Covid 19 -

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by b0son

They're doing it for the exposure ... oh the irony.

Who is "they"?

Newsflash....it is called the Australian Open, run by Tennis Australia. The tournament has support nationally, Federal Government grants the visas. There is a warm up tournament being played in SA which has received excellent exposure internationally.

So far, all controls that were specifically put in place are working as intended....so far.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Jack91

Lost for words.
Victorian government screws up once again.
Of all the things that got cancelled last year they let in a swarm of idiots from hot zones all over the world to play a stupid game noone cares about.
What is the point of quarantine if the people supposed to be isolated are still having contact with others?
Any normal person with half a brain could seemingly do a better job of running the state than 10,000 government employees can. Jesus christ...

Hope they make them wear masks while hitting the stupid ball back and forth.

Originally Posted by b0son

They're doing it for the exposure ... oh the irony.

Everyone should just like cars, right?

[Yellow_Festiva]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Curious to know how many other countries are preventing their citizens and residents from leaving the country.

Actually, from what I heard on the radio last week only 3.

India, NZ and us.

If that is true then no wonder certain countries have such a dire situation.

[oldel]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Actually, from what I heard on the radio last week only 3.

India, NZ and us.

If that is true then no wonder certain countries have such a dire situation.

LOL don't forget Nth Korea too!

My brother was in UK and the opinion of the press over there (and his too), was that we were not better off than N. Korea because restrictions on leaving the state/country.
Pack of aholes over there; good luck britain.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Actually, from what I heard on the radio last week only 3.

India, NZ and us.

If that is true then no wonder certain countries have such a dire situation.

Not sure the two you listed are right. NZ is not banned, but is strongly discouraged. India has relaxed its rules, actually I think they have travel bubbles with quite a large number of countries.

So that leaves us with Australia and NK

Yes the brits think we are nuts, which I am reminded of weekly (work calls). But we are a live and healthy nutters.

[Citroënbender]

Try leaving Russia.

[wodahs]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Try leaving Russia.

or even repatriating/returning

may end up in qarinteen for 3 years
state suppied

[russellw]

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT February 4th, 2021.

Note: As not all Australian States report at the same time, the data below is based on the previous full day reporting.

9 new cases for Australia and no deaths so the CMR is 3.152%.

7 new cases and no deaths for NZ so CMR is 1.080% and active cases 60.

The UK had 20,634 cases yesterday and 915 deaths.

Just under 115k new cases in the USA yesterday and a new record 5,534 deaths sees CMR up to 1.707%. Note that the USA is actually minus one day due to time differences.

Other notable points:
Global cases pass 105M, the last 1M in 2days;

Only:

Albania (1,052)

... recorded new daily highs; those in blue for the second consecutive day and those in red for a third or more consecutive day.

[Bossxr8]

Hotel quarantine organizers held a party to toast their success in isolating tennis stars, just days before it emerged the virus had escaped via a hotel quarantine worker.

Have these incompetent idiots learnt nothing?

[T3rminator]

‘Don’t come to Qld’: Annastacia Palaszczuk’s shot at Gladys Berejiklian

https://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...b117cb31460559



"Ms Palaszczuk said more needed to be done to control the spread of coronavirus in hotels, which were not built for the UK variant.

“This virus is actually circulating in the corridors,” she said.

“We have got to do more – our quarantine is our last line of defence when it comes to protecting Australians.”

A report into Brisbane’s hotel quarantine infection in January will be handed down on Friday, prompting Ms Palaszczuk to ramp up calls for quarantine to be moved out of the cities to regional worker camps.

“You can only put options on the table,” she said. “It is up to the PM to come to the party and help.”


Well, when you are just starting into a new 4 year term, you can pretty much say what you want I'm actually surprised there hasn't been more hotel leaks. I think NZ are also using hotels for quarantine. Hotels were not built to be quarantine facilities.

[Polyal]

Still dont know why the quarantine isnt done off shore...perhaps higher costs of transport, but the risk is so much lower.

[oldel]

What do you mean by off shore? You mean australian facilities or other countries?
All Australian facilities are run by the federal government and they just don't want to do it. That's why.

