Coronavirus in Australia

[By The Bay]

Unbelievable.

 

Things will change quickly now. From the W.H.O. "Dr Tedros called on all countries to take "urgent and aggressive action"."

[The_Big_M]

6 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

I just cannot believe how slow this government (and some others around the world)  are so slow to react to this, they should be scanning and testing all entrants to the country, no matter where they are from.

 

Not the scanning that worries me as it isn’t definitive, but the response where e.g.self quarantine is requested is lacking. Singapore imposed penalties if you broke that. Here, the monitoring and enforcement has been negligible.

[Blackduck59]

I don't know if any government anywhere is equipped to handle this thing. Here in Canada we have several cases and seamingly more daily but a fairly slow rate of infection. Of course it is impossible to know who may be carrying the virus and I hope that those who suspect something will get tested and take appropriate precautions. I find myself washing my hands a lot more. The first case here on Vancouver Island was reported today. We are kind of in the middle of it here, on an island but Washington State with a fairly significant outbreak is only 20 miles away and there are daily ferries to both Seattle and Port Angeles. I don't know if there is any screening at all. Also the other outbreak is in the greater Vancouver area with many siings daily to Vancouver Island. Meanwhile our federal government has pledged a billion dollars to respond to this outbreak. Both research for finding an effective treatment or vaccine as well as responding to the needs of those who find themselves in isolation and unable to work as well as the inevitable strain on our health care system.

[MicCanberra]

Tom Hanks and his wife are in Australia and they have it.

[MMDown Under]

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Tom Hanks and his wife are in Australia and they have it.

Tom Hanks and his wife Rita are at the Gold Coast Hospital.  

[Pushka]

49 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Tom Hanks and his wife are in Australia and they have it.

And they have been visiting a whole lot of places. 

[Aus Traveller]

23 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

I now have more information about my DIL's sister who tested positive for coronavirus. She arrived in Brisbane on the weekend, but was only tested when she went to see her doctor on Monday for an unrelated matter. She was tested because she also had a 'strep' throat and was feeling very tired. She is not feeling sick at the moment and may continue her isolation at home rather than in hospital.

 

It is pretty obvious that she contracted the virus while in Europe. Unfortunately, she may have unwittingly passed it to others before she was aware she was infected.   

My daughter-in-law's sister is still in strict isolation in hospital, although she is not very sick.

 

BTW, my brother made a doctor's appointment because he had the symptoms of a bad cold (sore throat, runny nose and a temp). He was told to wait outside the doctor's surgery - as he said 'outside on the grass'. When it was his turn to see the doctor, a nurse took him in via a different door rather than through the waiting room. He said the doctor kept his distance during the consultation. It's good that the medical centre was doing their best to keep a potentially infected patient away from everyone else. He does not have coronavirus, just a bad cold that was becoming bronchitis.

[MicCanberra]

Good news then.

[MicCanberra]

PM making a big announcement at 7pm AEST on ABC.

[Aus Traveller]

An update. My daughter-in-law's sister who returned from Europe with coronavirus and was later hospitalized has been in home isolation. She is now fully recovered and nearly finished her quarantine. 🙂

 

Her attitude is rather like the thread "What is the fuss about this coronavirus in Australia". She wasn't ill, but unfortunately she doesn't seem to realize that for others won't be as fortunate.

[Pushka]

2 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

An update. My daughter-in-law's sister who returned from Europe with coronavirus and was later hospitalized has been in home isolation. She is now fully recovered and nearly finished her quarantine. 🙂

 

Her attitude is rather like the thread "What is the fuss about this coronavirus in Australia". She wasn't ill, but unfortunately she doesn't seem to realize that for others won't be as fortunate.

This is the difficulty of getting the message across about this virus. As they say, 80% will not suffer much. The remaining 20% will require extensive medical help. And with the predicted infection rate of what - say 60% of our population, our medical facilities will not cope and people will needlessly die. #flattenthecurve. 

