Covid 19 -

[Citroënbender]

That’s only into Oz.

The other way has been “crickets” recently.

[MITCHAY]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Waaaay back in October last year, our PM and New Zealand’s PM mutually indicated that in late (this current) March, quarantine free travel would become largely a reciprocal arrangement. I’m yet to see any recent commentary on whether this is still a probable milestone.

It's ongoing but I wouldn't expect anything by March. Scomo basically has said that the hold up is entirely on the NZ government and we are ready to go anytime.

When you consider as much as 40% of their quarantine places are from travellers returning from Australia it would free up a whole lot of capacity on their end.

I think the key issue is the possibility of snap border closures particularly because our states have the ability to do what they want where that is not an issue there as far as I'm aware.

Realistically any bubble is going to have to accept this as a risk perhaps with an agreed trigger point on both sides otherwise there is no chance of it happening.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

I think the key issue is the possibility of snap border closures particularly because our states have the ability to do what they want where that is not an issue there as far as I'm aware.

Realistically any bubble is going to have to accept this as a risk perhaps with an agreed trigger point on both sides otherwise there is no chance of it happening.

Not sure why border closures in Australia would worry NZ. Why would that concern their incoming arrangement? NZ also applies the snap lock down strategy.

I think its more like they have anxiety over jurisdiction which is playing the higher risk game. If we have another mini outbreak, there is not enough certainty (for them) that we would apply restrictions to stop the spread, and ultimately stopping influx of infected Australians going into NZ. Actually, I thought I heard that some MPs in NZ want to increase the cost of flights going into NZ to stop tourists going in.

[Work Horse]

https://covid19.homeaffairs.gov.au/n...fe-travel-zone

Travelling from Australia to New Zealand

If you are an Australian citizen or a permanent resident you cannot leave Australia due to COVID-19 restrictions unless you have an exemption. You will be subject to New Zealand entry requirements.

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Not sure why border closures in Australia would worry NZ. Why would that concern their incoming arrangement? NZ also applies the snap lock down strategy.

I think its more like they have anxiety over jurisdiction which is playing the higher risk game. If we have another mini outbreak, there is not enough certainty (for them) that we would apply restrictions to stop the spread, and ultimately stopping influx of infected Australians going into NZ. Actually, I thought I heard that some MPs in NZ want to increase the cost of flights going into NZ to stop tourists going in.

Just one whack-job who works for ANZ wanting to reduce tourism. The MPs want to pop an entry tax on to raise funds for environmental offsets from aircraft.

https://www.news.com.au/travel/trave...01148d3a8ff4b3

[five 7]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

Waaaay back in October last year, our PM and New Zealand’s PM mutually indicated that in late (this current) March, quarantine free travel would become largely a reciprocal arrangement. I’m yet to see any recent commentary on whether this is still a probable milestone.

Sorry CB not much mutually, our useless Govt are sitting on there hands to stop wringing them, they are keeping us in a culture of fear then gratefulness, when a restriction is lifted. We are missing our Aussie fix, normally there a couple of times a year, but so far no one in power seems to have a clue on sorting this, or have a plan put in place for the future and getting us out of this mess.
Cheers from the Socialist Isles of NZ

[Bossxr8]

https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-...ccine-12242530

Move along, nothing to see here. The people would have got blood clots anyway

Now roll up and get your rushed, unproven vaccine now sheeples.

[MITCHAY]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Not sure why border closures in Australia would worry NZ. Why would that concern their incoming arrangement? NZ also applies the snap lock down strategy.

I think its more like they have anxiety over jurisdiction which is playing the higher risk game. If we have another mini outbreak, there is not enough certainty (for them) that we would apply restrictions to stop the spread, and ultimately stopping influx of infected Australians going into NZ. Actually, I thought I heard that some MPs in NZ want to increase the cost of flights going into NZ to stop tourists going in.

Because our state governments could put restrictions on NZ arrivals independently of our federal government. The feds would just have to lift the ban on Australia citizens leaving for NZ.

I believe there is no such equivalent in NZ. To give more certainty we would need consensus which has been hard enough here.

There definitely seems to be more anxiety about importing cases from here in NZ but that really is a shared risk.

Whether what is the primary concern is subject to opinion probably but both are concerns.

[five 7]

Originally Posted by MITCHAY

Because our state governments could put restrictions on NZ arrivals independently of our federal government. The feds would just have to lift the ban on Australia citizens leaving for NZ.