So states have to either a) spend heaps of money to ensure a remote state owned site is staffed, facilities upgraded, have air evac ready for serious health issues, freight in people and food etc., or b) do what they are currently doing with less infrastructure upgrades, less expenditure etc by using hotels that are empty anyway.

Not a fan of the latter 'b' option myself, increasingly the premiers aren't either, but their hands are tied when the federal government refuses to lift a finger.

[T3rminator]

There are enough remote areas on main land that we don't need to go offshore. But it requires cost and effort.....and what odel said. When you see all the flak the various premiers have copped, it was probably a wise move.

Coincidentally, Victoria had an Infectious Disease Hospital in Fairfield (still pretty close to central Melb), but Mr Kennett demolished it. Not that I am blaming him, no one could have foreseen this 1 in 100 year event.

[b0son]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Who is "they"?

Event run to provide international exposure, but instead all we're getting is covid exposure. You know what a pun is, right?

[FairmontGS]

Daniel Andrews claims government has ‘no tolerance for risk’, learns from NSW by not locking down

What Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne this morning has been labelled “a bit rich” by one of the country’s leading epidemiologists.

But experts say the Andrews Government willingly took on risk when it agreed to host the first Grand Slam tournament of the year and bring in 1000 players, coaches and officials.

“Of course it was a risk,” University of South Australia epidemiologist Professor Adrian Esterman told news.com.au.

“It is a bit rich (to say) that he has no tolerance for risk.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/vic...766a9cdd4bb77c

Andrews exhibiting rare restraint in outbreak approach

Despite Victorians’ worst fears, Daniel Andrews didn’t follow the lead of other states and lock us down again. But yet another hotel quarantine stuff-up raises many questions.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/subscri...s&mode=premium

[five 7]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Not sure the two you listed are right. NZ is not banned, but is strongly discouraged.
.

Nope not even discouraged, mate left for Hawaii a month ago then onto the States to catch the Daytona 24 hr not a peep out of anyone over his travel plans we can do what we want, getting back is a bit more of a wait tho.

[five 7]

I do find it's strange that you guys are prisoners in your own country, they can't use the excuse of limited MIQ places on returning, they seem to be good with "Celebs" and sports people traveling at will.

[MITCHAY]

You can leave the country it's just that they are trying to prevent people leaving for the short term except in certain circumstances because they obviously will want to return and there is already a very long wait for that.

As far as I'm aware it is unconstitutional to deny a citizen to return to Australia. It may very well be the same for leaving but at least they are already here.

Obviously though there are some practicalities that have to be considered in a pandemic and I believe there has been cases in relation to state borders that have been thrown out.

Flights are dictated by the market and that is affected due to caps because of quarantine requirements. This is why ACT can only handle repatriation flights (we are getting one on Monday) because not only we have less resources but there are no direct flights anymore by commercial airlines.

You could move quarantine out of the major population centres but you still need workers to service that need and they may well say they can't be arsed to do that.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by b0son

Event run to provide international exposure, but instead all we're getting is covid exposure. You know what a pun is, right?

Yeh I got your pun, just when you said "they" I thought you were implying that it was all a Vic thing. No dramas.

[T3rminator]

All close contacts of infected Victorian hotel worker test negative. That includes two of his housemates.

Does anyone else find it odd that this super dooper infectious UK strain has now leaked out 3-4 times yet there has been no real outbreak?

[five 7]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

You can leave the country it's just that they are trying to prevent people leaving for the short term except in certain circumstances because they obviously will want to return and there is already a very long wait for that.

As far as I'm aware it is unconstitutional to deny a citizen to return to Australia. It may very well be the same for leaving but at least they are already here.

Obviously though there are some practicalities that have to be considered in a pandemic and I believe there has been cases in relation to state borders that have been thrown out.

Flights are dictated by the market and that is affected due to caps because of quarantine requirements. This is why ACT can only handle repatriation flights (we are getting one on Monday) because not only we have less resources but there are no direct flights anymore by commercial airlines.

