Coronavirus/COVID-19

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Sep 22, 2008
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Heard two young blokes and a young woman walking into a shopping centre in Ballarat recently, all unmasked and all ignored QR codes, did the same as they walked into Woolies inside the centre. The level and content of their conversation was pretty much on a par with your post. (All 3 wearing work clothes with company logos, wonder if they've inherited their 'values' from their employer, or just freedumb rebels.)
Haven’t checked in in months, what’s the point? 😂 is there actually any benefit to checking in whatsoever these days?

I still wear a mask out of respect for others but really, is it doing anything? I’ve already had Covid. Maybe they’re in a similar boat. Are you a better person than them because they didn’t check in or use a mask?
 
Sep 7, 2015
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Haven’t checked in in months, what’s the point? 😂 is there actually any benefit to checking in whatsoever these days?

I still wear a mask out of respect for others but really, is it doing anything? I’ve already had Covid. Maybe they’re in a similar boat. Are you a better person than them because they didn’t check in or use a mask?

I'm the same. I stopped checking in months ago but I still wear a mask. Checking in seems redundant honestly. It made sense when we had some control over case numbers. Wearing masks is just common decency imo, regardless of your vaccination status or infection history.
 

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D Mitchell

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Haven’t checked in in months, what’s the point? 😂 is there actually any benefit to checking in whatsoever these days?

I still wear a mask out of respect for others but really, is it doing anything? I’ve already had Covid. Maybe they’re in a similar boat. Are you a better person than them because they didn’t check in or use a mask?
If you pay by card, there's a record, anyway.
 

BrisDog

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I still wear a mask out of respect for others but really, is it doing anything? I’ve already had Covid. Maybe they’re in a similar boat. Are you a better person than them because they didn’t check in or use a mask?
Hopefully one doesn’t give their potential illness to someone who’s immune system is compromised and cause them suffering and/or death. It’s not just about the invididual nor the inconvenience of putting a face mask on.
 
Haven’t checked in in months, what’s the point? 😂 is there actually any benefit to checking in whatsoever these days?

I still wear a mask out of respect for others but really, is it doing anything? I’ve already had Covid. Maybe they’re in a similar boat. Are you a better person than them because they didn’t check in or use a mask?
Do they even contact people through the checkin system any more? I'd be surprised if they did.

It does have the benefit of keeping a diary of where you've been ... in case you can't remember which day you visited your favourite fleshpots.

Masks however are still important. They protect others at least as much as they protect you (possibly more). So if you have the virus you are not going to spread it around as much if you are wearing a mask. A lot of people accept that as their social responsibility but unfortunately some people DGAF.

Cloth masks have been reported as being close to useless. Surgical masks are slightly better. N95s better still. If you can't or don't want to get an N95 mask fitted then wearing two masks together is supposedly a reasonable in-between option.

It's so hard to keep up with changing regs, changing advice and new research findings that I can understand why some people just shrug their shoulders. However whatever else changes mask-wearing indoors in public places and on PT is likely to be with us for quite a while.
 

footscray1973

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Yeah, agree check in is now probably largely redundant. Masks, on the other hand, still serve a purpose IMO, and most retail stores still have signs up requesting everyone wear them. Health authorities and epediomologists still strongly recommend them in those settings

Probably time for the govt to give a directive that businesses can remove all the QR code paraphernalia. But also reinforce the benefits of masks.
 
I was wondering to myself:

The ‘Spanish’ flu wreaked havoc in 1919 - 1920 but then mysteriously disappeared. Could it have been replaced by a standard omicron-style flu, which was more infectious but less virulent and drove out the Spanish version?

Will we be subject to eternal seasonal COVID variations just like the flu? What are the possibilities of a serious Spanish style variant appearing?

It’s my understanding that many new flu variations are zoonotic, originating in migrating wild ducks and geese which spread their flus to domestic chooks and then humans. Could the coronavirus infect animals, mutate then reinfect humans?