I believe there is no such equivalent in NZ.

Correct we are free to leave, have a mate that decided life was for living, he's spent time in Hawaii, the States and now in the Bahamas.

[Citroënbender]

I looked at the NZ data, presently they have about 5200 people in quarantine.

If 60% are full freight couples the gross income per “unit” is close to AUD$4K/fortnight, which extrapolates to about $163M annually. Would be interesting to try comparing this to stated or alleged costs of running the hotel quarantine program; ie - is it a profit centre or a loss-maker.

[five 7]

Originally Posted by Citroënbender

I looked at the NZ data, presently they have about 5200 people in quarantine.

If 60% are full freight couples the gross income per “unit” is close to AUD$4K/fortnight, which extrapolates to about $163M annually. Would be interesting to try comparing this to stated or alleged costs of running the hotel quarantine program; ie - is it a profit centre or a loss-maker.

Yep working well here..
https://r.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=Awrg...CzBfhLemUVbDs-

[russellw]

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT March 11th, 2021.

Note: As not all Australian States report at the same time, the data below is based on the previous full day reporting.

16 new cases for Australia and no deaths so the CMR is 3.125%.

6 new cases and 0 deaths for NZ so CMR is 1.076% and active cases 85.

The UK had a higher 7,753 cases yesterday and 181 deaths.

Just over 61k new cases in the USA yesterday and 1,612 deaths sees CMR up to 1.816%. Note that the USA is actually minus one day due to time differences.

Other notable points:
Global cases pass 119M with the last 1M in 2 days;

Norway (872);
Moldova (1,896);
Estonia (1,957);
Jordan (8,300) - the previous high on 18/11/20;
Hungary (8,312);

... recorded new daily highs; those in blue for the second consecutive day and those in red for a third or more consecutive day.

Honduras moves above the 90th percentile for their 10 day average and no countries drop below.

[Tickford.]

Brisbane hospital locked down after doctor tests positive for COVID-19

The female doctor had contact with COVID-19-positive patients at the hospital in Brisbane's south, which was placed into lockdown on Friday night, in the early hours of Wednesday.

The doctor was infectious while in the community the following day and contact tracing is underway to identify and contact all patients, staff and families who may have been exposed.

The case marks the end of Queensland's 59-day run without a locally-spread infection.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-...covid/13244616




So female doctor, wearing PPE, assessed two COVID positive patients on Wednesday, tests positive two days later, and could've been infectious between those hours?

[russellw]

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT March 12th, 2021.

Note: As not all Australian States report at the same time, the data below is based on the previous full day reporting.

12 new cases for Australia and no deaths so the CMR is 3.123%.

1 new case and 0 deaths for NZ so CMR is 1.076% and active cases 86.

The UK had a lower 6,609 cases yesterday and 175 deaths.

Just over 63.5k new cases in the USA yesterday and 1,850 deaths sees CMR up to 1.818%. Note that the USA is actually minus one day due to time differences.

Other notable points:
Global deaths pass 2.65M with the last 50k in 5 days;
South America passes 19M cases;
India passes 150k deaths;

Norway (905); and
Hungary (9,011);

... recorded new daily highs; those in blue for the second consecutive day and those in red for a third or more consecutive day.

Kenya, the Ukraine and the Philippines move above the 90th percentile for their 10 day average and no countries drop below.

[Tickford.]

Reports suggest out of the 3862 staff at the Princess Alexandra Hospital who are in contact with COVID-19 patients, only 1615 have received the first jab of the vaccine. The Dr is of the latter. Not yet vaccinated. Good to see the Fed's vaccine rollout has been evenly and fairly distributed. Not. NSW quarantine workers families are being vaccinated, yet frontline Dr's in Queensland who have actual contact with COVID patients are yet to be vaccinated?? FMD!!

It is also of concern that the Dr was said to be infectious less than 24hrs after exposure. Usually that period is 7-14 days. Now it's less than 24hrs??

[jmack]

Originally Posted by Tickford.

Reports suggest out of the 3862 staff at the Princess Alexandra Hospital who are in contact with COVID-19 patients, only 1615 have received the first jab of the vaccine. The Dr is of the latter. Not yet vaccinated. Good to see the Fed's vaccine rollout has been evenly and fairly distributed. Not. NSW quarantine workers families are being vaccinated, yet frontline Dr's in Queensland who have actual contact with COVID patients are yet to be vaccinated?? FMD!!

