Mega Thread >>COVID-19 DISCUSSION THREAD<<

[Jewelsbon]

Dont see the restrictions lifted even by end of winter. More like end of the year

They have to start lifting them in some form before then, most people that are pushing this don't seem to be considering the far reaching consequences of continuing the restrictions as they currently are.
Most things are minor but still big issues to many people. Things like not being able to go for your driver's licence, wedding guest limits, funeral attendance limits, hospital visitations, new baby births - all these things many people would just shrug their shoulders and say "who cares", but if you were effected by them, it becomes a big thing. I have a 16yo nephew who is due to go for his licence in May and is beside himself that he now can't- and by beside himself, I mean his mum is very worried about this. He's lost his sport, can't see his mates and can't go for his licence, topped off with living in rural NSW so the feeling of isolation is ten fold. My sister in law is becoming very worried about his mental health.
There is also the major issues to consider, the small businesses that simply cannot maintain not opening, the travel industry that employs millions, the court system that will start backing up to unbelievable levels.
Everyone needs to start looking past themselves and start considering the community as a whole.

Not in Australia!

I should preface all my posts with 'in Singapore'.

You are only allowed to be maskless if you're 'exercising'. But otherwise it's a $300SGD fine

This is how I see it going forward, EVERYONE to wear a mask outside of their home, no exceptions and $100 on the spot fine for non compliance.

 

[Tedeski]

They have to start lifting them in some form before then, most people that are pushing this don't seem to be considering the far reaching consequences of continuing the restrictions as they currently are.
Most things are minor but still big issues to many people. Things like not being able to go for your driver's licence, wedding guest limits, funeral attendance limits, hospital visitations, new baby births - all these things many people would just shrug their shoulders and say "who cares", but if you were effected by them, it becomes a big thing. I have a 16yo nephew who is due to go for his licence in May and is beside himself that he now can't- and by beside himself, I mean his mum is very worried about this. He's lost his sport, can't see his mates and can't go for his licence, topped off with living in rural NSW so the feeling of isolation is ten fold. My sister in law is becoming very worried about his mental health.
There is also the major issues to consider, the small businesses that simply cannot maintain not opening, the travel industry that employs millions, the court system that will start backing up to unbelievable levels.
Everyone needs to start looking past themselves and start considering the community as a whole.


This is how I see it going forward, EVERYONE to wear a mask outside of their home, no exceptions and $100 on the spot fine for non compliance.

Can you avoid a fine if the mask has gone yellow or discoloured from wearing it for two weeks?
That's what I see customers & delivery guys wearing coming in to our business every day. It is scary. Yellow dirty gloves too that they've kept on for who knows how long. the problem with masks is there aren't enough & people treasure the one they've scored for weeks on end.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Dig in, it's going to be here a long, long time.

No matter how you crunch the numbers, this pandemic is only just getting started | William Hanage

People are understandably looking for good news. But the truth is, we’re nowhere near controlling coronavirus, says Harvard professor Dr William Hanage

www.theguardian.com

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Brilliant.

Thousands of dollars in fines have been issued by police clearly loving the freedom to penalise pretty much anyone | First Dog on the Moon

Yet it is a genuine crisis because there are lots of people not obeying the rules of physical distancing!

www.theguardian.com

 

[The King!]

Dig in, it's going to be here a long, long time.

No matter how you crunch the numbers, this pandemic is only just getting started | William Hanage

People are understandably looking for good news. But the truth is, we’re nowhere near controlling coronavirus, says Harvard professor Dr William Hanage

www.theguardian.com

Article is about the uk

 

[caesar88]

I think if we stay the course for now we'll beat the virus sooner than we think. It's not incremental as though the number of cases will drop by one person each day. If the social distancing is maintained it will drop the same rate as it increased, so just as it spread fairly rapidly, I'd expect the decline in cases to be just as rapid.

I got this from a bloke on CNN now keep in mind he was on television to basically slam Trump and emphasise the importance of social distancing, but if you think about it his logic does make sense.

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Article is about the uk

Pretty sure you can extrapolate to the global situation though Kingy, given the UK is part of the world.

We're doing a great job keeping the numbers down within Oz so far, but that will all amount to nothing in a flash if we open things up too soon. It hasn't gone away, and it's not going away any time soon.

