Covid 19 -

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

So… While the experts are most likely experting on other matters, and without intent of stirring up inter-state friction…

What are the goals of Victoria and New South Wales in relation to the current outbreaks and management thereof (including border restrictions)? I don’t recall reading clear detail on this.

I think Vic said "covid normal" would be rolling 14 day average below 5 with NO mystery cases. But now that we've had one mystery case, there hasn't seem to be any changes?

Originally Posted by Polyal

I am not sure, but VIC classifying all of NSW a zone is out of control and we need a national stance on this.

We can not close off borders at a drop of a hat for a handful of cases.

The handling of outbreaks has been too politicised now, so I doubt we will get a national stance.

IMHO closing the border was necessary given the volume of people that cross over between NSW and VIC, AND the circumstances of NSW's "handful" of cases i.e. patient zero not identified, no restrictions on at risk greater sydney travelling to other parts of NSW, mystery cases popping up, unlinked cases 100km+ away from the original outbreak, no mask enforcement despite health advice, relaxing gatherings for Christmas period. I have no issues with NSW taking the risk within their own jurisdiction, but no lecturing when other states don't fully trust the strategy. When you start getting 100-200+ cases a day, even a platinum contact tracing standard is going to struggle.

[Nu66et]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

When you start getting 100-200+ cases a day, even a platinum contact tracing standard is going to struggle.

NSW health claimed middle of last year the contact tracing capacity was in the region of 100-120 cases over 5 days, which at the time they were very marginal on. I'm not sure where the capacity stands now, but it would be well short of 100-200 a day.

[FairmontGS]

Coronavirus Australia live: Queensland records first case in 113 days

A worker at a quarantine hotel in Brisbane has tested positive for coronavirus overnight - breaking the Queensland's 113-day run without a local case.

Workers are allowed to be out in the Queensland community and contact tracing is underway. Queensland’s Chief Health Officer Jeannette Young has urged anyone in Sunnybank Hills, Calamvale and Algester to get tested if they have symptoms.

She was infectious from January 2, and was out and about in Brisbane until January 6.

https://www.news.com.au/world/corona...3616ae276b810d

Put up the borders!

[FairmontGS]

Live: Brisbane aged care sector goes into lockdown over hotel cleaner's positive case

A Brisbane cleaner who worked in a quarantine hotel has the highly infectious UK variant of COVID-19, prompting a lockdown of the aged care sector across the greater Brisbane area.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...a-qld/13037510

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Three-day lockdown imposed on Greater Brisbane to stop spread of mutant COVID strain

From 6:00pm tonight people living in Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands will be required to stay home until 6:00pm Monday in a bid to stop the spread of the highly-infectious United Kingdom strain of the virus.

Queensland records 9 new COVID-19 cases. There were more than 13,000 tests.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...train/13040436

Excellent QLD. A very responsible move to help protect the rest of Australia.

If what I am hearing is correct, this cleaner has been miggling in crowded spaces over the 5 days, and if it is as infectious as they claim, then Brissy might be in a bit of strife. You know there is more to it when even the PM praises QLD for the lock down over this ONE case.

The saving grace may be that its summer. Apparently the virus doesn't like to replicate as quickly in summer as we've seen in NSW and Vic recently.

[Tickford.]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Excellent QLD. A very responsible move to help protect the rest of Australia.

Here, here.

Reading and hearing idiots stating that QLD are over reacting, the same thing these idiots said about the VIC lockdown of the NSW border.

VIC closing the border to NSW when the NSW virus entered VIC wasn't an "overreaction". It was the reaction of an anxious state that went through hell and high water a few months back, to not only protect VIC residents, but the rest of the country as well. And we are pained that the same courtesy wasn't granted to us by NSW.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Excellent QLD. A very responsible move to help protect the rest of Australia.

If what I am hearing is correct, this cleaner has been miggling in crowded spaces over the 5 days, and if it is as infectious as they claim, then Brissy might be in a bit of strife. You know there is more to it when even the PM praises QLD for the lock down over this ONE case.

The saving grace may be that its summer. Apparently the virus doesn't like to replicate as quickly in summer as we've seen in NSW and Vic recently.

Yep, Act fast, but with a quick review to see where it is at, using the weekend to advantage too!

Not sure if they did, but hopefully they will bring a national standard to quarantine management. Vic's new system now looks like the front of the pack, and if QLD took up VIC's daily testing of dedicated workers in quarantine sites, they will find leaks like this quicker in the future.

