Has the new Omicron variant delay the restart of cruising?

[MicCanberra]

I had no reactions to any of the shots, 2x AZ and Pfizer booster, except to say contentedness for being vaccinated.

[subaru94]

Been looking through some of the posts, South Aussie here and can't wait for cruising to commence, however, can't see that happening with our Nanny Australian Government.  Here in S.A. they opened up the borders and our government have not handled it well, told us to expect cases to rise and no more restrictions, famous last words, they have decimated the hospitality industry here, 25% capacity in hotels, cafes, no dancing, 10 people maximum in home.  New Years Eve events cancelled, hotels, cafes not opening due to the new restrictions.  I'm getting to the stage, if people did not get tested and did not QR code the government would not have any ammunition.  I'm in the hospitality industry and my heart goes out to all these small businesses that will not make it through this.

[By The Bay]

The numbers are up in NSW, 11201 and VIC, 3767. 😱😷 Cruising is looking like a distant dream.😔

[NSWP]

59 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

The numbers are up in NSW, 11201 and VIC, 3767. 😱😷 Cruising is looking like a distant dream.😔

Out of control. NSW and VIC should never have relaxed restriction re masks etc. We should have remained in lockdown.  If it hits my area the Eurobodalla, we are stuffed, no ICU beds or Ventilators and our population has gone from 18,000 to 218,000 in greater Batemans Bay area with the tourist invasion.

 

Our roads are grid locked, supermarkets have run out of a lot of stuff, etc. 5 km queues and 5 hour waiting times at the only covid testing station which is at Moruya, 37 km from Batemans Bay.

 

Cruising is a long, long way off,  some of us will not survive this pandemic.

Edited December 28, 2021 by NSWP

[By The Bay]

4 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Out of control. NSW and VIC should never have relaxed restriction re masks etc. We should have remained in lockdown.  If it hits my area the Eurobodalla, we are stuffed, no ICU beds or Ventilators and our population has gone from 18,000 to 218,000 in greater Batemans Bay area with the tourist invasion.

 

Our roads are grid locked, supermarkets have run out of a lot of stuff, etc. 5 km queues and 5 hour waiting times at the only covid testing station which is at Moruya, 37 km from Batemans Bay.

 

Cruising is a long, long way off,  some of us will not survive this pandemic.

We are in a similar situation here in Port Stephens. I  haven't noticed a shortage in the supermarkets here, still plenty of TP.😊   At least we have 2 testing facilities near us. However, one has been closed during the holiday long weekend until today. Watch the numbers rise after NYE.  😱

[NSWP]

5 minutes ago, By The Bay said:

We are in a similar situation here in Port Stephens. I  haven't noticed a shortage in the supermarkets here, still plenty of TP.😊   At least we have 2 testing facilities near us. However, one has been closed during the holiday long weekend until today. Watch the numbers rise after NYE.  😱

I had my Woollies home delivery this morning, no GF bread left in store, no peaches, no Barramundi, no bottled water, no GF Pizza bases, thank god they had not run out of De Bortoli wine casks, lol. The Canberrans only drink the good bottled stuff, not Chateau Cardboard, lol.

 

Edited December 28, 2021 by NSWP

[Blackduck59]

I think that the wrong numbers are being tracked. With Omicron they should be tracking % of positive tests that are hospitalized. In my opinion that is more important, than total positive cases. The press is just relishing and embellishing this "outbreak" without mentioning that Omicron seems to be very contagious but not very deadly. The same misleading figures are being used here.

[portcbob]

Cruising is done I'm afraid. Really can't see a restart at all especially in 2022. A miracle would be required I believe.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think that the wrong numbers are being tracked. With Omicron they should be tracking % of positive tests that are hospitalized. In my opinion that is more important, than total positive cases. The press is just relishing and embellishing this "outbreak" without mentioning that Omicron seems to be very contagious but not very deadly. The same misleading figures are being used here.

It's more complex than that.

 

% hospitalized indicates the severity of the current variant.

 

Total positive cases indicates how it is spreading, and whether the spread is increasing or decreasing. Some of the states here are releasing number of cases per Local Government Area so you can see how it is spreading in your local area.

 

However neither of these give the full picture as the number of contacts in isolation aren't tracked, and that figure would show what the current impact of the outbreak, especially related to the workforce.

 

Also long Covid cases aren't tracked and, of course, there isn't enough long term history to determine what future impacts any lingering effects of Covid may have on the community and health systems.

[Docker123]

3 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think that the wrong numbers are being tracked. With Omicron they should be tracking % of positive tests that are hospitalized. In my opinion that is more important, than total positive cases. The press is just relishing and embellishing this "outbreak" without mentioning that Omicron seems to be very contagious but not very deadly. The same misleading figures are being used here.

Both Victoria and New South Wales report a host of figures on a daily basis. In this way they track the issues you have raised. What is less evident is an age breakdown, with indications from other countries indicating bigger issues with kids.

 

This is today’s release for Victoria. The hospital related figures reflect current totals, not new ones. 
 

[possum52]

 

3 hours ago, Docker123 said:

Both Victoria and New South Wales report a host of figures on a daily basis. In this way they track the issues you have raised. What is less evident is an age breakdown, with indications from other countries indicating bigger issues with kids.

 

This is today’s release for Victoria. The hospital related figures reflect current totals, not new ones. 
 

