Are you in Australia? Have you changed your behaviour as we have so few cases?

[Ozgirl75]

I’m in Sydney and I think we had a total of 4 new cases countrywide yesterday.

We are still at home etc but I must say I’m feeling a lot more relaxed now and I’m seeing loads more people out and about. I had my hair cut yesterday and the shopping centre was fairly normal. Roads were pleasingly quiet at 5pm though - almost the best of both worlds!

I hope SA, WA, Queensland and TAS will be open to NZ tourists soon (and vice versa). We need your tourism dollar; you need ours.

very much so, especially after the fires in here in SA
Someplaces were looking good in recovery terms as people were jumping on the holiday/support local campaign then corona hit
Hell this whole country relies heavily on tourism as an industry

@ajandjjmum sorry you hear you didn’t get to Oz this time! Are you expecting to spend 2 weeks in quarantine at Christmas before being able to see your son? I’m wondering if international travellers won’t bother as being holed up in a hotel room for 2 weeks won’t be worth it for most.

The goal should be no cases that are untraced and uncontrolled, not no cases

Well yes, I do realise that as you will see if you read my other posts. It was a throwaway comment about what would be a feel-good moment for South Australia.

Notdonna
I think if the 2 weeks quarantine is still in place, we probably won't come - as you say, stuck in a hotel with no access to outdoors wouldn't be fun. We booked a second lot of flights for April next year yesterday, incase Christmas can't happen. I do realise that we're lucky to be able to do this - the flights are all refundable.

Such mixed feelings for all of us at this time. Totally respect the action that Australia has taken - and seemingly the good result - but so want to see my little boy!

I just long for the SA border to be open so I can visit my mother. I understand the reasons for keeping it closed but can't wait for the day that Victoria:s numbers are good enough for us to move across.

COVID tested at work yesterday as part of screening health care workers in Victoria. That was not pleasant.
I hope it means we can get out more.
I have noticed a lot of cars on the road this week.
DD2 works in a shopping centre and said she was flat out yesterday.
I think people in Victoria are lifting their own lockdown.

So we were informed today that our DC are going back to school on 19th May. I think it's too early personally, but trust that the school are working in the best interests of the children, so we will comply with this.

Ours are back full time from 11 May although the first 2 weeks are basically optional whether you go back to class or do it online.

Dear god, I appear to be warming to Brad Hazzard. At this point I will be a bloody liberal by the end of the year.

@Ozgirl75 We were a bit disappointed to hear that tbh, we had assumed they would resume face to face teaching from the 11th. DD will be going in anyway, she went to school the other day as the Senior library is open if they want to work there. She was so happy,

@Weenurse, I was going to ask if anyone here had been tested. I wanted everyone in the family to get tested as DIL is pregnant and I thought it would be good to know for sure that we are all clear, but then I heard it's a pretty horrid experience. Is it "unpleasant" or "hurts like hell don't do it"?

You think that’s bad Lies, yesterday I texted my parents to ask if they had downloaded the app. I’ve become one of Morrison’s minions and I feel a bit dirty for it but needs must.

It does frustrate me that’s he’s going down the ‘if not enough of you download the app you won’t get your freedoms back road’. It’s like being back at primary school and the teacher saying nobody can go to lunch until whoever stole the missing scissors owns up. The early mark comments don’t help.

Then you get the idiots that say ‘but I don’t go to the pub so I don’t care if they reopen or not’. I don’t go to the pub much either but people work at pubs and own and run pubs and they’re bleeding right now. Plus I do like going to local cafes with my family and my dog and would love to get back there soon and support them.

@SnowsInWater I have a very responsive gag reflex so gagged during the tonsils swab. Then they swab up your nose so it feels like they are trying to get to your brain.
I left that room eyes streaming.
At least I know she was very conscientious in getting to the correct points to swab.

@SnowsInWater my husband was tested last week. He was really anxious about the nasal swab so he took some Valium and I drove him to the clinic! But he said it wasn't that bad. Unpleasant not awful.

@SnowsInWater so are they not doing face to face teaching in senior? In junior they are back to face to face teaching from 11 May, I must say I thought it was the whole school but maybe that’s their phasing in.

Thanks for the testing stories, in my naivety I thought it was just an easy swab - not sure I will be able to get the family on board 😁

@Ozgirl75 I just have the last e-mail from school saying everyone is welcome back but that for weeks 1 and 2 everyone will be following the online timetable whether they are physically there or not then face to face with limited extra curricular from week 3. As long as they can go in I guess we just have to trust that they will do what's best once they are there!

