'In the fight of our lives': Australia posts surge in new COVID-19 cases.....

[PopsnTuff]

Jul 17, 2020 • Last Updated 1 hour ago

Australia’s Victoria state on Friday reported a record daily increase in COVID-19 cases while neighboring New South Wales said it was banning dancing, singing and mingling at weddings as authorities struggle to contain a new wave of infections.

Victoria, which has forced nearly 5 million people in the country’s second most populous state into a partial lockdown for more than a week, said it has found 428 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours.

Less than a month ago, Australia was widely heralded as a global leader in combating COVID-19.

But security lapses in Victoria led to people returning from overseas spreading the virus, prompting an inquiry into how the state went from the brink of eradicating the virus to soaring infection numbers.

https://nationalpost.com/pmn/health...s-australia-posts-surge-in-new-covid-19-cases

(They were doing much better than other countries, now this )

 

[Warrigal]

As we are now, so might other countries be even after beating the virus down to a minimum. Until a vaccine is available it will always be waiting in the wings to make an entrance again.

Most of Australia's COVID cases have been confined to the eastern states and initially were all caused by people returning from foreign destinations. Confirmed cases were placed in quarantine and contacts in self isolation with testing. While it was contained like this we were doing very well. Then it began to get out into the community because the weak link in any plan or system is people.

Asked to stay at home except for exceptional reasons for going out, not even some of our politicians could resist travelling to their holiday home. However most people were co-operative, used good hygiene practices and refrained from gathering in large groups. Most, but not all.

The states that were minimally affected closed their borders to people from Victoria and New South Wales, with border checks to see whether the travel was necessary, such as long haul trucks moving produce and other goods. Schools closed, child care centres stayed open, and many small businesses had to adapt. Cafes served takeaway only, theatres, clubs, pubs and sporting venues were shut. People worked online at home, meetings were held by Skype and Zoom. People unable to work received government assistance and the dole was doubled because everyone knew it was inadequate and with so many more people out of work who had rent or mortgages to pay, there would have been massive homelessness all of a sudden.

To cut the story short, sacrifices were made and the national and state debts climbed rapidly. They are still rising.

Then, for economic reasons, the restrictions were being gradually phased out but stupidity took over. Some people decided it was time to do whatever they liked, ignoring social distancing and maximum size limits on public gatherings. It was party time for many.

In Victoria, men who were supposed to be supervising people under quarantine fraternised with the people they were supposed to be guarding, even to the extent of having sex with them. They caught the virus and took it home to their families, some of whom lived in public housing towers. From there it began to appear in neighbouring suburbs. The virus also manifested in a number of nursing homes, which is where most, but not all, of the deaths are now occurring.

In NSW, not far from me, people crowded into the well named Crossroads Hotel. One party consisted of 35+ people celebrating a birthday. Most of them were guards at an immigration detention centre and they are now all off duty, either confirmed with corona virus or in isolation for two weeks or more. There have also been clusters in nearby hotels and a YMCA centre.

A lot of the work and sacrifices have been flushed down the drain and we are scrambling to catch up using lots of testing and contact tracing. The tracing app the government spent a lot of money on has not found a single contact that was not first found using pencil and paper methods. Hubby and I are still being cautious and staying at home as much as possible.

This link is to an interactive graphic that shows that Victoria is the worst affected state right now. I feel for the Premier. He has done a good job so far but he cannot control human nature, especially stupidity.

https://infogram.com/1pe2reee7wexnebmjyqpj7qed3fl0eekqpr?live

By US standards the numbers are tiny but that is how pandemics start. From little things big things grow.

 

[MarciKS]

Feels like it's never gonna go away.

 

[Warrigal]

It won't go away by itself.

 

[chic]

It won't go away by itself.

Yes it could. Throughout history plagues etc. have gone away by themselves.

 

[Warrigal]

Bubonic plague still exists.

• An outbreak of the bubonic plague in China has led to worry that the “Black Death” could make a significant return.
• But experts say the disease isn’t nearly as deadly as it was, thanks to antibiotics.
• The disease pops up every year in multiple countries including the U.S.

Notice that the disease is controllable because of antibiotics but should they lose their effectiveness then what ???

 

[MarciKS]

Bubonic plague still exists.

• An outbreak of the bubonic plague in China has led to worry that the “Black Death” could make a significant return.
• But experts say the disease isn’t nearly as deadly as it was, thanks to antibiotics.
• The disease pops up every year in multiple countries including the U.S.

Notice that the disease is controllable because of antibiotics but should they lose their effectiveness then what ???

They are already losing their effectiveness. So we are basically screwed if we continue on the path we are on.

 

[Sunny]

Yikes! So now, we have to start worrying about bubonic plague also?

 

[StarSong]

Bubonic plague is not proliferating. The US has a few cases a year - like under 25 - and this year is shaping up to be no exception.

It's rarely fatal in this country because it can be treated with antibiotics.

 

[MarciKS]

Bubonic plague is not proliferating. The US has a few cases a year - like under 25 - and this year is shaping up to be no exception.

It's rarely fatal in this country because it can be treated with antibiotics.

For now. But antibiotics aren't working as well for some folks anymore. Myself I can only take a certain number of them. The rest I'm allergic to. Last couple times I went in to the dr they had to do 2 rounds of antibiotic to rid me of a sinus infection.

 

[Warrigal]

Yikes! So now, we have to start worrying about bubonic plague also?

No need to panic about bubonic plague. No need to panic about corona virus either because panic is not helpful.

Helpful is taking the advice of the epidemiologists and taking all possible precautions because full community co-operation is the fastest and most effective way to bring the infection rate down.

Already Melbourne is seeing a reduction in the overnight number of confirmed new infections but it has taken some hard lockdowns and a lot of community co-operation to achieve that and there is some way to go yet before the rate comes down to a safe enough level for life to return to normal.

Meanwhile, New South Wales confirmed cases are growing. New clusters are popping up and almost every one is linked to a licensed premises such as a pub and a club. I refused an invitation yesterday to have lunch at our usual club. Not worth the risk in the current circumstances.