News Coronavirus (COVID-19) Discussion Thread IV

[jatz14]

Being Jewish isn’t just a religion. They are a people. There’s even atheist Jews.

The argument still works either way. If they were white anglo Australians, would people be on here talking about those anglos and their dastardly ways?

 

[big_e]

Couldn't agree more. This zero Covid policy is madness. The idea that you can stop spread via restrictions and then just blame/villify other people for breaking restrictions as the reason that we can't get to zero Covid. Government actively encouraging people to inform on their neighbours like the Stasi used to do. Now that the vulnerable and over 75's are fully vaccinated, mortality rate for this disease is akin to influenza. Hence why heaps of people died in Melbourne last year but hardly any dying in Sydney this year. Yet here we are living under a health dictatorship. Curfew 5 km travel limit, not allowed to see friends or family or even intimate partners after curfew. Can't even leave your house to work without a permit.

The suggestion that the vulnerable are fully vaccinated is wrong, just wrong.

 

[ferball]

2 have it so far. I’m sure there’ll be more. I’m really pissed off at them too. The mum put out a sob story today saying her son is “broken over this” well I have zero sympathy because people might die as a direct result of this selfish Pratt wanting to have a party. Hopefully if someone has to die its someone who was at the party and not some poor basterd that got it second hand, because you just know these entitled pricks all won’t quarantine

His mum is one of the people who now has covid. If she dies he really will be upset.

 

[ferball]

We do with smokers and drinkers considering the tax they pay on those items. Legalise drugs and tax that too.

Slightly OT but the price of weed in nimbin has been constant for about 20 years. No inflation. Because the government isn't involved in any way with the market. (Except very mild attempts at slowing the market.)

 

[ferball]

Meanwhile in China...

View attachment 1208065

This is the sort of supply chain disruption I was talking about the other day.

 

[ferball]

I'm not overly surprised by your comment truth be told. Both are the same distance away and Healseville is zoned regional in every instance except these lockdowns it's 100% political

Dan doesn't want to piss off his bread n butter support base and having a resident dill loving your posts doesn't improve your standing

Healesville is three times bigger than Macedon. Macedon is miles from the edge of the suburbs and to get to those suburbs you have to drive thru (or past) two towns, well one town and one city, and twice the distance from Healesville to Chirnside (... and the only reason that city (Sunbury) is considered part of urban Melbourne is to drive up land prices.) But Sunbury is a better comparison in terms of size and closeness to the major population centres of Melbourne. And its in lockdown too.

 

[ferball]

You compared it to an LGA that is still wholly classified as non-metropolitan. I explained the likely cause of this discrepancy.

There are two options:

(1) The government inflexible divided metropolitan and non-metropolitan by the already existing LGA boundaries...something that appears to map up perfectly to those LGA boundaries. (My suggestion).

(2) The government is orchestrating a conspiracy to lockdown the LNP voting residents of the Yarra Ranges during a time of high scrutiny and public angst. (Your suggestion).

Which do you think is more likely?

Just look at a map or google earth. Then its pretty easy to work out why one is rural and the other isn't.

 

[ferball]

The argument still works either way. If they were white anglo Australians, would people be on here talking about those anglos and their dastardly ways?

Some of us would.

 

[Twinkletoes]

Early this morning I have to run the 5km gauntlet by taking the kids and driving Mrs Toes to her new essential job down St Kilda way, as I need her car for the kids’ Orthodontist appointment later in the day. I then have to run the same gauntlet post 5pm to collect her from work. She’s sent me a phone pic of her essential worker’s permit so I’ll be ready if and when I’m pulled over.

Have to have the kids back home by 9am for their school meets online then oversee their education while trying to stave off bankruptcy by working from home.

Happy days!

Thanks you Caulfield North f’wits and Richmond pub crawlers!

 

[Reagan Smash]

Did you guys have a massive outbreak down in Melbourne to be put in curfew ?

 

[7577969923]

This little article highlights why many people think Dan Andrews is a belligerent and arrogant knob. He is imposing a massive restriction of the civil liberties of Victorians with his curfew, which is costing more jobs, causing more mental stress and harm on Victorians, and which the experts have said there is no evidence to support it, and he reverts straight to bully mode and asserts it's not up for debate. This kind of behaviour is why his own party called him Dictator Dan. At every point whether it be within the cabinet room, the parliament, or the media he stifles debate and imposes his will and that of his select group of unelected staffers.

Taking freedoms away from the population should never, ever be "not up for debate"!!!!


"Five million Melburnians will be living under a 9pm-5am curfew for at least the next 16 days, despite scepticism from epidemiologists over the efficacy of the measure and opposition from the police union and civil liberties groups.

The curfew comes alongside a 14-day extension of Melbourne’s lockdown, and bans on the use of playgrounds and on drinking alcohol in public.

It was imposed as Victoria recorded 22 new coronavirus cases on Monday, including eight in people who had not been isolating during their infectious period.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says a statewide curfew will be enacted from 11:59pm this evening but residents should adhere to it tonight.


