The number of COVID cases in the US hit the 20 million milestone on the first day of 2021, even as the vaccines are being rolled out.
No it hasnât. When the NSW outbreak began a few weeks ago, WA initially re-classified the state as a âlow riskâ location instead of âvery low riskâ which meant people arriving to WA from there had to self-quarantine for 14 days. However, WA a few days ago moved Victoria to being a âmedium riskâ state and closing the border even though it (at the time of the move) had less cases than NSW did when they were transitioned a few weeks ago.
Agree with you that VIC has gone too far in not allowing locals to be able to come back and (at least) quarantine in their homes. However, think the hard closure has more to do with everything Victoria went through last year and how a lot of people just wouldnât be able to mentally go through a third lockdown if the current outbreak were to âget out of controlâ. Not to mention that you would think Andrews knows that his position might be âuntenableâ if he had to implement such a lockdown.
I am not good at percentages but is that roughly 5% of the population in the USA have had covid? Surely that daily cases is going to go down soon with the vaccine being rolled out.
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It is 6.3% of the US population - or a scarier way to look at it 1 in 15.9 people have/had it. It was just before Christmas when it was in 1 in 20.
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The only positive is that cases stabilised around 200k and didnât push into the 300k range like some predicted, albeit some states like California now have heavy restrictions which would be the reason for that. Although we are yet to see if there is any affect of Xmas/NYE.
I think itâs still a couple of months off from the vaccine rollout being available to the general population. Currently itâs prioritised to essential workers. Thereâs still a long 6 months ahead of them before that really kicks into gear.
This is exactly it. Victoria did it hard and we should be doing everything to ensure that was worthwhile and we stay this way. I generally am not a fan of border closures and think there should be some flexibility (mandatory testing from some areas etc) or they should only be short term till a better process is set up. However given the source of this cluster has been confirmed as Sydney and they have a lot of sporadic cases, I think that justifies it for now and we should do what it takes to make sure it doesnât happen here again until that is sorted out. Especially given the time of year and number of people travelling it just increases the risk.
One good thing about being at home in a regional area during the Xmas-New Year break as Greater Sydney is told to mask up - an abundance of disposable masks to take home. 
Just brought a pack of 50 and will buy another pack of 50 before I go home.
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Disposable? Get some ones you can wash. We keep forgetting about the environment throughout all of covid. And virus are created from how we treat the nature, animals and the environment.
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I have reusable ones, but I forget to take them. Itâs easier to have some spare in the car.
Maybe youâd be better explaining your point rather than calling out hypocrisy. Hypocrisy over what exactly?!
In the past King has had lung cancer, a heart attack, has had heart surgery, and had a stroke according to numerous reports.
QLD CHO says, that the Queensland borders to NSW and Victoria will remain open for now. Itâll be reassessed on January 8.
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I think QLD is handling it a lot better this time around. They have agreed to the hotspot definition and following that. I just wish the other states would do the same.
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A friend of mine travelled from Melbourne to Qld yesterday and was surprised that no-one took their temperature before their flight or once they landed in Qld. As she said, many shops in Melbourne wonât let you in without a temperature check so it seems odd that nothing was done on their arrival in Qld.
She also said that their hotel slipped a letter under their door overnight stating:
'Anyone currently in Queensland who has been in Victoria on or since 21 December should get tested immediately and quarantine at home or their accommodation until they receive a negative result.â
Unfortunately most people sheâs spoken with are taking âshouldâ as being optional, as opposed to if the letter had said they âmustâ get tested immediately. Unwilling to forego one day of their holiday, it appears very few people are planning on getting tested.
Iâm very surprised that QLD hasnât closed to NSW given the thresholds they had for opening up. At least they are somewhat balancing the risk with what is their peak tourist season. Although I wouldnât be surprised if that changed at very short notice but hopefully thereâs some common sense with particular areas/permits etc. Surely if Vic maintains cases that directly link to the cluster in the next few days then hopefully nothing needs to change there.
The media makes it look like some testing sites had big lines last night so at least some did it. I also know of someone in QLD and she is seemingly just continuing with her holiday (although she is back tomorrow so taking a test could mean missing a flight).
In regards to your comments on flights it seems the only measure that they have in place is to wear a mask regardless of where you are going. For my Vic/Adelaide flights last week there wasnât an empty seat. It just seems bizarre in todayâs environment and I think most would still travel and be willing to pay a bit more if they kept some empty seats here or there.
4.58pm
Victoria extends state of emergency as just 117 people get border exemptions
By Simone Fox Koob
The Victorian government has extended the state of emergency to January 29 due to the continuing risk COVID-19 poses to public health.
According to the health department, the Chief Health Officer made the recommendation to the Health Minister Martin Foley, who consulted with Police and Emergency Services Minister Lisa Neville and Emergency Services Commissioner Andrew Crisp, who approved the extension.
he Department of Health and Human Services also said 117 Victorians who are in NSW and applied for an exemption to return have had their application approved âfor reasons such as end of life circumstances or to attend a funeralâ.
The department received more than 1500 applications on Saturday alone. Of these, 654 required additional documentation. A negative COVID-19 test is required as part of the exemption application.
More than 60,000 Victorians returned across the border over the New Year period.
A total of 2406 Victorians are being managed as primary close contacts and 359 Victorians being managed as secondary close contacts from across the Mentone and Mitcham cluster and returning travellers from NSW.
The continual unfounded criticism of Victoriaâs current handling of the pandemic.
Maybe you misused the word hypocrisy. It doesnât make sense in that context.
Itâs evident that you think any criticism is unfounded and therefore cannot engage in any discussions about it without resorting to discrediting other peopleâs thoughts.
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No, I didnât. Think about it, it doesnât necessarily mean Iâm suggesting youâre a hypocrite, but the pile on for Victoria is becoming tiresome when itâs so far from the lived experience.
Apologies if youâre one who feels let down by us, weâll aspire to do better.
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My parents were tested at 1:30pm yesterday and received their negative result at 6:15am this morning. Is a 15.5 hour turn around good? All things considering the last few days in Victoria with testing capacity etc.
Thatâs pretty good, I think it is around 80% within 24 hours, 99% within 48 hours according to Jeroen Weimar yesterday.
Glad to hear it was negative, what prompted them to get tested?