The lab leak theory has gained currency amongst many leading scientists and is far from a crazy conspiracy theory. I believe in it.
 
Sep 22, 2008
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I was wondering to myself:

The ‘Spanish’ flu wreaked havoc in 1919 - 1920 but then mysteriously disappeared. Could it have been replaced by a standard omicron-style flu, which was more infectious but less virulent and drove out the Spanish version?

Will we be subject to eternal seasonal COVID variations just like the flu? What are the possibilities of a serious Spanish style variant appearing?

It’s my understanding that many new flu variations are zoonotic, originating in migrating wild ducks and geese which spread their flus to domestic chooks and then humans. Could the coronavirus infect animals, mutate then reinfect humans?

The lab leak theory has gained currency amongst many leading scientists and is far from a crazy conspiracy theory. I believe in it.
Yeah supposedly “wild Covid” mutating in wild animals then being spread back to humans is a big concern amongst scientists
 
Sep 7, 2015
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The ‘Spanish’ flu wreaked havoc in 1919 - 1920 but then mysteriously disappeared. Could it have been replaced by a standard omicron-style flu, which was more infectious but less virulent and drove out the Spanish version?

Seems reasonably likely to me. I'm guessing they didn't have the required technology to effectively track most mutations and variants like we do now. The only other explanation I can think of is that it was wiped out due to herd immunity. It spread too fast and too effectively and wiped itself out in the process. Maybe analogous to humans?

Will we be subject to eternal seasonal COVID variations just like the flu?

It's a certainty. There were four coronarviruses endemic in humans prior to SARS-Cov-2. Now there are five.

What are the possibilities of a serious Spanish style variant appearing?

My uneducated guess is that it's possible but not likely. Viruses tend to mutate to become more benign over time as it is generally evolutionarily advantageous to do so.
 
I was wondering to myself:

The ‘Spanish’ flu wreaked havoc in 1919 - 1920 but then mysteriously disappeared. Could it have been replaced by a standard omicron-style flu, which was more infectious but less virulent and drove out the Spanish version?

Will we be subject to eternal seasonal COVID variations just like the flu? What are the possibilities of a serious Spanish style variant appearing?

It’s my understanding that many new flu variations are zoonotic, originating in migrating wild ducks and geese which spread their flus to domestic chooks and then humans. Could the coronavirus infect animals, mutate then reinfect humans?

The lab leak theory has gained currency amongst many leading scientists and is far from a crazy conspiracy theory. I believe in it.
Yesterday I heard Professor Eddie Holmes talking about levels of immunity gained by having the disease. It was recorded last October. If I heard right he said there had still been some people around (admittedly very old!) who had antibodies to Swine flu from having had the Spanish flu. Swine flu it seems was a direct descendant of the Spanish flu. So it didn’t disappear … it seems it just became less virulent (maybe replaced by less virulent strains as you have suggested) Perhaps also combined with some herd immunity due to the widespread infection.

From memory I think he also said that we are usually ok against seasonal flu strains because they are only slightly different to earlier versions. The really dangerous strains can arise when an existing virus gets spliced with some new avian DNA from chickens, ducks, etc to which we have minimal resistance. It then just needs an opportunity to cross back to humans (eg in farms, wet markets). If that’s the case I expect we could still be susceptible to a dangerous strain of covid too , using the same sort of crossover route. The incidence of serious zoonotic epidemics seems to be increasing as the human footprint expands into the wild.

The lab leak theory is still an open question for me. According to the experts it’s certainly possible … but I’m wary because it also fills a convenient niche in popular anti-Chinese sentiment. Scrag recently posted a link to a 5(?)hour podcast which he said discussed it. Maybe have a listen to that if you have time.
 
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It's a certainty. There were four coronarviruses endemic in humans prior to SARS-Cov-2. Now there are five.
I find it most interesting that there are a total of 7 coronavirus types which affect humans, and 3 of those have only emerged since 2001 (MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2). Seems likely that we can expect a few more pandemics over our lifetimes if this keeps up, hopefully the lessons learnt in dealing with this one will make the next a lot more manageable.
 