This mob seem to have a different view on it. Drop down to the Australians and permanent residents portion.
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awr4...KVbXw.hFTaopg-

[Itsme]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

There are enough remote areas on main land that we don't need to go offshore. But it requires cost and effort.....and what odel said. When you see all the flak the various premiers have copped, it was probably a wise move.

Coincidentally, Victoria had an Infectious Disease Hospital in Fairfield (still pretty close to central Melb), but Mr Kennett demolished it. Not that I am blaming him, no one could have foreseen this 1 in 100 year event.

Where is all these so called infrastructures in these so called remote areas to support the quarantine of the vast numbers of people. The logistics and costs would be astronomical and the Pandemic most likely over before anything is up and running.

[hayseed]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

Where is all these so called infrastructures in these so called remote areas to support the quarantine of the vast numbers of people. The logistics and costs would be astronomical and the Pandemic most likely over before anything is up and running.

So what, They've spent over 2.5 Million Dollars keeping 4 people on Christmas Island. Who in my opinion should be back at Biloela being the productive members on the community they were (are)..

https://www.theguardian.com/australi...-14m-last-year

[MITCHAY]

Originally Posted by five 7

This mob seem to have a different view on it. Drop down to the Australians and permanent residents portion.
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awr4...KVbXw.hFTaopg-

I think that is consistent with what I said. I'd think most people who want to leave would fit the following criteria

• your travel is for your business/employer
• you are travelling outside Australia for a compelling reason for three months or longer
• you are travelling on compassionate or humanitarian grounds

They are trying to prevent people leaving for days or weeks because you have to come back and there is a plenty big enough queue for people who just want to come back home without adding to it.

So just wanting to go for a holiday is not appropriate and I can understand that. The departures are not our concern it is them coming back that is.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by Officemanager

Where is all these so called infrastructures in these so called remote areas to support the quarantine of the vast numbers of people. The logistics and costs would be astronomical and the Pandemic most likely over before anything is up and running.

I dunno, elect me into office, pay me MP salaries and I'll get to work Was Howard Springs already built or was it built for quarantine?

I'm sure we have enough old mining sites to set something up if we really wanted to. Those sites would have hospitals relatively close by for the miners. They DON'T need 5 start hotels, they just need the basics. Its a bloody pandemic. Do a deal with the likes of metricon, they can get those ready made hutches up and ready in no time. We seem to be finding excuses how not to do it rather than finding a way to do it.

The hard thing would be getting staff to stay there for a prolong period of time, but if you pay fairly I am sure many would take it.

We are already near 1 trillion in debt, whats another $50-$100m to keep everyone safe and alive? This probably won't be the last pandemic. "Experts" are already warning that this will become more common as humans encroach more into wildlife habitat.

[MITCHAY]

You still need the workers to provide the services and if you put quarantine in woop woop and require the workers to perhaps remain in a bubble, you have to pay them a lot more then you would otherwise.

If you can't get the workers to manage it all then it is dead on arrival.

I agree it would be a better solution but like many things where I work, you need to commit the resources. It would seem to be cheaper in the long run then this whole open / shut bull****.

[nstg8a]

Current quarantine process is probably the most practical option there is.
They just need to nail down those little things that cause these leaks as much as they can.
But they will always happen at some point, you can’t have interaction without risk.

[MITCHAY]

The funny thing is that quarantine is actually a federal responsibility under the constitution however the states and territories agreed to manage it themselves.

Before all of this Covid drama, for most part Aussies considered that the state borders were for all purposes about administration.

We knew that that there were state and federal responsibilities but understood we are a federation where there is free movement between people, goods and services.

As I have said previously this has already been tested in court. So if we are having these issues between states and territories, no wonder it is harder in US given they have 50+ and it is more diverse.

I think our success is that at least our governments are talking regularly to each other and trying to get on the same page even if there is a difference in opinion where I feel that was lacking over there.

[Beastie]

Will we ever see scenes like this again...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnIwCsQYoEc

[MITCHAY]

Originally Posted by Beastie

Will we ever see scenes like this again...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnIwCsQYoEc

Eventually but in the short to medium term it really depends on how the vaccine goes.

I think I heard on the radio the other day that the AZ vaccine has shown to reduce transmission as well as symptomatic illness and that is what we are really all in on so that is good news.