 

[wills2g]

There's pros and cons for both alleviating the restrictions earlier or later so there's no right answer

From a political perspective, if they were reduced too early and there was a spike, then pretty sure sackings will be all around. Honestly, the politicians are looking out for themselves, and I don't blame em for that

From a economic perspective, if there was a re-spike, the Australian economy would be as good as dead. Stimulus packages only go so far and as someone in their 20s I am not looking forward to the tax benefits Boomers got being culled.

 

[sataris]

Can you wear a scarf around your face?

You can also make your own from old clothes

Sorted it out, I did look like Jackie-O for a while.

 

[The King!]

Pretty sure you can extrapolate to the global situation though Kingy, given the UK is part of the world.

We're doing a great job keeping the numbers down within Oz so far, but that will all amount to nothing in a flash if we open things up too soon. It hasn't gone away, and it's not going away any time soon.

Agree

Don’t think it ever goes away really

can we reduce it from being a pandemic? Globally heck miles away

Australia live around it is achievable with a reasonably normal life

wouldn’t book overseas

 

[brad cooper]

Pretty sure you can extrapolate to the global situation though Kingy, given the UK is part of the world.

We're doing a great job keeping the numbers down within Oz so far, but that will all amount to nothing in a flash if we open things up too soon. It hasn't gone away, and it's not going away any time soon.

Big difference though between us an UK though, they have 3 times our population crammed into a country about the size of Victoria and Tasmania combined.

They're currently losing about 800 people every 24 hours and that's not counting any one who dies in a nursing home, of which there are currently 5000 aged care facilities with confirmed cases.

I don't want to see us come out of this lockdown too soon, but we should come out of it a longtime before UK

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Big difference though between us an UK though, they have 3 times our population crammed into a country about the size of Victoria and Tasmania combined.

They're currently losing about 800 people every 24 hours and that's not counting any one who dies in a nursing home, of which there are currently 5000 aged care facilities with confirmed cases.

I don't want to see us come out of this lockdown too soon, but we should come out of it a longtime before UK

But by coming "out of lockdown", do you mean opening up international flights again?

 

[brad cooper]

But by coming "out of lockdown", do you mean opening up international flights again?

no chance!

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

no chance!

I agree. I guess my point is that movement of people round the globe is such a factor in every economy now, but I really can't see them opening that up for a long time. And if they did, we're stuffed, like the rest of the world, and all of our good work would have been for naught.

But can people really grasp that means no-one being able to enter or leave Australia (not for work, nor family reasons, let alone holidays) until we have a vaccine?

Or maybe open up flights, but with compulsory 14 day quarantine for everyone. How would that even work?

 

[Millky95]

Just got an e-mail from an employer saying I was eligible to get JobKeeper from them

Dunno when I'll start getting paid but it's a start

 

[Swansujelly]

5kg bag of brown rice, last one down the back no one saw. i almost cried.

 

[sataris]

Or maybe open up flights, but with compulsory 14 day quarantine for everyone. How would that even work?

Friend of mine recently returned from overseas (to singapore), compulsory 14 day self quarantine for anyone returning from os. Apparently you have to download some sort of app that pings your location back to the ministry of health, and someone would call you 6-7 times a day to ask you to take a selfie in your apartment. So you can't just leave your phone at home and go outside.

So it is *possible*

 

[SBD Gonzalez]

Friend of mine recently returned from overseas (to singapore), compulsory 14 day self quarantine for anyone returning from os. Apparently you have to download some sort of app that pings your location back to the ministry of health, and someone would call you 6-7 times a day to ask you to take a selfie in your apartment. So you can't just leave your phone at home and go outside.

So it is *possible*

Yep, I think that's the kind of precautionary measure we might be looking at.

 

[Jewelsbon]

Can you avoid a fine if the mask has gone yellow or discoloured from wearing it for two weeks?
That's what I see customers & delivery guys wearing coming in to our business every day. It is scary. Yellow dirty gloves too that they've kept on for who knows how long. the problem with masks is there aren't enough & people treasure the one they've scored for weeks on end.