After seeing both sides of the coin (6 hard lockdowns in Melbourne & relative freedoms in Perth), this article is very well summed up. McGowan was universally loved and now some the detractors are coming out, but he’d still be better than any other alternative on this side of the Nullarbor. But, he’s been focused too much on eliminating covid which just never going to happen. Hasn’t done much with the health system in the last 2 years, so will do very well to not let everything hit the fan once cases really ramp up

 

BrisDog

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I find it most interesting that there are a total of 7 coronavirus types which affect humans, and 3 of those have only emerged since 2001 (MERS-CoV, SARS-CoV, and SARS-CoV-2). Seems likely that we can expect a few more pandemics over our lifetimes if this keeps up, hopefully the lessons learnt in dealing with this one will make the next a lot more manageable.
Fair to say mankind’s time
on this planet may be limited to a generation, or maybe two max. I’m hoping my daughter gets to travel and have a few wins in her life before we all die from this thing.

I don’t think human’s cessation is altogether a bad thing. At least the Orange Roughy stocks fill finally get a chance to rejuvenate after being raped and pillaged by illegal fisherman over the last 25 years.

I don’t understand why Jesus doesn’t just mutate the virus to take out utter campaigners like illegal fisherman and others like Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch - folks the world would be better without.
 
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BrisDog

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After seeing both sides of the coin (6 hard lockdowns in Melbourne & relative freedoms in Perth), this article is very well summed up. McGowan was universally loved and now some the detractors are coming out, but he’d still be better than any other alternative on this side of the Nullarbor. But, he’s been focused too much on eliminating covid which just never going to happen. Hasn’t done much with the health system in the last 2 years, so will do very well to not let everything hit the fan once cases really ramp up

Hey Ossie - what do you think of his current strict border strategy?

Obviously investing heavily in health and Rat’s before Omnicron gets over the border significantly is a no-brainer. I hope he is doing this. But other than that how could McGowan improve his performance?

As I posted on the previous page, we (QLD) opened up completely before Xmas. It was great for a fortnight - I got to see my family for the first time in 2 years. However I look now at the deterioration of hospitality and general business confidence in SEQ, as well as sickness and absenteeism and question if we should have opened up without significant restrictions.

From purely a political perspective, this week has been the first week that I have begun to think that ScoMo is cooked, he will lose come May even with NewsCorp attempting to dress him up as Lincoln on a daily basis.

Both Morrison and Perottet pushed this National Plan of letting it rip so hard with thinking of the changing circumstances of Omnicron. No doubt McGowan is sitting back with a box of popcorn.
 

Virgin Dog

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After seeing both sides of the coin (6 hard lockdowns in Melbourne & relative freedoms in Perth), this article is very well summed up. McGowan was universally loved and now some the detractors are coming out, but he’d still be better than any other alternative on this side of the Nullarbor. But, he’s been focused too much on eliminating covid which just never going to happen. Hasn’t done much with the health system in the last 2 years, so will do very well to not let everything hit the fan once cases really ramp up

Our health system is in a completely unacceptable state, and has been for years, which is absolutely worth criticism. My wife was telling me her colleagues working in ED (she doesn't currently work there herself, she's on general wards) were told the plan for when s**t hits the fan in Perth is for the workers to cancel their annual leave and "work harder" to cover staff shortages. Imagine being told so openly by management that they have no plans to actually improve conditions, and just expect the workers to be even more miserable indefinitely. I know many in the health sector who were rejoicing at the decision to delay the border opening, and it's largely because of what an outbreak would mean for them personally. Almost guaranteed Covid infection and miserable working conditions are not an exciting prospect.

In saying that, "some detractors" is basically just the Murdoch-owned media outlets. This is an opinion piece from news.com.au, and is not necessarily indicative of the general sentiment in WA, so I wouldn't take anything from it. If we had a liberal government in WA, they wouldn't be writing these pieces
 
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Just had my Covid booster - Pfizer this time. Took an Uber and got there early and they took me right away (my new doctor practice.) Home before my actual appt time. I'm not dead yet but I have returned to my concentration camp.