[FairmontGS]

Three-day lockdown imposed on Greater Brisbane to stop spread of mutant COVID strain

From 6:00pm tonight people living in Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich, Moreton and Redlands will be required to stay home until 6:00pm Monday in a bid to stop the spread of the highly-infectious United Kingdom strain of the virus.

Queensland records 9 new COVID-19 cases. There were more than 13,000 tests.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...train/13040436

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Three-day lockdown imposed on Greater Brisbane to stop spread of mutant COVID strain

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...train/13040436

Thanks for the link, FairmontGS, this is actually a perfect example of what tweeked brought up

These kinds of headlines are exactly the kind of thing which leads to confusion and misinformation
Not criticising the content of the article (or the lockdown, for that matter), just the terminology.

The new UK variant of the virus is not a new strain. The strain refers to SARS-CoV-2, the UK mutation is a variant of SARS-CoV-2.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/h...-b1777724.html

“There is one strain of [the] coronavirus. That is Sars-Cov-2. That is the single strain, and there are variants of that strain. These are variants.”

I actually made a post earlier in the thread which briefly pointed this out :P

Originally Posted by Metdevil

5) Yes, this new variant (note, not strain) is worse in that it drastically increases infectiousness.

(Also, I'm now ready to apologise for point 1 of that post now )

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by Metdevil

Thanks for the link, FairmontGS, this is actually a perfect example of what tweeked brought up

These kinds of headlines are exactly the kind of thing which leads to confusion and misinformation
Not criticising the content of the article (or the lockdown, for that matter), just the terminology.

The new UK variant of the virus is not a new strain. The strain refers to SARS-CoV-2, the UK mutation is a variant of SARS-CoV-2.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/h...-b1777724.html



I actually made a post earlier in the thread which briefly pointed this out :P

(Also, I'm now ready to apologise for point 1 of that post now )

Hmmmm. Encountering someone in this thread who knows what they are talking about makes me a bit uneasy

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

Hmmmm. Encountering someone in this thread who knows what they are talking about makes me a bit uneasy

Sorry, I'm sure I'm sounding like a broken record now, but I've got to pump my post count somehow

[Polyal]

People in Brissy panic buying for a 3 day lockdown...LOL

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by Polyal

People in Brissy panic buying for a 3 day lockdown...LOL

Well at least good to see they are planning to stay and isolate Mate in brissy has already started the drive down to the gold coast for the weekend

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Well at least good to see they are planning to stay and isolate Mate in brissy has already started the drive down to the gold coast for the weekend

The shops will still be open.

QUEENSLANDER!

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Polyal

The shops will still be open.

QUEENSLANDER!

It was the same here in Adelaide. A lockdown announced and everyone rushes out to do the thing you can still do during the lockdown

10 months has taught people nothing.

It's madness.

[russellw]

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT January 7th, 2021.

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

10 new cases for Australia and no deaths so the CMR is 3.184%. NSW recorded 6 cases, WA / Queensland, 2 each and the NT recorded 1 case.

2 new cases and no deaths for NZ so CMR is 1.143% and active cases 62.

The UK had 52,618 cases yesterday and 1,162 deaths.

Just under 271k new cases in the USA yesterday and a new record high 4,131 deaths sees CMR fall to 1.693% and active cases at 38.7% with the raw numbers rising and now at 8.4M. Note that the USA is actually minus one day due to time differences.

Other notable points:
Global cases pass 88M, the last 1M in 1 day;
Global cases set a new daily high of 803,381 (6/1) - 50k above the previous high;
Global deaths pass 1.9M, the last 50k in 4 days;
The USA passes 22M cases;
Europe passes 25M cases;
North America passes 25M cases;
Brazil passes 200k deaths;
Africa records a new daily high with 35,241 cases;
South America records a new daily high with 129,364 cases;
North America records a new daily high with 289,811 cases;
The USA completes 265M, India 178M, UK 58M, Germany 35M, Denmark 11M and Georgia 2M tests.

Norway (825);
Estonia (1,104);
UAE (2,988) - 45% above the high yesterday;
Malaysia (3,027) - 17% above the high yesterday;
Lebanon (4,774) 15% above the high yesterday (again);
Japan (6,076) - 39% above the high yesterday;
Panama (5,186) on 6/1;
Indonesia (9,321);
Mexico (13,345);
Czechia (17,688);
Colombia (17,576); and
Brazil (87,134) - 23% above the previous high on July 29;

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

[Tickford.]

Originally Posted by russellw

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT January 7th, 2021.