My thoughts on the compulsory masks is to contain the contaminated droplets.
I have no idea on the particulars or use by dates of these masks but I thought the main form of contamination is caused by the droplets that fly when we sneeze or cough, those droplets either making contact directly with someone else or they land on things that people touch who then subsequently touch their mouths, if you are wearing a mask or even a scarf wrapped around your face a few times, the droplets can't fly.
We simply HAVE to get back to some form of normalcy sooner rather than later, reopening the state boarders and getting shops and small businesses open and trading again, otherwise ours and the worlds whole economies are going to come crashing down and the great depression of the 30's will look like a blip on a radar.
I don't mean opening the countries borders, that's something that will and should take longer (breaks my heart personally, I have three overseas trips planned in the next 12 months), but we do need to get our country working again.

 

[Angry Red Bull]

This is the thing that shits me most about the whole thing. They tell us we are saving lives, but for many people without work right now, the economy IS life.
This situation is made for someone like Trump IMO, who can weigh up economic and health concerns.
I think Morrison and Frydenberg have the right idea, as they know that smaller businesses are the ones that need the assistance the most, as they employ a significant number of people. But they're stuck because they can't just ignore the medical advice.

You can’t possibly think that? Trump being perfect for anything!! His narcissism has killed tens of thousand Americans. And now it’s reached the peak he wants to open for business again!!! which will kill tens of thousands more.

What more does a person need than job seeker job keeper or rental or mortgage moratoriums? That covers an awful lot. Sure some will slip through cracks but the rest of us can identify and help those. Lives are sacrosanct and highest priority as should be.

 

[The King!]

You can’t possibly think that? Trump being perfect for anything!! His narcissism has killed tens of thousand Americans. And now it’s reached the peak he wants to open for business again!!! which will kill tens of thousands more.

What more does a person need than job seeker job keeper or rental or mortgage moratoriums? That covers an awful lot. Sure some will slip through cracks but the rest of us can identify and help those. Lives are sacrosanct and highest priority as should be.

hope? fun? living life?


besides who wants a crappy job keeper for a few months hoping you keep a job long enough to repay all the interest you delayed on your home loan

 

[The King!]

the media reporting around trump is ridiculous makes it hard to follow, he was criticsed for closing the borders to china, now he has killed everyone

he may well be nuts, i dont follow him closely enough, but the media reporting is pretty slanted

 

[Jewelsbon]

You can’t possibly think that? Trump being perfect for anything!! His narcissism has killed tens of thousand Americans. And now it’s reached the peak he wants to open for business again!!! which will kill tens of thousands more.

What more does a person need than job seeker job keeper or rental or mortgage moratoriums? That covers an awful lot. Sure some will slip through cracks but the rest of us can identify and help those. Lives are sacrosanct and highest priority as should be.

I get your point Puke and I'm not disagreeing with you, and it's easy for me to say get everything open and get back to normal, I have no elderly, sick or infirmed relatives, but my point is that we need to strike the perfect balance. It's all for nought if we get the population healthy again but there's no work and the country (and world for that matter) is so broke that infrastructure is collapsing.

 

[caesar88]

the media reporting around trump is ridiculous makes it hard to follow, he was criticsed for closing the borders to china, now he has killed everyone

he may well be nuts, i dont follow him closely enough, but the media reporting is pretty slanted

I follow him closely. He was dropped on his head as an infant I'm certain of it.

Make no mistake about it the guy is a tyrant and a ******* idiot. And yes, it's possible to be both, because his tyranny stems from his ego, not his ambitions. His ego actually undoes a lot of his ambitions.

The closing of borders to China was a half-baked attempt to look productive (common sense would suggest blocking China would not block the virus from entering the US at all, given it had already spread around the world by that point.) He then claimed the virus was a hoax crafted by the Democrats, spoke to the American people and diminished the threat of the virus, claimed non-existent vaccines and cures existed (that ultimately led to several deaths), he only did a back-flip once his advisors suggested framing himself as a wartime President, and he used a press conference that is supposed to be about advising the country during a pandemic to defend himself and show a propaganda video.

He is every bit as bad as the media reports, and worse.

 

[The King!]

it is interesting how times change

like 50 -100'years ago politicians sent hundreds of thousands of young men to their deaths and its readily accepted

now its political suicide to look at not restricting a disease with a median death age of 74