State by State, Australia vs Elsewhere, in the age of COVID-19 and beyond

[countessalmirena]

This thread is for the specific purpose of checking on milestone information (quotations and videos rather than table-form/spreadsheet/database information that fit better into k1ooo's thread), and responses by representatives from our government, CHOs, etc.

It's official: Australia has passed the 70% double dose vaccination rate.

❝Australia's double-dose vaccination rate has passed 70 per cent of all adults aged 16 and over

It is a key milestone in the national reopening plan.

More than 33 million vaccine doses have been distributed nationwide, and the first-dose rate nationally has reached 85.5 percent.

New South Wales and the ACT have already passed the 80 percent vaccination milestone, and Victoria and Tasmania are expected to reach 70 percent double-dosed within two days.❞

A tremendous achievement, but of course there is still some patchiness. We'll have to see some good efforts to correct misinformation, to provide solid health information, and to take the vaccine to the people who are not able or not willing to access it easily by themselves.

[rogespeed]

about $1 each as listed on alibaba for HIV rapid antigen test  so how much should be for coronavirus considering the massive demand ? 

[countessalmirena]

The ones on Alibaba are highly unlikely to be those to which the TGA has given approval.

The sensitivity/accuracy rate may be unsatisfactory, in which case they would not be “better than nothing” as they would give a very false sense of security.

[twyngwyn]

new English study:

Airborne COVID Loses Potency in Minutes - A Rich Life

[countessalmirena]

The title of that study is: ❝The Dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 Infectivity with Changes in Aerosol Microenvironment❞

link: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2022.01.08.22268944v1.full.pdf

Interesting study.

[twyngwyn]

It might be interesting in S.A. (seeing as we now have a week of unheard of rain for this time of year) whether our numbers increase due to humidity??

NSW & Vic and ACT have plenty of rain.....S.A. & W.A. are virtual deserts

[countessalmirena]

Chinese government orders mass virus testing ahead of Beijing Winter Olympics as authorities step up anti-virus controls

People in a Beijing district with some 2 million residents have been ordered to undergo mass coronavirus testing following a series of infections as China tightened anti-disease controls ahead of the Winter Olympics.

The government has told people in areas of the Chinese capital deemed at high risk for infection not to leave the city after 25 cases were found in the Fengtai district and 14 elsewhere.

The ruling Communist Party is stepping up enforcement of its "zero tolerance" strategy aimed at isolating every infected person as Beijing prepares to open the Winter Games on February 4 under intensive anti-virus controls.

Increased anti-virus measures

On Sunday, Fengtai residents lined up on snow-covered sidewalks in freezing weather for testing.

The Chinese capital must "take the most resolute, decisive and strict measures to block the transmission chain of the epidemic," a city government spokesman, Xu Hejian, told a news conference.

"In principle, personnel in risk areas shall not leave Beijing," Mr Xu said.

In spite of the obvious human rights issues and other deplorable aspects, one has to admire the ability of China to get things done. The sheer logistics and the enforcement / high degree of compliance are pivotal in China's response to COVID-19, of course. No "I am a sovereign person" or "I'm not getting the vaccine" or even "I'm not getting tested" and "How dare you infringe on our human rights by locking us up"; it's the People's Republic way and that's that.

[chameleon54]

" In spite of the obvious human rights issues and other deplorable aspects, one has to admire the ability of China to get things done. "

Sorry, but I dont admire anything the Chinese Government has done. Totalitarian control, human rights abuses on a mass scale, complete loss of individual freedoms including the right to free speech & thought, bullying and interference in other countries affairs including cyber attacks on Australian institutions, theft of international information technology and patent abuses etc. etc. 

Australia is slowly but surely following our leaders down a similar path. You only have to look at how freedom of speech is being eroded under the guise of political correctness and the recent introduction of social apartheid into Australia by our leaders as a form of blackmail/ social control of the masses re. vaccination.

COVID has allowed our governments to hasten these public control measures in ways we never would have accepted in the past although we where already heading this way before COVID came along. You only have to look at Victoria's choice of a Communist loving Dan Andrews government with fascist leanings to see far down the Communist path Australia has already gone.

Australia is dabbling in very dangerous places with large numbers of starry eyed, naive people embracing Communism lite. It only takes a global shock such as COVID to see the public lose control of its own destiny with totalitarian Governments using the crisis to gain total control of the people.

[chameleon54]

Unthinkable in Australia I know, but they might even lock everyone in their houses for six months at a time .......................... Hang on.............🙄

[countessalmirena]

Absolutely no need to preface your post with "Sorry, but", chameleon. China's regime does not excite me to admiration; it is hugely effective, and that can be spoken of in the abstract, distinct from what it is effective about.

It's probably a topic for a different thread... but as an example, manufacturers who used to source their cotton from Xinjiang and have spoken of their concern about what is happening to the Uyghurs were given swift "Fall into line or we'll cancel you in China" responses. Disgusting. (Would you like to open a new topic about this? I'll be more than happy to continue the discussion there.)

[twyngwyn]

Omicron variant has a 'stealth' version: What we know so far (thenewdaily.com.au)