Resource COVID19 V - The Info Thread

[Forward Press]

Hospital numbers won't reflect this weeks cases until late next week so we'll soon know if this was a bad idea or not.

Really bad day for ambulance ramping yesterday so probably a good idea to not need an ambulance for two or three weeks.

I think it's a gamble to get this wave done before winter and hopefully prevent avoidable deaths due to hospital overloading.

Wonder if the thinking was cases weren't moving through as fast as we wanted prior to Winter so we had to give it a little kick in the bum.

The reduction of restrictions flies in the face of the conservative approach taken until this point.

It was fine to aim for COVID zero when it was possible and reasonable before omicron came around, but this seems like the variant you want spreading around to build up the antibodies for the population. It makes sense if you look at it as a public health measure and not a 'save every life possible' policy.

 

[Luuuc]

I think the entire thinking was probably just that vaccination levels were now very good (waiting any longer probably becomes counterproductive as everyone's vaccines begin to wear off while we chase another few % of people), the numbers in hospital & ICU were well below the modelling, and people were getting mask fatigue.
Note that removing the mask mandate doesn't make it mandatory to go maskless. People can still choose to protect themselves.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Keen to see how the "masks do nothing" crew react to these numbers.

Actually, no I'm not.

 

[ZergMinion]

I think it's a gamble to get this wave done before winter and hopefully prevent avoidable deaths due to hospital overloading.

Also has the side effect of putting Covid front of mind on election day in WA, but that's the cynic in me talking

 

[DanWCE]

Also has the side effect of putting Covid front of mind on election day in WA, but that's the cynic in me talking

Makes ya wonder..

 

[Forward Press]

Also has the side effect of putting Covid front of mind on election day in WA, but that's the cynic in me talking

Don't really need to, with omicron being much less severe it's not a big deal.

What will be a big deal - and it seems the ALP has cottoned onto this - is to keep reminding people of how the Federal government has sought to undermine WA every step of the way during the pandemic. It would not surprise if in the last two weeks ads featuring Mark McGowan start being rolled out too.

 

[Godfather32]

Keen to see how the "masks do nothing" crew react to these numbers.

Actually, no I'm not.

I was fine to keep the masks (and I reckon they definitely help stop the spread) until the last week before they got canned and I got a sinus infection from wearing it. Whenever I put it on my nose wouldn't stop running, was getting bad headaches etc. Within about 5 minutes of taking it off the runny nose stopped and once I got in my car and had been driving for half an hour the headaches started to get better.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Masks are horrendous, but work.

Glad not to wear one anymore (outside of public transport) but I totally get why plenty are still wearing them at work. And it probably means I'll catch Nelson's Lament sooner rather than later.

 

[MrKK]

Looking forward to this thread still going in January 2023 when WA will still be undergoing a Covid emergency according to McGowan.

 

[MrKK]

Masks are horrendous, but work.

Glad not to wear one anymore (outside of public transport) but I totally get why plenty are still wearing them at work. And it probably means I'll catch Nelson's Lament sooner rather than later.

If you're convinced they work then why do you only wear them where required by law? You're just OK to not worry about stopping the spread everywhere else you go?

 

[ashley12]

Masks, closed borders, closed shops, not working when sick, no jab no service, no crowds at sporting events all "work" to stop the spread but the value vs the cost may not make it worth it at various stages since we started this whole thing 2 years ago.

FWIW I have had similar issues to AB with lengthy mask wearing, but still wear when legally forced to plus a few other places (I will when ducking into a pharmacy or the shops for five minutes, not when entering a pub before a few beers and footy)

 

[ashley12]

And fwiw I don't really care if people do or don't around me.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

If you're convinced they work then why do you only wear them where required by law? You're just OK to not worry about stopping the spread everywhere else you go?

I was happy to stop wearing them once we hit 80% boosted.

Like ashley12 says, plenty of things work. But I've always maintained that a balance is required, and now that booster rates are so high, and the fact our highly-vaccinated population is dealing with Omicron and not Wuhan/Delta, restrictions can ease.

Will continue to wear them on public transport and when I have to go to hospital next month, because I fully agree that they're still needed in high risk areas.

 

[MrKK]

I was happy to stop wearing them once we hit 80% boosted.

Like ashley12 says, plenty of things work. But I've always maintained that a balance is required, and now that booster rates are so high, and the fact our highly-vaccinated population is dealing with Omicron and not Wuhan/Delta, restrictions can ease.

Will continue to wear them on public transport and when I have to go to hospital next month, because I fully agree that they're still needed in high risk areas.

Have you seen the government’s relative risk assessment of public transport vs nightclubs? I'd bet my left nut there hasn't been one done, yet one is determined high risk and the other isn't. And I'd bet the other one our club wouldn't fine our players for getting on a train.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

I'd consider nightclubs high risk, but then again if nightclubs are considered high risk, so should schools.

Fine all the dads at the club.

 

[larrikin]

17000 + today...

 

[Luuuc]

bUt mASks DoNt evEn WoRK

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

That hospitalisation rate has been steady for weeks now, will be interesting to see what happens over the next week or so.

 

[new breed]

17k major jump as expected with community open .
Will the government Stand their ground !!

 

[ZergMinion]

17k major jump as expected with community open .
Will the government Stand their ground !!

I don't think anyone expected 17k.

 

[Hap Hapablap]

i have also fallen under the spicy c curse

had a sore throat last thursday, tested negative, so did my wife

son got sick on sunday, tested him, positive, tested myself positive five days later.

the symptoms though didnt hit me at all, slight sore throat on thursday which cleared out very quickly and then some nasal congestion thats it. if thats all i have to deal with covid sign me up, Ive had far worse colds last year than this.

my wife though, bed ridden for two days, same as my mother in law and brother in law. eldest son recovered in a day, second one took it harder with a fever and phlegm amounts i have never seen a kid release. but recovering quickly.

silver lining out of all this. we've had it and now my children (all under five not eligible for the vaccine) have some form of immunity.

edit - we are all triple dosed. now testing negative happy days!

 

[Hap Hapablap]

17k major jump as expected with community open .
Will the government Stand their ground !!

think they want to hit the 25% of population infection mark before winter. (25% being the average where most populations hit then numbers drop and plateau.)

and for reinfection - 3% is the average number of people who get it again.

 

[Lia]

17000 cases per day now after two years of separating families and lockdowns over one case. Laughable that anyone would try to find the logic in this.

Point to the ICU numbers now, don't mention long COVID later. Clearly the driving force behind COVID policy in WA is gross political opportunism.

 

[Ambrose Burnside]

Was going to reply properly, but you're the same muppet who didn't understand that there has been a vaccine rollout and Omicron is different to Wuhan/Delta from a few pages back.

 

[amazingjoshy]

Biggest question I have is how long this weird obsession alot of people seem to still have with case numbers will continue

If you're sick stay home, otherwise carry on. Time to move on surely