On GT-I9505 using BigFooty.com mobile app
 

LittleG

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We have been underfunding our healthcare system for decades. Covid has just shown us how badly understaffed and under resourced it is. Will we as a society change?

Global warming is also a huge issue BUT ….. fjotcjjbfd hfcc so bjhcbnjxv jjxhxuc!!!!!!

I have had a gut full.
 

footscray1973

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We have been underfunding our healthcare system for decades. Covid has just shown us how badly understaffed and under resourced it is. Will we as a society change?

Global warming is also a huge issue BUT ….. fjotcjjbfd hfcc so bjhcbnjxv jjxhxuc!!!!!!

I have had a gut full.
Yes, we have, and no government of any political stripe has had the forward-thinking or sense of urgency/doom to really do anything substantial about it. It is an indictment on all politicians for decades, as you say LittleG, that we are at this stage.

Similar to the military, why don't we have 'reservists' who at least have some training and/or background in the health system (whether retired health staff or those who have left the health service for other reasons) that can be called back into the system in an emergency like this? But that model would need both state and fed govts to commit to ongoing funding (like the NDIS model) and some sort of future planning beyond a single electoral cycle (and beyond a self-preservation view when their own snout is no longer in the trough).

Given the short-comings of the majority of elected snout-in-the-troughers in this country, I fear BrisDog's prophecy of the decimation of humanity within a few generations will occur before it dawns on any elected govt in Australia that action beyond lip service is required for a sustainable health system.
 

Virgin Dog

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We have been underfunding our healthcare system for decades. Covid has just shown us how badly understaffed and under resourced it is. Will we as a society change?

Global warming is also a huge issue BUT ….. fjotcjjbfd hfcc so bjhcbnjxv jjxhxuc!!!!!!

I have had a gut full.
It's an issue at both a state and federal level. At the federal level, we have a government who is actively working to dismantle the public health system by restricting Medicare. States will have their own unique problems, but you hear issues in both Labor and Coalition-led states regarding underfunding / inefficient running of health departments. I have no confidence that Labor has much more of an appetite to fix the health system, so am fairly pessimistic that this issue will be fixed in WA any time in the next 5 years.
 
One thing that will be different this Federal election is that it's the first time health has been at front of mind for the majority of the voting public. It's always been on the agenda but this time it's right near the top of the hot issues.

I'm not sure it'll make a huge net difference though, because the Feds (either party) can always sheet it home to the respective states if they get criticised for not doing enough. However I notice that Albanese has made some early announcements on Medicare so maybe that's a sign of more to come.

My guess is it'll be a "DID!" / "DID NOT!" type of stalemate with the conservatives saying how well Australia did over the course of the last two years compared to the rest of the world (conveniently ignoring the fact that the states did much of the heavy lifting) and Labor repeating the line that the PM was always too late to act.
 

footscray1973

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One thing that will be different this Federal election is that it's the first time health has been at front of mind for the majority of the voting public. It's always been on the agenda but this time it's right near the top of the hot issues.

I'm not sure it'll make a huge net difference though, because the Feds (either party) can always sheet it home to the respective states if they get criticised for not doing enough. However I notice that Albanese has made some early announcements on Medicare so maybe that's a sign of more to come.

My guess is it'll be a "DID!" / "DID NOT!" type of stalemate with the conservatives saying how well Australia did over the course of the last two years compared to the rest of the world (conveniently ignoring the fact that the states did much of the heavy lifting) and Labor repeating the line that the PM was always too late to act.
Agree on your whole post dogwatch, sadly I think the bolded will be the eventual outcome though. It will be much like the Like f Brian scene with the committee to propose taking action. "Yes, yes, we all agree we must fix the health system. Now, let's have an inquiry/more meetings/senate hearing/point the finger at the opposite level of govt - see we're doing something!" :(
 

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