It is also of concern that the Dr was said to be infectious less than 24hrs after exposure. Usually that period is 7-14 days. Now it's less than 24hrs??

oh no time to get back down in the bunker

[Citroënbender]

I was disappointed that the Queensland government COVID site went from out-of-date to being updated today, later morning. There was no “watch this space” interim or provisional announcement which I was expecting to see.

Originally Posted by Tickford.

It is also of concern that the Dr was said to be infectious less than 24hrs after exposure. Usually that period is 7-14 days. Now it's less than 24hrs??

The experts have always said the incubation period is between 1 to 14 days. Some have even said it's likely to be between 1 to 21 days. The AVERAGE is 5-7 days but medical experts have already confirmed that you can catch it and be contagious the next day. There's nothing new here.

[buggerlugs]

So two states enforced lockdown , both state premiers having landslide victories........

Would be interesting to see if Vic and NSW went to the polls about now what the results would be.......

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by buggerlugs

So two states enforced lockdown , both state premiers having landslide victories........

Would be interesting to see if Vic and NSW went to the polls about now what the results would be.......

I reckon the actual border lockdowns and their influence on the results have been overplayed. The average Aussie isn't stupid, they can see what's right vs wrong, and who looks after their interests pre, during and post covid.

I reckon Vic might be a bit different story though this time around, 365+ days of character assassination has got to take some toll.

[russellw]

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT March 13th, 2021.

Note: As not all Australian States report at the same time, the data below is based on the previous full day reporting.

10 new cases for Australia and no deaths so the CMR is 3.122%.

5 new cases and 0 deaths for NZ so CMR is 1.073% and active cases 88.

The UK had a lower 5,534 cases yesterday and 121 deaths.

Just over 68k new cases in the USA yesterday and 1,525 deaths sees CMR up to 1.819%. Note that the USA is actually minus one day due to time differences.

Other notable points: (weekend reporting)
Global cases pass 120M with the last 1M in 2 days;
Europe passes 36M cases;
Asia passes 26M cases;
The USA passes 30M cases (today);

Only:
Hungary (9,444)

... recorded new daily highs; those in blue for the second consecutive day and those in red for a third or more consecutive day.

Madagascar moves above the 90th percentile for their 10 day average and Latvia drops below.

[Citroënbender]

And… NSW’s turn to have a new case outside of quarantine, related to an employee within that system. :-(

I suppose, considering how many returnees are accommodated here, it’s not a bad ratio.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by Tickford.

Reports suggest out of the 3862 staff at the Princess Alexandra Hospital who are in contact with COVID-19 patients, only 1615 have received the first jab of the vaccine. The Dr is of the latter. Not yet vaccinated. Good to see the Fed's vaccine rollout has been evenly and fairly distributed. Not. NSW quarantine workers families are being vaccinated, yet frontline Dr's in Queensland who have actual contact with COVID patients are yet to be vaccinated?? FMD!!

It is also of concern that the Dr was said to be infectious less than 24hrs after exposure. Usually that period is 7-14 days. Now it's less than 24hrs??

Yeah why not use this, add some incorrect info and try to turn it into another political issue. According to their Premier, Queensland is deliberately using THEIR ALLOCATION slowly.

By March 1 - NSW had used 53% of their allocation, VIC 30% and QLD 22%

The FEDS allocation which is used in Aged care has had 72% used.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/pol...03-p577iu.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-.../13197518?nw=0

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by tweeked

Yeah why not use this, add some incorrect info and try to turn it into another political issue. According to their Premier, Queensland is deliberately using THEIR ALLOCATION slowly.

By March 1 - NSW had used 53% of their allocation, VIC 30% and QLD 22%

The FEDS allocation which is used in Aged care has had 72% used.

https://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/pol...03-p577iu.html

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-03-.../13197518?nw=0

Where can we get an updated view of the "allocated" vs "delivered"? If the graphs have a similar pattern to that at end of Feb, then the feds have some explaining to do.

States have said they want to ramp up, but GPs are going to find it difficult to make their operations work with only 50 doses a week. Some GPs need to hire casuals to help, or make alternative arrangements at a cost, and at only 50 doses a week "guaranteed" some will operate at a loss. They can't even stock up for a few weeks, then do a mass roll out, because the feds are threatening to withhold delivery unless their current quota is used.

My folks were told end of March for their jab, now pushed back to mid-end of April.....not that we are complaining actually, they are happy to go to the back of the queue given recent events.