What a surprise, turns out the app not quite synced with the states yet.

My kids school will back then too. They are going to do temperature checks every morning.

The swabs aren't that bad. I get them done time to time because of a lung condition. It's very quick.

It is definitely busier in Victoria! More cars on the road, my husband went to box hill today to do the food shop (we have just moved near there) and said it was actual busy. More children back at childcare... the next announcement had better be clear on next steps for easing distancing or people will decide on their own.

It does frustrate me that’s he’s going down the ‘if not enough of you download the app you won’t get your freedoms back road’

Its a flat out lie when he says that
He cant keep Aus shut indefinatly, economy is already in the shit
The magic number of downloads is still way off whats supposedly needed yet restrictions are easing up, even talks of opening up with NZ

Which just adds to my level of distrust, he lies about us HAVING to download to secure freedom, so what else is he lieing about with the app?

So it seems that so far we seemed to have dodged a bullet, but it’s not over yet and we could have another spike.

I hope we open the border with NZ soon, but I hope our borders with other countries stay shut until well into next year. What do others think?

I’m concerned about DS in year 12 this year. He’s wanted to be a pilot since he was a little kid now I’m thinking are job prospects in that industry going to be decreasing, and is it a bad idea to load himself up with a hecs debt of $120k? I just don’t know what to advise him if he starts uni next year.

I’m also confused as in nsw school is pretty much going back next week. Yet the uni my daughter goes to (also in nsw) has confirmed there will be NO on campus classes for her semester two which is a July to October, everything is online only.

I agree there are way better resources for private school kids versus public. My kids are public and best friends private. Yeah 12 seems reasonably equal but younger kids in year 8 definitely have support and work in private but way less in the public system. This was not so apparent before the pandemic.

Primary and high schools are going back IMO for childcare.

Dh and I have downloaded the Covid Safe app. I don't really get why you wouldn't. Do you not think FB, IG and WhatsApp don't have more information on us for less reason

Do you not think FB, IG and WhatsApp don't have more information on us for less reason confused

I dont have any of them, add into that twitter, tiktok whatever the latest app is

this is my post on another site as to why i wont download
Amazon have the contract for data storage, aussie companies were turned down. That allows the US access to data under their laws. If our data is held in a company based there, they have access
I dont keep bluetooth on, battery drain and open door to phone, even gps is off
I dont trust it only collects what they telling us
I dont trust it can be truly deleted, like icon may go but is app now just invisible
I dont trust the app code cant be altered so camera and mic are tapped into
I think letting the government think this is ok is a slippery slope of tracking innocent people.
There supposed to be no coersion or threatning to download yet scomo has said if we want restrictions to life, we should download. To me thats a threat and coersion of download or we keep you locked down.
The Aus government has proven a crap tech record

Most people have FB or IG or WhatsApp.

My Bluetooth is on all the time so I can answer my phone when driving.

So it's really down to you just don't trust it. Fair enough. I would like everyone to download it so that if I come into contact with someone who has CV I'll know ASAP.

The app will be deleted from my phone once CV vaccination is ready.

Pass the legislation and release the source code then I will make a decision.

Personally: "Download the App and we will let you out" reads an awful lot like a contravention of Section 9(2) of the supporting Regulation (Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) (Emergency Requirements—Public Health Contact Information) Determination 2020).

I also don't think an app is an appropriate use of the emergency powers in the 477(1) Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth).

That should obviously be section 477(1) of the Biosecurity Act 2015 (Cth).

This is a big deal, they are asking citizens to trust that the Government will not seek to access information on who they have been near for extended periods without their consent. If you can't see the obvious dangers in a Government (that is the body capable of making actions/meetings illegal/imposing sanctions) having the capacity to see who you have been with then I don't know how to explain it to you.

There is also the fact that the Australian Government is bad at this stuff. They fuck it up regularly. Again, if you can't imagine the scenario where the data on who has been meeting who and when is useful to other actors who have managed to obtain it illegally then I can't explain that either.

The App does not need to be rushed so much that there is pressure applied to Australians to do this in the absence of legislation.

If it is safe for my children to be piled into school with hundreds of others then it is safe enough for Parliament to meet in those enormous rooms/via LANs/online, whatever and do this properly.