Australia vs UK

[JC17fj74]

Ok so I follow some celebrities and influencers on Insta who live in Australia, I've just watched their stories of them out yes that's right OUT in bars and clubs dancing, drinking and partying all close together having FUN 😫 Do you remember what it was like to go out and have Fun? 😂🤦🏻‍♀️
I understand Australia is the other side of the world but they had bad cases not so long ago didn't they?!
HOW are they at that stage where they even have bars and clubs open, let along be able to party with no masks inside in close proximity?!!!
I can't see us doing any of that anytime soon 😭
What are we doing wrong? Why are we in lockdown with no date or plan to get out of this hell when other countries are getting back to normal? Dubai is another one I've seen people enjoying life there too. But surely the Rona is still around in these countries?

My friend in Melbourne found lockdown very hard as she lives on her own. They went for a very different approach to us. We were talking about lockdown recently and at the time they locked down, we either had similar numbers or similar numbers per x of population. Look where they are and look where we are.

There have been a number of conversations where covid has come up - I can remember telling her about our narrow range of symptoms testing system, how kids were all going back with lip service measures, how we wouldn't even do a circuit breaker, how track and trace was, how many times I had to refresh the website to get a test a three hour round trip away, how it took five days to get a result, how people were being told to go back to the office in September, how the media portrayed parents trying to get tests, how instead of being grateful asymptomatic testing was carried out by universities, people were fucked off that truer numbers would be revealed and they go into a different tier, etc etc. She couldn't believe it and neither could I.

There are many differences between our populations etc, but ffs letting it run rife as it has just means we get the shitty end of the stick, with all the disadvantages of lockdowns etc, except with a fucked economy, an overwhelmed nhs, increased death rate and increased health issues, how we didn't ask people entering country to quarantine, how they could get on public transport, how many planes were coming in during lockdown with no measures or checks, how some people couldn't afford to isolate. I don't believe we should have gone for an eradication approach here, but there were a lot of options we could have taken to realistically minimise the spread a lot more. This would have saved lives, life expectancy (covid and other health issues not addressed because of rampant covid numbers) and reduce the impact on the economy.

As for the bitterness from some posters, I'm glad Australia handled it the way they have and didn't fuck up the way we have. They've worked bloody hard at the right time (rather than us at the wrong time) to get there. Many people here don't even isolate when they know they've got the virus (and I'm not talking about the ones that can't afford to put food on the table if they don't). The new variant makes things extra shitty, but come on, enough advice was ignored and stupidly reckless decisions were made long before the government were supposedly even aware of the nee variant. Schools are safe and opening primaries for one day post-Christmas - followed by lockdown that night. Reckless.

Having said all that, I'm v relieved about the vaccine!

I'm increasingly thinking that there are only 2 options which are "eradication" or "let it run rife". I don't think any degree of normalcy can be achieved that is compatible with an "acceptable" level of infections. The problem with eradication is that you cant ever open your borders unless it's eradicated everywhere.

our population realising if we put in the hard yards we get the reward
This has made me really cross. The UK population have also "put in the hard yards". It's hardly Joe public's fault that the government refused to close borders, didn't implement a track and trace system and only "suggested" that people should quarantine.

@sortmylifeoutpleasr
"We" meaning the UK public, couldn't have done anything different to stop this. The government made decisions like sending kids back to school, locking down too late, not paying people to isolate and other things you mentioned. There is nothing that "we", you and I, could do about this.
Saying that "they" in australia have worked hard. The Australian people followed the rules when told to. The people in the UK followed the rules when told to. Its hardly our fault that the people making the rules were incompetent. This is NOT our fault, but the failure of the UK government.