[Polyal]

QLD better not stuff up Easter!

[T3rminator]

Apparently the US has so many doses they don't know what to do with it, and a lot are being thrown down the drain due to expiry.

My sis in Seattle tells me they have just started a hotline for people to call towards the end of eachday. Spare doses that would otherwise go down the drain can be given to the public if they can get to the site on time.

Meanwhile, some parts of the world can't even get their hands on a dose.

[tweeked]

Originally Posted by T3rminator

Where can we get an updated view of the "allocated" vs "delivered"? If the graphs have a similar pattern to that at end of Feb, then the feds have some explaining to do.

States have said they want to ramp up, but GPs are going to find it difficult to make their operations work with only 50 doses a week. Some GPs need to hire casuals to help, or make alternative arrangements at a cost, and at only 50 doses a week "guaranteed" some will operate at a loss. They can't even stock up for a few weeks, then do a mass roll out, because the feds are threatening to withhold delivery unless their current quota is used.

My folks were told end of March for their jab, now pushed back to mid-end of April.....not that we are complaining actually, they are happy to go to the back of the queue given recent events.

A GP really needs top hire an extra person to put 10 injections per weekday into someones arm? If this is the case no wonder we struggle in this country.

Click cumulative on that table in the abc link and the numbers update. Looking at those and how they align exactly with the Covid live site, "Allocated" looks like the state received their batch, "Delivered" is the vaccine is delivered into the arm. Remember each state televised their batches being unloaded off planes, they have them, Anna isn't saying she hasn't got them, she is saying she doesn't have to rush putting them in arms. I actually agree with her, there is no incredible rush with our low numbers - I just think it is dumb that some people are trying to construct it into it being a Liberal conspiracy against Labor states.

[russellw]

Data valid as at 00:00 GMT March 14th, 2021.

Note: As not all Australian States report at the same time, the data below is based on the previous full day reporting.

5 new cases for Australia and no deaths so the CMR is 3.122%.

1 new case and 0 deaths for NZ so CMR is 1.073% and active cases 86.

The UK had a lower 4,718 cases yesterday and 52 deaths.

Just under 50k new cases in the USA yesterday and 1,037 deaths sees CMR at 1.819%. Note that the USA is actually minus one day due to time differences.

Other notable points: (weekend reporting)
None

No countries

... recorded new daily highs; those in blue for the second consecutive day and those in red for a third or more consecutive day.

No countries move above the 90th percentile for their 10 day average and Albania drops below.

[Citroënbender]

I have to say, the incumbent US President’s urging that veterinarians be allowed to vaccinate people, made me pleased. It seemed like a simple approach to ramping up capacity. The preliminary temperature checks might raise an eyebrow or two…

Been following the progress of a friend trying to get their UK qualified doctor sibling out here to care for their terminally ill mother (who has PR, would rather not die here but in the last 12 months has become too unwell for travel). You’d think that the idea of taking load off our own doctors would have merit in the eyes of those who assess such applications. Apparently in the course of six months they have managed to ignore, then “lose” his forms. So he’s starting over with more supporting letters from RCS/RACS. It seems that an obnoxious level of persistence rather than polite waiting, may be the routine needed.

[T3rminator]

Originally Posted by tweeked

A GP really needs top hire an extra person to put 10 injections per weekday into someones arm? If this is the case no wonder we struggle in this country.

I dunno how AZ works, but if it is anything like Pfizer where you need to reconstitute, then divvy up the doses, then I can understand why you might need extra pairs of hands. You need someone to check and recheck that doses are done right. You then need to monitor patient's reactions after the jab to make sure they are ok to drive home.

Also there are different types of practices to consider. I go to a practice that has 12-15 GPs in one building, and you can choose to see anyone you like. The reception is shared. In those settings I can see everyone chipping in for one or two casuals and it wouldn't be a problem. This is ok for reasonably healthy people that don't need private doctors, where you just go in and out on an irregular basis, and the GP doesn't need to ask you a million questions on your history.

Then you have GPs like my folks use, private, who is just the doctor and one receptionist. I suspect they will find it harder to employ an extra pair of hands when it is just 50 doses a week. GPs are already complaining that they are being under compensated with the assistance of administering doses, and now you want to tie their hands even further? Last thing we want is GPs rushing people in and out because of lack of resources.

Would be interested to hear how the UK has run their program. It has been a resounding success from what has been reported.