[brian1]

Hi all,are there any "homegrown" cases in Aus,or have they been imported.There are theories that summer heat will kill off the virus.We are in Southern Italy at the moment,but feel quite safe at present,loads of precautions but no panic buying etc.We drove down last week with the lockdowns chasing our arse all the way.The UK is a nightmare at the moment,with the rabble steaming supermarkets.Keep well everyone and hope the heat theory is right,cos it gets into the 40s here also.

[LittleFish1976]

17 minutes ago, brian1 said:

Hi all,are there any "homegrown" cases in Aus,or have they been imported.There are theories that summer heat will kill off the virus.We are in Southern Italy at the moment,but feel quite safe at present,loads of precautions but no panic buying etc.We drove down last week with the lockdowns chasing our arse all the way.The UK is a nightmare at the moment,with the rabble steaming supermarkets.Keep well everyone and hope the heat theory is right,cos it gets into the 40s here also.

 

Warm weather will not kill the virus - it's a myth.

 

Yes, there are locally transmitted cases in Australia but no-one can say how many as people cannot get a test done if they haven't either come from overseas or had close contact with someone who has already tested positive. It's a bit like being able to get a job in a big accounting firm. Only there's very little about it that's good.

 

Here in Australia there is a dire shortage of tests. Other places in the world have managed to reduce their spread of this awful virus by extensive testing and identification, and isolation, of those infected. This is not available to us at the moment which is a great shame and a concerning missed opportunity.

 

 

[MMDown Under]

8 hours ago, Pushka said:

This is the difficulty of getting the message across about this virus. As they say, 80% will not suffer much. The remaining 20% will require extensive medical help. And with the predicted infection rate of what - say 60% of our population, our medical facilities will not cope and people will needlessly die. #flattenthecurve. 

I think now is the time for tough messages, like the Aids messages, which scared us all to death.  But the numbers went down.

They need a poster of a healthy person with minor virus systems with arrows linked to the type of people who could die if they caught the virus from this healthy person - the aged, the low immune, the disabled.  Have I missed anyone?  Some people are visual people who don't hear the message.  Time to think of others.  Even our Premier is not visiting her elderly parents who live in the same town.  It is hard, but necessary!!

[SunnyinDubai]

52 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

I think now is the time for tough messages, like the Aids messages, which scared us all to death.  But the numbers went down.

They need a poster of a healthy person with minor virus systems with arrows linked to the type of people who could die if they caught the virus from this healthy person - the aged, the low immune, the disabled.  Have I missed anyone?  Some people are visual people who don't hear the message.  Time to think of others.  Even our Premier is not visiting her elderly parents who live in the same town.  It is hard, but necessary!!

 

I agree and whilst it is good to not have people panicking through the rumour mill, our government messages must be updated to reflect what is really happening and i am hearing people say they are following the advice on  the health website (govt) which is great but the messages there are a tad behind the situation which is evolving so so quickly.

[Russell21]

12 hours ago, Aus Traveller said:

An update. My daughter-in-law's sister who returned from Europe with coronavirus and was later hospitalized has been in home isolation. She is now fully recovered and nearly finished her quarantine. 🙂

 

Her attitude is rather like the thread "What is the fuss about this coronavirus in Australia". She wasn't ill, but unfortunately she doesn't seem to realize that for others won't be as fortunate.

Speaking as one who is pushing close to 76 I say to her and all who have the same attitude, "IT MAY SEEM A LARK TO YOU LOT BUT TO PEOPLE MY AGE, INCLUDING THE ONES YOU LOVE, THIS VIRUS IS A POTENTIAL DEATH SENTENCE!

[MMDown Under]

18 minutes ago, SunnyinDubai said:

 

I agree and whilst it is good to not have people panicking through the rumour mill, our government messages must be updated to reflect what is really happening and i am hearing people say they are following the advice on  the health website (govt) which is great but the messages there are a tad behind the situation which is evolving so so quickly.

The Government has no choice but to catch up with the public's thinking.  People panic when they lack leadership and loose trust.  When I hear the tremor in my street smart, confident adult daughter's voice, who is worried about the small family company, where she works, surviving.  Not for herself, but for her work family, I know the government is not getting the message out in ways people understand!