Asked to justify the measure, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said: “It worked. It’s simply not up for debate. We had more than 700 cases and we took it down to zero.

“There was a package of measures. A curfew was one of them. The real question, I would have thought, was for some other jurisdictions that don’t have a curfew,” Mr Andrews said in reference to NSW.

ANU infectious diseases physician Peter Collignon said he had “never seen any evidence that curfews make a lot of difference”.

Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the “contentious” measure wasn’t popular with his members in 2020, who “didn’t really see great value in it.”

“It’ll be the police again that’ll be asked to enforce it and we are stretched paper thin.”

 

[shimaburnsgrieg]

This little article highlights why many people think Dan Andrews is a belligerent and arrogant knob. He is imposing a massive restriction of the civil liberties of Victorians with his curfew, which is costing more jobs, causing more mental stress and harm on Victorians, and which the experts have said there is no evidence to support it, and he reverts straight to bully mode and asserts it's not up for debate. This kind of behaviour is why his own party called him Dictator Dan. At every point whether it be within the cabinet room, the parliament, or the media he stifles debate and imposes his will and that of his select group of unelected staffers.

Taking freedoms away from the population should never, ever be "not up for debate"!!!!


"Five million Melburnians will be living under a 9pm-5am curfew for at least the next 16 days, despite scepticism from epidemiologists over the efficacy of the measure and opposition from the police union and civil liberties groups.

The curfew comes alongside a 14-day extension of Melbourne’s lockdown, and bans on the use of playgrounds and on drinking alcohol in public.

It was imposed as Victoria recorded 22 new coronavirus cases on Monday, including eight in people who had not been isolating during their infectious period.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says a statewide curfew will be enacted from 11:59pm this evening but residents should adhere to it tonight.


Asked to justify the measure, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said: “It worked. It’s simply not up for debate. We had more than 700 cases and we took it down to zero.

“There was a package of measures. A curfew was one of them. The real question, I would have thought, was for some other jurisdictions that don’t have a curfew,” Mr Andrews said in reference to NSW.

ANU infectious diseases physician Peter Collignon said he had “never seen any evidence that curfews make a lot of difference”.

Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the “contentious” measure wasn’t popular with his members in 2020, who “didn’t really see great value in it.”

“It’ll be the police again that’ll be asked to enforce it and we are stretched paper thin.”

Whether the curfew (or closing playgrounds) assists in reducing cases is not clear - but what is clear is that the combined package of measures is a clear signal to the public that behaviour must change.

Last weekend it had become apparent that following the rules was now 'optional' to a far larger group of Melbournians than at any time in the past 18 months.

A combination of warmer weather, lockdown fatigue and relatively low case numbers compared to our past meant people thought they could bend the rules. This behaviour directly resulted in further cases and hence difficulty in bringing overall numbers back to zero.

I have been as negative on Andrews and the Vic govt as anyone during the past 18 months but action had to be taken here.

Sure - Andrews may have taken it further than what we would have anticipated but that is what he is like - in this instance I support these measures compared to a 'do nothing - just talk' approach.

 

[Hearts to hearts]

This little article highlights why many people think Dan Andrews is a belligerent and arrogant knob. He is imposing a massive restriction of the civil liberties of Victorians with his curfew, which is costing more jobs, causing more mental stress and harm on Victorians, and which the experts have said there is no evidence to support it, and he reverts straight to bully mode and asserts it's not up for debate. This kind of behaviour is why his own party called him Dictator Dan. At every point whether it be within the cabinet room, the parliament, or the media he stifles debate and imposes his will and that of his select group of unelected staffers.

Taking freedoms away from the population should never, ever be "not up for debate"!!!!


"Five million Melburnians will be living under a 9pm-5am curfew for at least the next 16 days, despite scepticism from epidemiologists over the efficacy of the measure and opposition from the police union and civil liberties groups.

The curfew comes alongside a 14-day extension of Melbourne’s lockdown, and bans on the use of playgrounds and on drinking alcohol in public.

It was imposed as Victoria recorded 22 new coronavirus cases on Monday, including eight in people who had not been isolating during their infectious period.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says a statewide curfew will be enacted from 11:59pm this evening but residents should adhere to it tonight.


Asked to justify the measure, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said: “It worked. It’s simply not up for debate. We had more than 700 cases and we took it down to zero.

“There was a package of measures. A curfew was one of them. The real question, I would have thought, was for some other jurisdictions that don’t have a curfew,” Mr Andrews said in reference to NSW.

ANU infectious diseases physician Peter Collignon said he had “never seen any evidence that curfews make a lot of difference”.

Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said the “contentious” measure wasn’t popular with his members in 2020, who “didn’t really see great value in it.”

“It’ll be the police again that’ll be asked to enforce it and we are stretched paper thin.”

We did a lot of things last year in Victoria, and I’d have hoped they could look at the data and be a bit more nuanced about what actually contributed to the successful outcomes, but maybe there are too many variables and its too hard to collect reliable evidence either way on the run. I guess I can understand them erring on the side of caution.