This website has great information and is updated each day.

https://covidbaseau.com/vic

 

 

Edited December 29, 2021 by possum52

[lyndarra]

16 hours ago, Blackduck59 said:

I think that the wrong numbers are being tracked. With Omicron they should be tracking % of positive tests that are hospitalized. In my opinion that is more important, than total positive cases. The press is just relishing and embellishing this "outbreak" without mentioning that Omicron seems to be very contagious but not very deadly. The same misleading figures are being used here.

I have been watching BBC news. It was mentioned that majority of hospital cases have not had boosters. This would omply that ptients were double vaxxed. We can learn from this.

[By The Bay]

NSW, with 12,226 Covid cases, is halfway towards the prediction made by Brad Hazzard in mid December.🥵 Where to next?

 

"Health Minister Brad Hazzard says epidemiologists are anticipating New South Wales will record up to 25,000 cases of coronavirus a day by the end of January."

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, lyndarra said:

I have been watching BBC news. It was mentioned that majority of hospital cases have not had boosters. This would omply that ptients were double vaxxed. We can learn from this.

With the latest variant, Omicron, it has been reported that AZ is less effective than Pfizer. It has also been reported that a booster shot is required for people who have either AZ or Pfizer as their initial two shots. With the fact that the UK has mostly used AstraZeneca for its vaccinations, it isn't surprising that they are experiencing a surge of infections among vaccinated people.

 

I agree with Lyndarra - the lesson to be learned from the UK experience is that people should get their booster shot as soon as they can.

[Aus Traveller]

Just now, By The Bay said:

NSW, with 12,226 Covid cases, is halfway towards the prediction made by Brad Hazzard in mid December.🥵 Where to next?

 

"Health Minister Brad Hazzard says epidemiologists are anticipating New South Wales will record up to 25,000 cases of coronavirus a day by the end of January."

I think it is likely Mr Hazzard will be proven to be an optimist. NSW could reach 25,000 cases a day well before the end of January. 😢

 

Cases in Queensland have sky-rocketed. Early in December there were 2, 6 or 8 cases a day. On 28th December it was 1,589.

[getting older slowly]

Just an idea.... maybe we should counting people   who haven't got Covid

 

At least the number would go down.........

 

What next... can everybody please stay home..... somehow I don't think so....

 

Time to call International Rescue.......

[sewgood]

47 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

I think it is likely Mr Hazzard will be proven to be an optimist. NSW could reach 25,000 cases a day well before the end of January. 😢

I agree with you.

It's not even January yet and we are already half way there in terms of case numbers.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Plus I suspect the NSW numvbers are only reflecting the number of cases from 3 or so days ago given how long tests are taking to get processed and people not being able to get tested immediately due to queues at testing places.

 

So we could be close to 25,000 already.

[By The Bay]

2 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Plus I suspect the NSW numvbers are only reflecting the number of cases from 3 or so days ago given how long tests are taking to get processed and people not being able to get tested immediately due to queues at testing places.

 

So we could be close to 25,000 already.

You could be right. I found this article written by Alexandra Smith State Political Editor in the SMH, and it confirms what you and I have suspected.

 

"When NSW’s Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Wednesday that “there’s probably more disease in the community than the numbers reflect”, she would have been, in part, referring to people like me. Those who want to do the right thing, but cannot face the forever-snaking lines." Full article here.

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, By The Bay said:

You could be right. I found this article written by Alexandra Smith State Political Editor in the SMH, and it confirms what you and I have suspected.

 

"When NSW’s Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said on Wednesday that “there’s probably more disease in the community than the numbers reflect”, she would have been, in part, referring to people like me. Those who want to do the right thing, but cannot face the forever-snaking lines." Full article here.

Yes, I recall reading that article.

 

Our local greengrocer has been forced to close until 5th Jan. They had a positive Covid case instore on the 24th so all staff have had to get tested and are still waiting for the results. Very sad for them, they are always very busy at this time of year. It's a family business, not part of a chain, so they had no alternative but to close.

[By The Bay]

40 minutes ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, I recall reading that article.

 

Our local greengrocer has been forced to close until 5th Jan. They had a positive Covid case instore on the 24th so all staff have had to get tested and are still waiting for the results. Very sad for them, they are always very busy at this time of year. It's a family business, not part of a chain, so they had no alternative but to close.

This time around, there is no Government support. And I bet their insurance doesn't cover Covid. So sad.😔

[Cruisers47]

Hi

 

i have just been reading the CC live report from the Viking World cruise.

 

there are Aussies on it!!

 

will be interested to hear how it all goes…,would love to hear from the Aussies!👍

[Porky55]

11 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

there are Aussies on it!!

Wow - some brave Aussies ……… 👏

[By The Bay]

20 minutes ago, Cruisers47 said:

Hi

 

i have just been reading the CC live report from the Viking World cruise.

 

there are Aussies on it!!

 

will be interested to hear how it all goes…,would love to hear from the Aussies!👍

From what I read on the CC forum,

• on day 5 they already have nine passengers and two crew infected with Covid.
• Cartagena (Colombia) authorities changed threshold for cases from 2% to 1% and therefore denied entry.

Not off to a good start, and could get worse.🤔

[possum52]

1 hour ago, OzKiwiJJ said:

Yes, I recall reading that article.

 

Our local greengrocer has been forced to close until 5th Jan. They had a positive Covid case instore on the 24th so all staff have had to get tested and are still waiting for the results. Very sad for them, they are always very busy at this time of year. It's a family business, not part of a chain, so they had no alternative but to close.

Unfortunately they won't be the only ones, over the next few months many small businesses will be affected and as mentioned (By The Bay) there is no government support for them either.