Australia in a mess - NZ with a plan

[StartupRepair]

More than half of Australia is in lockdown now, sparked (imo) by the intransigence of the NSW Premier who ignored all warnings about Delta. Our procurement of and messaging around vaccines has been dangerously incompetent.
It all feels a bit bleak today. At least NZ seems to have a plan.

Collective punishment.

So much as I love to hate on Dictator Dan, that rule isn’t exactly correct. Two people from a family can exercise together with dependents, but that’s it. So if you lived with (say) grandparents, they can’t also walk/exercise with you.
I wonder what on Earth his thinking is behind such an insane rule.
It’s like he’s got some religious fervour, as you say, like we can appease the disease gods by a sacrifice of all things fun. What a noob.

The ironic thing about the Melbourne lockdown is that it may actually dissuade people from getting tested. They now know that he’s willing to do these crazy harsh lockdowns for even a tiny number of cases, so where’s the incentive for discovering the case? Like, there’s no difference in tactics between 20 case and 200 cases so what’s the point of even bothering to find any cases above 20?

It is a nasty little notation in the sub-clause as well. Sneaky and I would like to see it challenged.

There is no reason for such a law other than to make people's lives more stressful in an attempt to apply societal pressure on the 'rule breakers', same with the playgrounds.

Make everyone blame everyone else. Get them to turn on each other.

It’s probably politically expedient to say lockdowns will continue at 80% vaccination right now but I guarantee public opinion will change like the wind when it actually hits this level. Again look to the U.K. for inspiration
You will need someone high profile and ideally very pro lockdown breaking the rules in a ridiculous, hilarious and outrageous way for the scales to fall from peoples eyes. We had a few incidents that helped turn public opinion here in the U.K.. Dominic Cummings was the first with his eye sight testing drive to Barnard Castle. We also had professor lockdown Neil Ferguson himself inviting his married girlfriend over for an afternoon of data analysis and then of course Hansey Hancock snogging his also married advisor in his Department of Health office caught on (secret) camera and all plastered all over the news websites with a very funny video that everyone enjoyed. That camera footage had been captured and kept for a month waiting for the right moment to release it just in time for restrictions to lift
People then say eh? I’m double jabbed, I haven’t been to see my grandkids in a year, sod it, I’m off. If enough people do that, lockdown is over whatever the politicians say.

It was good to see a news report today on the real damage being done to children right now by the pandemic and lockdowns. Doctors and Psychologists are very concerned about huge increases in children reporting with serious mental health issues in Melbourne.

They even interviewed an expert saying that once 80% vaccination is reached Australia must open up and stay open to stop the very real harm being done to children?

@AllHailTheGreatGoddess

You have to understand *@Sagealicious*, carparks can be expensive.

Huh? Is this in reference to something?

It will change I agree. When in lockdown all pressure is downward.

It meant here all messaging reinforced it, until it actually could be lifted.

It’s a hard time because it makes it relentless

It certainly feels a bit like the tide is turning in the media - I think hearing Gladys intimating that we will still have restrictions after the 80% made people go “wtf?” as we have all been vaccinating in good faith that we’re going to have better freedoms once we reach that level.
If people think it will make no difference then they’ll stop bothering to follow them.
You’re right about the U.K. - everyone I know I’ve there was fully following the rules before Cummings and after that it was just a hard nope. Even my law abiding parents said they didn’t bother with staying local after that.

I remember yelling at Cummings on radio at press conference 😂

I felt so angry

But I did keep following rules. We’ve been compliant on the whole. I think probably not dissimilar to Aus

Maybe Gladys and Dan Andrews could be caught having a secret tryst more than 5km from their respective homes, maskless and sitting on swings in a taped off children’s playground and after 10pm at night
That would put the cat amongst the pigeons!

Well NZ s now doing a short sharp lockdown. Jacinda making it very clear that she will not go down the disastrous path of NSW.

Dans lockdown is to show the country how it 'should be done' so he can win over Gladys.

He can then tell the rest of us how if NSW did a Melbourne lockdown then we wouldn't be in this mess.

He also know that delta is brutal to eradicate, and can't be seen to fail so is pulling out every card he has in order to win.