[SunnyinDubai]

4 minutes ago, MMDown Under said:

The Government has no choice but to catch up with the public's thinking.  People panic when they lack leadership and loose trust.  When I hear the tremor in my street smart, confident adult daughter's voice, who is worried about the small family company, where she works, surviving.  Not for herself, but for her work family, I know the government is not getting the message out in ways people understand!

 

Because their focus is not on these companies......and that is what is so so frustrating as I have friends with businesses who know that they are not going to survive this - and that is the messages that the government needs to be listening too...

[Pushka]

My DIL is a GP and we have a 6 month old grandson. She has said we can't hug him anymore - not for his sake but mine! She is very worried for me as I'm immunocompromised. However I am on the treatment that actually seems to be curing Covid. So who knows?

[MMDown Under]

3 minutes ago, Pushka said:

My DIL is a GP and we have a 6 month old grandson. She has said we can't hug him anymore - not for his sake but mine! She is very worried for me as I'm immunocompromised. However I am on the treatment that actually seems to be curing Covid. So who knows?

When my friend cancelled her planned visit to Melbourne next week, she said she was pleased she won't be bringing the virus back to her grandchildren.  I suggested she should be more worried about her grandchildren transferring the virus to her and she should consider self isolation (over 70s and ill health).  

Isn't it wonderful how the medical profession is workng hard to find uses and benefits from existing medicine.  I have great faith in our medical and scientific experts.  We are blessed in Australia with our people!

[Pushka]

1 minute ago, MMDown Under said:

When my friend cancelled her planned visit to Melbourne next week, she said she was pleased she won't be bringing the virus back to her grandchildren.  I suggested she should be more worried about her grandchildren transferring the virus to her and she should consider self isolation (over 70s and ill health).  

Isn't it wonderful how the medical profession is workng hard to find uses and benefits from existing medicine.  I have great faith in our medical and scientific experts.  We are blessed in Australia with our people!

 

This is the message that isn't really hitting home, is it! Of course we worry for our kids but this time it's in reverse but that isn't being communicated properly. 

[MMDown Under]

1 minute ago, Pushka said:

 

This is the message that isn't really hitting home, is it! Of course we worry for our kids but this time it's in reverse but that isn't being communicated properly. 

No it is not. 

We pay the Government taxes to look after everyone's interests.  Common sense says the nasty virus is a health crises, front and centre.  

I'm pleased to see policy input with regard to our vulnerable aboriginals (border closed between Qld and NT, visits to communities banned) and the disabled, but I'm yet to see input on behalf of our seniors.  All parents look out for their children, even when they are adults, but it is time now for the government and the community to look out for seniors. 

[ellie1145]

Hope all will be well and that they recover. We were in Oz in October and had a simply wonderful time, prior to a cruise to Fiji. We love the people and their amazing passion for their country. We hope Australia can escape the worst of this terrifying pandemic.

 

However, people are not taking it seriously enough, not here in the UK, not in the USA, and most likely not in Australia. Younger people think it is only us oldies who are at risk - they may get it milder but they could end up giving it to those more likely to suffer badly. Worryingly, it also appears that even younger people are being admitted to ICU.

 

Statistics coming out of the USA confirm this.

 

“American adults of all ages — not just those in their 70s, 80s and 90s — are being seriously sickened by the coronavirus, according to a report on nearly 2,500 of the first recorded cases in the United States.

The report, issued Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that — as in other countries — the oldest patients had the greatest likelihood of dying and of being hospitalized. But of the 508 patients known to have been hospitalized, 38 percent were notably younger — between 20 and 54. And nearly half of the 121 patients who were admitted to intensive care units were adults under 65, the C.D.C. reported.

“I think everyone should be paying attention to this,” said Stephen S. Morse, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. “It’s not just going to be the elderly. There will be people age 20 and up. They do have to be careful, even if they think that they’re young and healthy.”

[ellie1145]

Apologies. Not sure why this got repeated.

Edited March 20, 2020 by ellie1145

[ellie1145]

Oops!

Edited March 20, 2020 by ellie1145