Norway (825);
Estonia (1,104);
UAE (2,988) - 45% above the high yesterday;
Malaysia (3,027) - 17% above the high yesterday;
Lebanon (4,774) 15% above the high yesterday (again);
Japan (6,076) - 39% above the high yesterday;
Panama (5,186) on 6/1;
Indonesia (9,321);
Mexico (13,345);
Czechia (17,688);
Colombia (17,576); and
Brazil (87,134) - 23% above the previous high on July 29;

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

Wow, Brazil is on the way up again. Record number of 87,134 positive cases in a single day. And Japan is also in trouble. Olympics not going to happen this year that's for sure. They have declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding suburbs I hear.

Also Russ, it goes without saying that the majority of us on the forums do appreciate your efforts to keep us all informed and updated. Despite what the 12 or so users in post #8864 reckon, this forum is one of the first places I check for world updates. Again, thank you.

[Beastie]

Originally Posted by Tickford.

Wow, Brazil is on the way up again. Record number of 87,134 positive cases in a single day. And Japan is also in trouble. Olympics not going to happen this year that's for sure. They have declared a state of emergency for Tokyo and the surrounding suburbs I hear.

Also Russ, it goes without saying that the majority of us on the forums do appreciate your efforts to keep us all informed and updated. Despite what the 12 or so users in post #8864 reckon, this forum is one of the first places I check for world updates. Again, thank you.

Where was there any mention of looking for world updates?

You are a master at twisting words - I think politics would be a great career for you...

And yes, you are right - Russ does provide great updates - factual and no innuendos...

[Work Horse]

Sorry I'm not interested in clicking on an article about a variant strain.

But a Mutant strain, now you have got me interested!

[FairmontGS]

Victorian coronavirus exposure site pubs take contact tracing into their own hands


Immunologist Shalin Naik was one of several punters at Collingwood brewery Stomping Ground the Monday after Christmas.

Just a week later, he received a text from the pub telling him he'd attended at the same time as a confirmed coronavirus case — but it would take another two days before health authorities reached out.

"It was a text addressed to the wrong name. Someone called Emma, instead of me," Dr Naik said.

Dr Naik would go on to receive two phone calls from contact tracers that day, but says they ultimately created more concerns than answers.

"She was reading from a script basically — she didn't even know what exposure site we were talking about," he said.

"As far as she was concerned I was a close contact of someone."
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-01-...acing/13039998

Cardboard versus Gold I guess....

[DJR-351]

Western Australia reinstates hard border with Queensland

Video

https://www.9news.com.au/health/coro...a-b4bbafbf92cc

Western Australia will reinstate its hard border controls with Queensland at midnight tonight.

Premier Mark McGowan announced the decision today following a National Cabinet meeting discussing the recent case of the mutant COVID-19 strain found in Brisbane.

"The case of the hotel quarantine cleaner in Brisbane is extremely concerning," Mr McGowan said.

"This is a dangerous situation, not only for Brisbane, but for the whole of Australia," he said.

The hard border will return at 12.01am January 9.

And Queensland is now categorised as a medium-risk state, previously a very low-risk state.

Travel into WA from Queensland will no longer be permitted, with some exemptions.

The exemption list is the same as it currently stands for NSW and Victoria.
Anyone who arrived in WA from Queensland since January 2 will be required to get tested and complete 14 days of self-isolation.

Since January 2, 7500 passengers have arrived in WA.

It is advised these arrivals be tested by Tuesday.

Nine flights from Queensland are expected to arrive in Perth today.

All passengers on these flights will be granted entry into the state and will need to be tested, as well as immediately go into self-isolation for 14 days and be tested again on day 11.

"Return to Queensland, unless you have personal circumstances that require you to stay in WA," Mr McGowan said to any Queenslanders currently in the state.

"We need to take this course of action to protect Western Australians,
"We're not just dealing with COVID-19 of 2020, this is a whole new beast."

If you have recently arrived in WA from Queensland you are free to depart the state today.

The Western Australia community has been COVID-free for 272 days.

"All the way along, throughout the pandemic, out best defence has been our border controls,
"2021 looks a lot like 2020 right now."

Mr McGowan advised all WA residents against travelling outside of the state amid the evolving situation.

Following recent advice from the AHPPC, which includes limiting international arrivals nationally, Western Australia will be capping its international arrivals at 512 a week, down from 1025.

Changes to hotel quarantine workers include daily saliva tests for all workers on top of the weekly testing regime already in place.

