So how come Australia is still locked down?

[Teddypops]

So Australia has approx 20 new cases a day and barely no deaths.

So how come they are still locked down?

But that's just a technicality. They have to say that because they can't prove the opposite

@Focalpoint yep i do.

But think about it. The majority of viruses and coronaviruses give immunity to people once they have had them and created the antibodies. This virus is mutating sloooowly. A vaccine relies on immunity which the whole world including the WHO is relying upon. So my personal conclusion is that the likelihood is very high. Not conclusive. But high.

Anyway the WHO said there was no evidence of human to human transmission as late as 23 Jan. They like to hedge their bets. Looking back I remember they were building additional hospitals in Wuhan then. So I made my own conclusion. This transmits human to human and so bought masks despite what the WHO said

Bools right that it’s very likely for most of the population. The key will be checking it so you know who’s not - vaccinations like tb I think people get checked if it’s worked then get another if it hasn’t, and knowing how long it works for. A few years hopefully but given its a coronavirus it does seem quite possible that more regular boosters would be needed than some vaccines. Regular boosters is pretty hard to do for vaccinating the 3rd world unfortunately.

But it’s really far from certain they can make an effective vaccine.

@JazzyTheDog - I know just what you mean. I saw an item about VE day on the news last night (in NZ) and it was said that street parties had been cancelled and only a few socially distanced gatherings were going ahead. I had just read the thread you linked to and was simply astounded!

In South Australia we've not actually BEEN in lockdown.
There were no official restrictions on how often people went out...or shopped

Yep, our schools didn't technically close either, we had the choice to send or not. Our playgrounds not roped off. As of Monday our caravan parks and camp grounds open. We also the only state who allowed groups of 10 people. It was all recommendations and our premier saying they won't be inforcing fines or whatever that were advised on a national level
Went to shops yesterday in city, busy as, saw in-laws and dd cousins. Roads were busy. The only thing we waiting on really is pubs to open and AFL to start back up lol
Got McDonald's for dinner

from some far off back water
That's nice dear, insult all you want, just remember - enjoy your essential shops and exercise only trips while we get to almost do as we please in the backwater. Visiting family, kids in school, sitting on a park bench, going to shops to browse
This backwater is only just sitting round 100 deaths but yeah such a horrid backwater..... how many the UK at alone?

I’m in nsw, and we still cannot drive 20 mins from home to the nearest beach.

That only applies to coastal/tourist areas and i think it’s stopping in a week or so anyway. I’m in Sydney and you can drive anywhere outside your local area and not be stopped, how do they even enforce it? I’ve driven up and down the coast a few times on errands and the only time I’ve seen or heard this being policed was over Easter. Even on the motorways/highways/freeways, lots of cars.

I’m in NSW too and we’ve never been told how far we can travel from our home - only that we should “stay local”. And we can now visit people in their homes and there’s no restrictions on distance.

With the police enforcing not driving 20 mins from home to the beach where I live in northern nsw, they’re definitely enforcing it. Police post on their Facebook page each day so and so from town a was fined for going to the beach in town b etc. And a few weeks ago before they stopped responding to individual messenger queries were we were advised by them that we could not travel 20 mins to our nearest boat ramp and launch the boat as it was “outside” our local area, it just crossed into the next council region so that may have been why.

We do live in a popular tourist region (near Byron) so it’s not surprising though and as much as I hate not being able to go to the beach or national parks it’s only a few weeks out of our lives and more importantly I don’t know if any friends or family or even twice removed acquaintances who’ve had Coronavirus (not to make less of those who died but from a personal level I don’t know anyone at all).

It looks like we’ll be granted a few more freedoms in a few days though

Makes sense - I’m in Sydney and maybe they just realised they couldn’t police it here.

Australia has had a problem with introduced pathogens causing severe economic damage in the past, I'm thinking more about threats to agriculture like rabbits, cane toads and other pests and diseases. It's really prominent when you arrive in Oz, that you have to make sure you haven't brought anything into the country that could damage the ecosystem, even soil under your shoes. There may be a bigger picture mentality there about these things, hence the early lockdown.

They had also just got over apocalyptic bush fires so the government was under pressure to get this absolutely right.

Thousands of lives will have been saved.

Unfortunately though I think their economy might still be just as fucked as everyone elses.

Really happy with Dan's announcement for Victoria.

I think it's a good tentative step.

Sorry wrong thread but still very happy with our lockdown announcement

Tittysprinkles I agree that the after the bushfire public backlash federal government was under real pressure not to fuck this off to.

Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be the federal govt so much as the individual state govts who've led the charge, as it were. For which I'm grateful, believe me! I'd be happier if Scummo had got his act together earlier, but I'm grateful the states decided to impose more stringent measures off their own bat.

The state premiers have been amazing. So impressed with them

They’ve been toying with the idea of eradication rather than just suppressing the illness. Australia never went into a full lockdown in the first place and now they’re lifting restrictions as appropriate in a wait and see strategy to see how this will affect infection rates. If they increase substantially I would imagine that the states where that has occurred will tighten restrictions again.

I'm in the US. I don't understand why we are starting to lift lockdowns when the UK locked down before us and aren't unlocking yet.

Lots of folks here love Dan Andrews but I think he can fuck off to whatever misogynist hole he crawled out of. We never had a REAL lockdown (which we bloody well should have, if we had COVID would basically be gone in Australia by now). The way the restrictions have been applied in VIC have disproportionately affected women, too. Construction allowed near homes, making home school and work a hell on earth. This specious shit about opening up for visiting three days after mothers day and sorting out the footy before, you know, schools, the thing that educate one million children in Victoria really boils my piss. I'm not anti-lockdown, I am really PRO lockdown, but fuck me this omnishambles we've had here hasn't bloody BEEN lockdown, it's been fucking over women and children to make rich men richer.

Don't agree. I think the pandemic has highlighted every inequality in our society including ridiculous expectations on women. That's not Dan's fault. He has been measured and science driven which is more than you can say for Scomo.

This is the situation in Kuwait. We have just gone into full lockdown mode yesterday as cases have been increasing. We are only allowed out between 4.30pm-6.30pm for walking (bikes or cars aren't allowed) and gloves and masks are required. You can go to the supermarket every 6 days, but you need to make an appointment to do so and only one member per household can go. Schools are closed till at least September.

It is shit jill be prepared for the long haul both mentally and physically. My advice is to make those two hours count, and never miss your walk, make sure you have plenty of food stocked up. Buy more fresh food than you think you will need, and take good care of your mental health.

Week nine here, and it is hard. You will get through it

Agree @StartupRepair

It's not 3 days after Mother's Day @CallItLoneliness, it's 24 hours after the state of emergency restrictions come to an end.

Give your head a fucking wobble

It's obvious you've got some construction work going on near you which is obviously boiling your piss. But I'm glad my DC aren't being sent back to school as guinea pigs thanks.