Thread: Corona Virus

Originally Posted by bob10

Thousands refuse testing in Melbourne, claiming coronavirus is a conspiracy, and will not impact on them. I'm trying to find the words to comment on that, but there just aren't any, are there? I know one thing. We don't want them up here. Under any circumstances.

"We have had more than 10,000 people who have refused to be tested, now that might before a range of reasons. It is concerning … that some people believe that coronavirus is a conspiracy or that it won't impact on them," Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.

Thousands refuse testing despite hotspot lockdown

Those nutters are everywhere, but I understand what you mean Bob, they are the ones who will spread it, then express alarm and confusion when they do become ill.

Like old mate here.
"Here we are at the end of June and I get it. It doesnt make any sense?"
A leader of protests to reopen Maryland says he is ill with COVID-19

Originally Posted by rick130

"Here we are at the end of June and I get it. It doesnt make any sense?"

Gee, thanks for posting these words of wisdom, Rick.
As if I don't have enough to philosophise about already!

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

I'm told that on Friday arvo people who turned up with the outdated A pass at the northbound checkpoint were being diverted off to the side lane there, told to apply for the new pass on their phones, get the email and show it on their phones, as they obviously couldn't print it out as previously required.
Our daughter works for a company which sends Brisbane crews south over the border every day and they have to have current passes to re-enter Qld.
So it wasn't a stuff-up, the system was planned to work that way.

Qld fears " smuggled Victorians ". This is getting rediculous. Those impacted by the new border restrictions should have patience. It will take time to get it sorted, and just remember you are not the centre of the Universe, there is a bigger picture.

Queensland fears ‘smuggled Victorians’

Further north, Queensland police said they would randomly stop freight and heavy vehicles crossing the border to check they aren’t hiding Victorians or anyone travelling from the southern state.
The move comes as Queensland prepares to open its doors to all states and territories – except Victoria – from July 10.
“We’ve already had people try to test the system all the way through, so we’re just going to make it really certain that people aren’t doing that,” State Disaster Coordinator Steve Gollschewski said on Friday.
“The real key to this is the infections are currently in Victoria.
“If we can make sure none of those people that have got that infection get into this state without being detected, we’ll be in a really good space.”
From noon on July 10, anyone entering Queensland must state that they have not travelled to Victoria in the previous 14 days. Those who have can either return or go into quarantine at their own expense.
“Because this is a new system, we expect this to be pretty lumpy and difficult for the first couple of days, if not the first week,” Deputy Police Commissioner Gollschewski said.

Just in case you were wondering, what to make of the new h1n1 Swine Flu.

Alert but not alarmed: what to make of new H1N1 swine flu with 'pandemic potential' found in China

Originally Posted by bob10

Thousands refuse testing in Melbourne, claiming coronavirus is a conspiracy, and will not impact on them. I'm trying to find the words to comment on that, but there just aren't any, are there? I know one thing. We don't want them up here. Under any circumstances.

"We have had more than 10,000 people who have refused to be tested, now that might before a range of reasons. It is concerning … that some people believe that coronavirus is a conspiracy or that it won't impact on them," Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said.

Thousands refuse testing despite hotspot lockdown

I thought this one might get a run on here - it's an oddly round figure don't you think? Also, it came from Jenny Mikakos who should've been sacked at the start because she's so clearly out of her depth. It was Mikakos who publicly savaged Missy Higgins' father for being infected and working as a doctor when as he and the AMA pointed out under the criteria for her testing regime he wasn't even supposed to be tested. This is the same Health Department that I spent two days trying to get through to only to be told that I wouldn't be tested, even though I was in a high risk group. Now, they admit that I should've been tested. Because I had severe influenza symptoms and had been working near Circular Quay. Whoops.

Anyway:

1. You can't "refuse" testing when it's voluntary;

2. Do they mean that they went door to door and 10,000 people said no? I doubt that they've been to that many homes.

3. Do they mean that 10,000 people walked past testing stations and said no? Again, I doubt it.

4. Who was keeping count? How were they keeping count?

5. How many of them said that it was a conspiracy?

And so on - it really doesn't stack up.

What I do know for a fact is that the other night I stood outside a hospital in the dark and the cold for an hour - with a ****load of other people - to get tested. I know that people have queued in their cars for up to 4 hours to be tested. Apparently over 800,000 people have now been tested.

Do you know what I think we need? Fewer of the comments based on some putative but imaginary differences between people in different States. Fewer comments based on clearly flawed, unverified throwaway comments from political hacks wildly out of their depth and their incompetent departments. And way, way, less finger-pointing.

Oh, and here's the bit that was left out of the earlier quote:


That might be for a range of reasons, including that they may have already been tested in a different location, we are analysing that data to see exactly why people are refusing


Bit of a jump to say that they don't know why people are not being tested but then immediately say that it's due to conspiracy theories.

Apparently some people refused to have their children tested because it was painful, which I can understand in a way, but that's why Victoria is trialling a new less painful throat swab test. Besides, as a parent, I would want my children to be safe, so I would want them tested, even if it was briefly painful.

I do feel sorry for the poor old Victorians as this could happen anywhere and still might. Really, the rest of us should be grateful to the Victorians for going through this trauma for the good of the country.

Its not the fault of the 300,000 in those postcodes. Its not even fair to blame Serco's security guards at the Stamford Plaza either, maybe they weren't trained in infection control, I'm sure they didn't mean to take it home and infect their families.
Many of them are probably casuals, like 30% of Aussie workers now, who don't get paid sick leave and need every shift they can get to pay their bills, so I can understand them ignoring a sniffle and going to work.
And then, just to top it off, Qld pinches six Victorian AFL teams. What a blow!

Originally Posted by bob10

I know one thing. We don't want them up here. Under any circumstances.

The level of aggro being directed towards Victorians by people in other States is becoming an issue here - I've seen a couple of articles about in the last week.

So, Bob10, you may get your wish - I suspect that lots of Victorians will in the future choose to holiday elsewhere - Fiji, for example, is cheaper and friendlier - but there are plenty of businesses in Qld and NSW that will suffer as a result. You may not realise the extent to which the tourism industry in Queensland is being propped up at the moment by JobKeeper, debt forbearance by the banks and direct loans from the Federal Government, but when that all starts to end from September onwards there will likely be a huge surge in insolvencies and bankruptcies.