We had our tough lockdown, compulsory masks and free testing sites everywhere. Pubs and gyms, schools and non essential shops all SHUT. Couldn’t believe in the UK pubs just closed a little earlier?!!!
We had a lockdown with all these things closed as well pubs were closed completely from March to July. At least get your facts straight

@chocorange I agree. The "we" and "they" were to separate countries. Viruses are clever and will do their thing. My blame for how widespread it is though is laid firmly at the government's door re:approach, with a couple of exceptions e.g. people that refuse to isolate and people that aren't exempt but just refuse to wear masks (excluding those that can't afford to isolate, which again is linked to government policy).

@Insert1x20p I think I read somewhere that they didn't close borders because it had such a negligible rate on the r-number, with a big impact on the economy. However, negative tests and/or quarantine could have been put in place - would have affected the economy, but probably a lot less than letting it run rife.

They shut the boarders and had restrictions in place even when cases were very very low. Can you imagine that here? People are already moaning that children should be back in school (which I do fully understand the reasons why). But that’s why Oz are where they are. Because they went hard.

I don't think the cases in Australia are comparable with the cases in the UK at all. Where community transmission has been detected here, quick, strict lockdowns have been quickly put in place to prevent spread. In honesty, I think that life over here has been pretty normal for some time with the exception of travelling interstate or abroad. Here in NSW we've had the compulsory mask rule lifted from today.

My north Queensland city of 150,000 hasn’t had a case since mid 2020. On the outside, all looks normal. Schools, pubs, clubs open. Families out and about. But our city relies on tourism and the economic damage will be enormous. So things are good in some ways, but for a city that COVID barely touched, it will still have managed to destroy the livelihoods of thousands of residents.

What is the UK doing wrong? How long have you got? Australia has had some fairly unsavoury people leading them (think the one who put his arm around the Queen, their treatment of native Australians until this century, think the one with budgie smugglers), but compared with the part-time man with no morals in the UK, all could have been better for us in the pandemic.

Out current prime minister is a tool and has very little to do with the success of our approach. He was hesitant to introduce restrictions and had some terrible, confusing press conferences before the state premiers decided to take action.

The federal government keeps piping up about easing restrictions etc, but they largely get ignored and the states get on with their own work.

UK is not doing anything 'wrong' - look at his cases are going elsewhere is Europe, notably Germany where cases are rocketing and where it's winter.

Australia is a large island in the middle of nowhere which already has quarantine arrangements for many goods and living creatures (easy to expand) Lower population density, not a travel hub, fairly self sufficient.

Also, it's the middle of the summer there, with very strong sunlight - the absolute opposite if the cool, damp winter virus season

Stunned that anyone living in Europe, particularly the U.K. can even think of being critical Australia in any way .
Death toll of 100 k plus is sad and shameful.
I applaud them for keeping their citizens safe .

Meanwhile in the U.K social media message boards are full of people of moaning that they can’t get abroad for their summer holidays 😢

What everyone else has said, and also sewage in Australia is constantly tested to see if any regions could possibly have COVID cases without people realising it. Pretty sure it’s tested daily or at least a few times a week. So that’s also a reassurance that the region you live in, is covid free. Or, now and then something might show up in the sewage and we all get told to test even if you have no symptoms.

The a large regional area I live in had one or two cases early last year but nothing else. I’ve never had a covid test, either has my partner and two of my kids. My third child has had two covid tests.

It’s not all perfect though, we can’t travel overseas or sometimes into the next state. Was able to travel back and forth to NZ (I think without quarantining but I’m not sure as they keep changing it). There’s stuff on like tennis, cricket, sport type events but not everything is back to full capacity. Theatre/drama productions are slowly returning but that industry has been hard hit. Music festivals aren’t really back although you can certainly go to the pub for a pub band.Tourism operators have struggled but others haven’t, it just depends where you are located and if your market relied too heavily on international tourists rather than the domestic ones.

Australian prime minister is a mediocre idiot and in the early days he was swayed by Bojo musing about herd immunity and 'living with the virus'. Luckily we have had strong leaders at the state level who realised that going into early hard lockdown would save lives.