Anyway, I read this today and it cheered me up:

Professor Hickie said the next three months could be "tricky" but things would get better if everyone behaved in a "cohesive and pro-social" manner.

"Australia has done, on the whole, a remarkably good job at limiting the death and illness compared with most other countries," he said.

"We don't have to wait that long until we have relatively high levels of vaccinations.

"And when we get there, combined with the right public health measures, we will resume our lifestyles again."

Government tightens lockdown rules but will weary Melburnians stay the course?

With so many lockdowns under its belt, Victoria has been held up as a model of compliance. But things seem to be unravelling since the announcement of the sixth lockdown.

www.abc.net.au

 

[Hearts to hearts]

Just read this article fwiw where experts are pro-curfew or acknowledge that it’s not possible to tease out what steps you could leave out of the package https://www.theage.com.au/national/...void-disastrous-outbreak-20210816-p58j6p.html.

 

[Val Keating]

The argument still works either way. If they were white anglo Australians, would people be on here talking about those anglos and their dastardly ways?

What are you on about? No ones talking about it like that on here? Stop straw manning.

 

[Val Keating]

I’ve woken up still grumpy about this. Construction down to 25% is a huge blow. So many people are going to struggle to pay the bills now. There’s about 240,000 people that are employed in construction in Victoria. A lot of those live paycheque to paycheque. Hope all the people who have been having snide comments (not in here on Twitter under most articles) about construction still going are happy.

 

[Val Keating]

Anyway I heard that there were doctors at that party and the medical board will be looking in to them and take their licenses off them.

 

[Val Keating]

Early this morning I have to run the 5km gauntlet by taking the kids and driving Mrs Toes to her new essential job down St Kilda way, as I need her car for the kids’ Orthodontist appointment later in the day. I then have to run the same gauntlet post 5pm to collect her from work. She’s sent me a phone pic of her essential worker’s permit so I’ll be ready if and when I’m pulled over.

Have to have the kids back home by 9am for their school meets online then oversee their education while trying to stave off bankruptcy by working from home.

Happy days!

Thanks you Caulfield North f’wits and Richmond pub crawlers!

Do we need the permit from today or tomorrow?

Edit- Technically tonight, but it’s tomorrow


The Victorian Government has announced the current lockdown across metropolitan Melbourne will be extended and a curfew put in place until 11.59pm on Thursday, 2 September. From 11:59pm on Tuesday August 17, authorised workers will also be required to carry permitswhen working, and when travelling for work.

 

[Themanbun]

On a side note, it's been a bit of a battle but I've begun calling out some of the people who have used this virus to spew some virulent racism.

Whether it's the initial outbreak in Box Hill, the outbreaks in the Western Suburbs or this most recent even in the South East, some people I know (and many more I don't know) are using this as an opportunity to kick whatever ethnic or religious group they think is responsible for it.

The hypocritical thing is that the people I know personally who most quickly resort to racism have themselves been breaking the rules and defying the restrictions.

This pandemic is really bringing out the worst in people. I've been deep in the claws of the thoughts/views that I'm calling out, a long time ago now, and because of that I feel that I'm more easily able to recognise the dog whistling. I'm worried about what seems to be a significant increase in just outright racist drivel.

 

[Val Keating]

 

[year of the roo]

Anyway I heard that there were doctors at that party and the medical board will be looking in to them and take their licenses off them.

Not sure taking their licenses off them is the answer. We need all the medical professional help we can get right now. But they can probably do it without pay for the rest of the year though.

 

[Ligma]

Not sure taking their licenses off them is the answer. We need all the medical professional help we can get right now. But they can probably do it without pay for the rest of the year though.

They are medical professionals, they know what they have done. They went against their code of conduct willingly. I wouldn’t trust them if I was seeing them as a doctor

 

[gokangas]

Not sure taking their licenses off them is the answer. We need all the medical professional help we can get right now. But they can probably do it without pay for the rest of the year though.

Agree - deregistering them doesn't seem appropriate. Maybe some form of professional reprimand - not sure what options available from their association. They will probably be fined like others there.

 

[Val Keating]

Not sure taking their licenses off them is the answer. We need all the medical professional help we can get right now. But they can probably do it without pay for the rest of the year though.

They’ll probably get bugger all tbh. Fined most likely


The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) on Monday confirmed it has received "a number of complaints about registered health practitioners" who attended the event in Caulfield North last week.

AAP understands at least two medical professionals attended the engagement party, which is also being investigated by police.

"We are aware that Victoria Police have stated that they intend to take action with respect to individuals who attended the event," an APHRA spokesperson told AAP.

"We will liaise with them in relation to any registered health practitioners who were present."

The spokesperson said due to privacy laws they are limited in what they can say publicly about "any action we are or may be taking regarding individual practitioners".

 

[The Lone Latic]

Not sure taking their licenses off them is the answer. We need all the medical professional help we can get right now. But they can probably do it without pay for the rest of the year though.

Unfortunately if you have a look at the overall family and their sources of income, going without pay for the rest of the year will probably be only a minor inconvenience for them.

Stripping them of their license however would have a far more tangible effect on them