of 26 million). Our federal government was quick to react early last year, setting up general ground rules, but slow to secure the supply of vaccinations. As a result the percentage of the adult population fully vaccinated is still only around 20%. The state governments are responsible for enforcing restrictions and lockdowns as they see fit, and are still doing so with the recent spread of the Delta variant of the virus. They have to, because the vaccination level is still too low. Unfortunately there are still around 40000 Aussies stuck overseas, unable to secure flights home - only to have to then spend a fortnight in quarantine if they do.

I live in the state of Victoria, a couple of hours from Melbourne. Last night we began our 6th lockdown, nominally for a week, due to two separate outbreaks consisting of six cases of which the source has not been identified by contact tracers yet. There are only five reasons to leave home - for essential shopping (discretionary retail is closed but take out is open), essential work, outdoor exercise close to your home, medical reasons and care giving, and getting your vaccination. Most office workers are working from home and schools are shut again, with material supplied for parents to teach their kids from home. Social gatherings are a no-no and the only visits to someone's home, apart from care giving, is one-on-one nominated 'bubbles' for single people or intimate partners. Masks are compulsory but common sense prevails outdoors. QR code check-ins are compulsory when entering any commercial premises, so that contact tracers can notify people to get tested and isolate if a positive case has been there, but compliance is not absolute.

Our 5th lockdown came into force because an interstate removalist brought the virus from Sydney, and was enforced for a fortnight in mid July. New cases were actually driven to zero in that time and some restrictions were subsequently lifted, but now we're back under the same restrictions as several weeks ago. 

Sydney is in a world of hurt. There, the New South Wales state government was way too slow to react and didn't enforce even a partial lockdown until day 9 of a Delta outbreak, and are now seeing hundreds of new cases per day, and growing exponentially. The problem is, the Australian eastern seaboard is extremely mobile (pre pandemic, Melbourne - Sydney was the second busiest air route in the world) and a huge amount of freight is transported between those cities by road and rail every day.

In summary, our federal and state governments are still pursuing a policy of elimination because nowhere near enough people have been vaccinated yet, which is their own stupid fault. Personally, my wife and I have been largely unaffected apart from not being able to catch up with family, which does hurt, but it is what it is. So,how do we compare? 


 

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