I'm in QLD. As long as you don't want to leave the state or country life is almost 'normal'. There's some restrictions, like not going into school classrooms, capacity signs on everything indoors.

We won't leave the state though. Our state premiers slams the border shut as soon as a single case arises. I agree with it, but it's tough for people who have loved ones interstate & tourism is struggling because no one will risk booking flights in case they get caught out.

I think in my 110k city there was a grand total of 3 cases & one scare from an infected visitor.

Vaccinations start next month. Most adults expected to be vaccinated by October. It's been very efficiently worked out & which vaccine goes where due to storage etc. The lack of urgency makes it easier I suppose.

"Australia is a large island in the middle of nowhere which already has quarantine arrangements for many goods and living creatures (easy to expand) Lower population density, not a travel hub, fairly self sufficient."

And what about all the countries that are the opposite of those factors in every way and yet don't have the death tolls and cases of Europe and the US?

Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, China, Vietnam...

The problem is shitty leadership and no testing and bad healthcare and no systems in place. And supreme arrogance in thinking that if the UK fucks up, it's because things are out of our hands.

It's freezing cold in much of Asia right now. Countries like Korea and Japan have far higher population densities than anywhere in Europe, and a more elderly population. And yet, nothing like the numbers in Europe.

You should be protesting, not making excuses for your shitty government letting thousands of people die.

They've worked bloody hard at the right time (rather than us at the wrong time) to get there

It’s ongoing work as well. Every day positive cases turn up in hotel quarantine. Quarantine is enforced, people try to bend the rules all the time. When community cases turn up here and there, even if just 1 there is an instantaneous public health response to identify all contacts and encourage anyone who has potentially had contact to test. As mentioned upthread, sewage is tested frequently to identify any asymptomatic viral shedding.

It’s really not : Australia closed its borders and that was all. It’s an intensive, dynamic process and people have worked hard to ensure day-to-day life has been fairly normal. The wider country is very grateful to Melbourne for enduring the second lockdown which was very strict, but worked.

Vaccines are being rolled out, as I started up thread I will get mine next month and at the recommended dosing interval.

@Forgetmenot157 - what a charming little ignorant person you are! Your jealousy is showing for all to see.

@peak2021

What is the UK doing wrong? How long have you got? Australia has had some fairly unsavoury people leading them (think the one who put his arm around the Queen, their treatment of native Australians until this century, think the one with budgie smugglers), but compared with the part-time man with no morals in the UK, all could have been better for us in the pandemic.

Actually the former leaders that you mention are one person - Tony Abbott MP was the one who put his arm around the Queen ( shock horror !) and also the one who wore budgie smugglers in the surf.

He is now joint president of Britain’s relaunched Board of Trade, tasked with drumming up deals for Britain around the world.

You're welcome !

@nolongersurprised good post. I think a lot of people in the UK struggle with the idea that things could have been better here because it feels like criticism. So they need to believe that there is some one simple factor (island, long way away, better climate) that other countries have that we don't. Pointing out differences in things like testing regimes just upsets them.

[quote Porcupineintherough]@nolongersurprised good post. I think a lot of people in the UK struggle with the idea that things could have been better here because it feels like criticism. So they need to believe that there is some one simple factor (island, long way away, better climate) that other countries have that we don't. Pointing out differences in things like testing regimes just upsets them.[/quote]
This.

And as much as I've posted on this thread I'm fucking annoyed at the adversarial title. The OP mentioned Dubai but quelle surprise, no-one took them up on this.

@peak2021

What is the UK doing wrong? How long have you got? Australia has had some fairly unsavoury people leading them (think the one who put his arm around the Queen, their treatment of native Australians until this century, think the one with budgie smugglers), but compared with the part-time man with no morals in the UK, all could have been better for us in the pandemic.

Utter bollocks.

Abbott has had nothing to do with the pandemic in Australia. Do you know anything about what has been going on here?

Get going on the real movers and shakers: write about the premiers of the states and territories and what they did or didn't do.