This is simply not needed. NSWās hardline contact tracing approach is working - weāve avoided a major outbreak for the past 12 months and it seems we will this time around.
Now this I can get behind. My hometown of Bathurst, and neighbouring towns of Orange and Dubbo are seeing record growth, skyrocketing house prices, dozens of new businesses opening up like never before and major development that the three towns have seen before, despite a global pandemic. Iāll admit, weāve got it very good out here, but our very close proximity to Sydney and the Blue Mountains puts us at risk.
How many cases are not linked to current clusters though? This is where you need to determine what measures are proportionate. Iām glad they have implemented masks, there are probably some minor restrictions more that they could implement (smaller gatherings, density limits etc) or localised restrictions if necessaryā¦ but this has not blown up beyond anything NSW hasnāt controlled before. Shutting down an entire city for a short period now is not necessarily going to stop these small pockets of cases.
i been thinking about this as my parents are in self iso in wa due to the Sydney breakout spilling into victoria and they got into wa on the 30th of December 2020 and because the Sydney outbreak first got into VIC on the 21s of December are in iso for two weeks. I do think and IMO both NSW liberal and VIC labour parties are to blame. NSW IMO should have been tougher on this, lockdowns etc )locking down the northern beaches area. and the labour party of victoria for knowing this was going on and not closing the border sooner than when they did. to me, it was a little to late when they did close the border after talking about it for more than a week. I think it should have been closed even before the 21st of December
I have a medical condition that prevents me from wearing a face mask, do I need a medical certificate stating I donāt need to wear a face mask?
You do not need a medical certificate stating that you have a lawful reason for not wearing a face mask. If you have a lawful reason for not wearing a face mask, you do not need to apply for an exemption or permit.
If you are stopped by police in a setting where masks are mandatory, they will ask you to confirm the lawful reason you are not wearing a face mask.
so if I tell a police officer I have asthma and a dr has told me i donāt need a mask because of it which a dr has, how would the police officer know???
There is one slight problem with the Mask Rule. All the Anti Maskers in Sydney would just descend on Bowral/Kiama just to avoid the Compulsory Mask rule
Masks are a sensible precaution but as outlined in todayās press conference there is only 2 instances noted where the virus was transmitted on Sydney public transport.
The highest risk settings in Sydney are in hospitality and in private homes. Given that masks cannot be worn while eating and drinking in hospitality venues and are not worn in private homes, itās unlikely masks will make much difference.
Well so far itās just the one outbreak and thatās isolated just to the Black Rock restaurant. If the current outbreak is contained and no further outbreaks emerge, I donāt think QLD will close the border to Victoria. The same can be said with SA, TAS, NT and ACT and their borders to Victoria.
WA closed the border WAY too quick in my opinion. It seems even one case of community transmission emerges, they close the border to that state. Doesnāt matter how small, big or how quickly itās contained. It is ridiculous.
Iām genuinely surprised that QLD havenāt shut the border to all of NSW or declared Metro Melb a hotspot but will give them credit as slamming shut border is not the right thing to do.
Iām very disappointed in VICs actions, it is disproportionate to the risk presented by the outbreak in NSW and a complete waste of resources. I have no problem with hotspot definitions but entire border closures are pathetic.
The nine sites are Smile Buffalo Thai Restaurant at Black Rock, the Royal Brighton Yacht Club, the Sons of Maryās Restaurant at Brighton and the Village Century City at Glen Waverley, the Holy Family Parish at Doveton, the Albert and Co cafe at the Bellevue Hotel, the pool area and the bar at the Esplanade Resorts at Lakes Entrance, and the Woodlands Golf Club at Mordialloc.
Melbourneās Yarra Trams has confirmed a maintenance worker at the Malvern depot was among the 10 coronavirus cases recorded on Friday in Victoria. The worker tested positive after attending a public exposure site and had no interaction with passengers or the public.
That is the policy of the controlled border at this point in relation to community transmission and the same guidelines have been applied consistently between the SA and NSW outbreaks, and the VIC community cases - canāt say the state hasnāt been consistent. As has been stated many times before, it has widespread community support and regardless of what other states think it has been an effective mechanism and will continue to at least appear that way if the state continues to report zero community cases.
Iām surprised the media hasnāt dug in harder on the total refusal of entry to all individuals in NSW, even to those who normally live in VIC. Not even WA has gone this far previously.
Yep itās insane to go so far as to prevent your own citizens returning to their home. Theyāve gone way to far and the sentiment online from a lot of people blaming those who travelled is absolute bullshit.
I know itās the whole gotcha mantra but it would be interesting to see how quick the other states would shut borders to WA if they were to get community transmission as some stage.
Shouldnāt anyone who attended those 9 locations have been isolating / getting tested anyway? Seems like a pointless announcement for Tasmania to make but at least itās not a full border closure.
If cases in Vic remain linked to close contacts in isolation, there are no mystery / unknown source cases and the Vic Govt are confident they have the wool wrapped around it then there should not be any further border closures. Itās just too disruptive to everyone when thereās no evidence of anything being widespread.