[Mr_G6ET]

[QUOTE=DJR-351;6533267]Western Australia reinstates hard border with Queensland

I know this is difficult for many to accept or comply (and maybe selfish) but is it not stupid that the forewarning about borders closing simply lets people 'scatter' beforehand potentially spreading the 'bug' ?

Even before contact tracing was mature ? Who knows what is among other communities now !

[tweeked]

[QUOTE=Mr_G6ET;6533271]

Originally Posted by DJR-351

Western Australia reinstates hard border with Queensland

I know this is difficult for many to accept or comply (and maybe selfish) but is it not stupid that the forewarning about borders closing simply lets people 'scatter' beforehand potentially spreading the 'bug' ?

Even before contact tracing was mature ? Who knows what is among other communities now !

Giving notice of a lockdown when you still have the 4 reasons defeats the purpose of the lockdown. I reckon there would be very few vacancies on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, full of escapees making the most of the free long weekend
! The only exception was the lockdown of the Housing Commission flats in Melbourne. The logistical support to those in that community was not good enough. As long as you can still go out for supplies, why give a days notice. My only personal exception is that everyone should be allowed to go home. I think this should be a right that governments should have to work around to allow it safely.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by tweeked

Giving notice of a lockdown when you still have the 4 reasons defeats the purpose of the lockdown. I reckon there would be very few vacancies on the Sunshine and Gold Coasts, full of escapees making the most of the free long weekend
! The only exception was the lockdown of the Housing Commission flats in Melbourne. The logistical support to those in that community was not good enough. As long as you can still go out for supplies, why give a days notice. My only personal exception is that everyone should be allowed to go home. I think this should be a right that governments should have to work around to allow it safely.

A very difficult call to make for the officials. Rights of the few vs health of the many. There really is not a right or wrong answer IMHO, just answers that people will either agree or disagree with.

The melb tower lock downs were found to have breached human rights. Whilst it is not what you saw on TV, there are other reports that stated a majority of residents in those towers agreed with the lock down. They wanted to be protected. I can believe that, because if the majority did not agree, they could have EASILY out muscled the officials there and not comply.

[MITCHAY]

They might as well just keep the borders shut until the vaccine starts rolling out with the whole open/close BS because no one can travel interstate with any confidence at the moment.

It just causes everyone to run for the borders or the shops where they are potentially spreading it anyway and it seems plenty can't understand the restrictions

[Mr_G6ET]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

They might as well just keep the borders shut until the vaccine starts rolling out with the whole open/close BS because no one can travel interstate with any confidence at the moment.

It just causes everyone to run for the borders or the shops where they are potentially spreading it anyway and it seems plenty can't understand the restrictions

Do we think after this behaviour we can keep this new strain under control ?
I wasn't a disease expert in this life or the last but its not hard to understand how easy everything can come undone.
Even here in the West, we can be in the same position in no time at all. Maybe the case we are not trained yet. Dumb ****ers, anti mask ****s etc.

[ute83]

http://www.9news.com.au/world/miami-...358444e0e0b396
Hope the link works.

[mostly_broncos]

Does anyone care to speculate on the complete extinction of the Flu virus?

Apparently there are essentially no cases of the flu in the United States during the covid pandemic. A virus spread in exactly the same way at the same time of year

[Metdevil]

Originally Posted by mostly_broncos

Does anyone care to speculate on the complete extinction of the Flu virus?

Apparently there are essentially no cases of the flu in the United States during the covid pandemic. A virus spread in exactly the same way at the same time of year

Between increased vaccination rates, and high transmission locations adopting more strict health measures, it makes sense that current flu estimates are lower than usual. 'Complete extinction' is a bit exaggerated though.

Like you said, Influenza spreads in the same way, the routines public places have adopted would affect the transmission rates of all droplet transmitted viruses.

Usually, we don't get confirmed Influenza figures for a couple of years after a season since a lot of reports turn out to be 'ILI', influenza-like illnesses. So we don't have any figures outside of estimates and reports anyway.

https://www.who.int/influenza/survei...rveillance/en/

[mostly_broncos]

either they are reporting flu cases as covid or masks don't work

everyone here is wearing masks everytime they go anywhere and practicing social distancing and yet we have over 200,000 "cases" a day

so if no one wore a mask at all how many cases a day would we have? 400,000 ?

The government has put policies in place that apparently didn't stop any second wave . But we should keep hanging on every word apparently in the hope that someday they may hit on the proper version of more of exactly the same stuff that hasn't worked so far