Back into lock down once more, masks on or face the consequences. It seems that a miner from the NT has returned to Ipswich and has the plague, just marvellous.
There is a shortage of the vaccine and there is so much bad press surrounding the Astra Zeneca that the stocks in Australia will expire before the use by date because much of the population is too scared to get it, mainly due to the mixed messages coming from the government. As usual, the Australian government is trying desperately to catch up because of poor planning. There needs to be a dedicated quarantine facility to stop community transmission instead of having returned travellers stuck in hotels.
I think that we need to encourage more people to get the vaccine. An incentive needs be given. In Shanghai, they are offering $40, a bag of rice and a meal if you get the injection. I think for the Australian market vouchers for McDonald;s KFC, Burger King or any major junk food outlet would suffice to entice a large section of the community.
For the more astute and fussy bastards, vegetarians and the like we could offer the Zen Garden cheese course.
Thursday 8th
Well by the time I got to finish this the lockdown has been lifted for our area, although it is still current elsewhere. We really cannot keep locking the place down, there needs to be a balance and it looks as if Singapore is trialling this idea. Instead of zero cases, they are managing through many measures to keep it low and to a point where it will not overwhelm hospitals. Of course, vaccination is the key here.
We still have to wear a mask in shops but as usual, it is too hard for many to do this, they are too fucking stupid to realise that the nose needs to be covered……….no it’s not that…………they just don’t give fuck.
I am working in a retail situation and many folk come in here and have to be told to wear the mask. As from tomorrow the 9th July when entering a business of any sort you must use the Covid App or sign in. I am working in a plumbers supply store and I really cannot see the plumbers and trades that come in here using the app, because most do not give a fuck. Or it is the usual, it’s my privacy, big brother, 1984……….
There are few people in society today that are not being tracked in some form or another. Your Woolworths rewards card, fuel card, credit card, mobile phone, Facebook and in some cases CCTV. However, the tracing app is one-step too far because how dare the government follow me around, but they are happy to give all their information to the private sector without a second thought and of course, any potential crims that are looking for an empty house to raid just need to check Facebook.
If Covid gets a foothold in Australia then this place will be well and truly fucked. The outbreaks that have occurred have been down to incompetence and lack of common sense. For example, in the early days they let a shipload of people disembark in Sydney even although they knew many were infected. The public health staff have not been vaccinated. Many nurses have to float between different hospitals to get work. They have spread the virus. Most of the deaths have occurred in aged care because workers have brought it into their world. I am not blaming the workers but the government and employers that have not had the sense to have these key workers vaccinated. We get our pets vaccinated against a host of potential threats, but to immunise us humans is just too hard.
Mind you in saying all that I am glad that I am in my home at this time. If I were in China I would have found it financially challenging, in fact if I had been anywhere else than here this would have been the biggest hurdle. Being back in my own home makes it easier on that front and I am enjoying being back in my sanctuary. There are many things to keep me occupied and the bonus of life being relatively normal makes a difference. I just wish that I was financially independent and able to stay home rather than having to work.
But it is still worrying living in a country that reacts to situations rather than planning for them and often the reaction times are slow causing more issues for the community.