I agree @beingsunny - that’s why he’s doing so many things “for show” rather than just focusing on the things that work.
NSW said today they aren’t showing the places where Covid positive people have been any more as there have been so few transmissions in shops etc. They said Covid is spreading at home, at work and in childcare so they will focus on that.
And then you have Dan closing outdoor playgrounds
Thing is, I don’t feel like Sydney is in a “mess” particularly (although I do think some things could have been done differently). I think we are just going through what every country will have to go through at some point. I don’t know how Dan will open up if he closes the whole city for 20 cases. I hope I’m wrong as I would like the whole country back to normal ASAP, vaccinated and through the worst of it.

Healthy Competition can be a good tool to use to motivate people and If states want to compete with each other, It should be over vaccine rates not harshness of lockdowns. Dan’s getting it back to front.

How is vaccinating going in NZ? Is Australia over 20% now?

I'm just sick of the competitive lockdown narrative, I'm a single mum with an 8yo boy who is an only child, all we do is go to the park, go for walks together and I work and try to homeschool. I have no family here, they are all in the UK enjoying school holidays. I'm juggling his mental well-being which isn't great now after all this time, bedtime is now more than an hour long as he needs me whereas 6 weeks ago I'd wave him off to bed and get on with my evening.

Now I have to worry all the time I'm standing around at the playground if I'm going to get a $5k fine because there is more than one mum standing 2 metres away chatting and checking in on one another.

Sorry it's been a long day.

@Planesandflying

How is vaccinating going in NZ? Is Australia over 20% now?

Vaccinations were starting to ramp up after a slow start. Now suspended for a couple of days as we’ve gone into lockdown. We have 23% fully vaxxed, 17% (including me) who’ve had 1 jab and 60% yet to have theirs.

Jacobean Ardern is barking MAD in her pursuit of the impossible.

At what point will she admit she's screwed up and open up as there'll be cases in NZ for ever unless they ban anyone ever coming in.

Honestly the woman doesn't appear to have a brain in her head.

(I’m in NZ btw)

@Planesandflying I think we’re at about 60% one jab and 30% double jabbed. Depends on the areas though. Where I live it’s pretty high and NSW is doing about 120,000 per day.

@Darkchocolateandcoffee

Jacobean Ardern is barking MAD in her pursuit of the impossible.

At what point will she admit she's screwed up and open up as there'll be cases in NZ for ever unless they ban anyone ever coming in.

Honestly the woman doesn't appear to have a brain in her head.

Well, there was a detailed report last week on when we’ll open up. When we have high vax rates and our health system won’t be overwhelmed. As I said in the above post, fully vaxxed rate is 23%.

Our total number of covid fatalities is 26. I’m perfectly happy with how it’s been dealt with.

@beingsunny
Sorry that sounds really hard
In the last lockdown here (UK) no socialising at all was allowed (exercising with one other person max) yet playgrounds were open. So we could take kids to the park - and sneakily arrange a time with a friend- but not officially speak to anyone!

That said, at no point did I see anybody issuing any fines for any breaking of any rule.

I have no idea how Australia and NZ will ever open up and accept the level of cases and deaths which will be inevitable once things open even if 100% are vaccinated!

More people will likely die everyday as part of normal life than they’re experiencing now
For uk the current death rate is so much lower than what we had

For Aus/NZ coming to terms with say 50 deaths a day - which will be the norm even when fully vaccinated - will be a difficult figure to accept

@Ozgirl75

I agree *@beingsunny* - that’s why he’s doing so many things “for show” rather than just focusing on the things that work. NSW said today they aren’t showing the places where Covid positive people have been any more as there have been so few transmissions in shops etc. They said Covid is spreading at home, at work and in childcare so they will focus on that. And then you have Dan closing outdoor playgrounds Thing is, I don’t feel like Sydney is in a “mess” particularly (although I do think some things could have been done differently). I think we are just going through what every country will have to go through at some point. I don’t know how Dan will open up if he closes the whole city for 20 cases. I hope I’m wrong as I would like the whole country back to normal ASAP, vaccinated and through the worst of it.

Shhh, Ozgirl you’re not following the narrative here. You should be horrified at the Covid numbers and shaking with fear that you’ll get Covid and die.

You should also wish that you have the mighty Dan Andrews for premier who is stopping Covid single handed with his curfew and playground closures