Covid 19 - Updates from your zones

[Yastreb]

A seven-day lockdown for Victoria has been declared.

The premier issued this statement.

On the advice of our public health team, Victoria will move to circuit breaker restrictions from 11:59pm tonight. These settings will remain in place until 11:59pm on 3 June – but if we can end that sooner, we will.
As we've seen here, and across Australia, this kind of short, sharp action is effective in stopping this thing in its tracks.
Our public health experts’ prime concern: just how fast the B1.617.1 variant is moving.
Overseas, they haven’t been able to track how quickly this version of the virus can move. Here in Victoria, though, we’re seeing not only how quick it is – but how contagious it is too.
Our contract tracers are identifying and locking down first ring, second ring and third ring contacts within 24 hours. That’s faster than ever. And yet this variant is still moving faster.
The time between catching the virus and passing it on is tighter than ever. The ‘serial interval’ – how long it takes between the onset of symptoms in the first and secondary case – is in many cases just over a day.
And in just 24 hours, the number of cases has doubled.
It means that although these cases are all connected, this variant of the virus is making people more infectious, more quickly.
We’ve seen other countries come up against these variants and lose. Badly. Places like Taiwan that have gone from no or very low cases to skyrocketing numbers in the space of just days and weeks – and now are struggling to get it under control.
We also know our nation’s vaccine rollout has been slower than we’d hoped. And if more people were vaccinated, we might be facing a different set of circumstances. Sadly, were not.
If we make the wrong choice now, if we wait too long, if we hesitate too much, this thing will get away from us. And lives will be at risk.
It’s why from 11:59pm tonight, there will be five reasons to leave home:
Food and supplies. Authorised work. Care and caregiving. Exercise, for up to two hours and with one other person. And getting vaccinated.
Exercise and shopping will be limited to five kilometres from home. If there’s no shops in your 5km radius, you can travel to the ones closest to you. Shopping is also limited to one person per day, per household.
Face masks will also need to be worn inside and outdoors – everywhere except your own home.
Private and public gatherings will not be permitted, although visiting your intimate partner continues to be okay. Single person bubbles will also be allowed.
Childcare and kinder will remain open, but schools will need to close other than for the children of authorised workers and vulnerable kids.
Shops like supermarkets, food stores, bottle shops, banks, petrol stations and pharmacies will also remain open. Cafes and restaurants will be able to offer take-away only. Gyms, hairdressers, community facilities and entertainment venues will all close. Non-essential retail may only open for click and collect.
Hotels and accommodation can only stay open to support guests already staying onsite. No new bookings can be made – unless it’s for one a permitted purpose, like authorised work.
Advice on who can open, and who can’t, will be made available online ahead of directions coming into place – as will the full list of authorised workers and workplaces.
It’s clear – more than ever – this virus isn’t going away. And vaccines are the only way we’ll ever get back to normal.
Without full vaccination, this virus will just keep mutating – and just keep making its way back in.
To that end, from tomorrow and dependent upon supply from the Federal Government, all Victorians over the age of 40 will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.
My message to those Victorians: if you’re eligible, get vaccinated. Make your plan today.
If someone you love is eligible, make a plan together.
Do it for yourself. Your family. Your friends. Your community. Whatever your motivation – please do it.
Because vaccination is our only real ticket out of this pandemic.[/size]

[Tarnagh]

Stay safe, Yastreb.

I have a feeling that if I'm going to have a cookout with family this summer, I'd better get it done soon. I suspect we in the US are all going to be back to ... whatever you want to call what we did last year ... by the end of the summer.

[Róisín]

Courage, Yastreb, and keep yourself safe! Unfortunately your state seems to have copped the new fast-spreading variant that came out of hotel quarantine here in SA. I wish authorities would be more careful with hotel quarantine, both in checking people before they are released, and watching the ventilation - apparently the patient who brought it to Victoria was actually infected while in quarantine, having been okay when he went in. Ærosol transmission is suspected, either from opening doors into a shared corridor at the wrong time, or from airconditioning shared between a group of rooms. Good luck mate! Will contact you later today - my day seems to be turning into hurry-up-and-wait (medical appointments).

[catbirds]

Woah... I hope you stock up well for this lockdown and manage to spend the week comfortably. And that this lockdown is properly enforced.

[Yastreb]

Woah... I hope you stock up well for this lockdown

I promptly made a supply run and stocked up for the week ahead. Now to work out how to cope with the onslaught of le cafard...

[Róisín]

Don’t let the beetle bite, mate. I hope you and Andrew don’t perish of ennui, but at least having a flatmate to talk to now may help (give the lad my regards). Are you still cat-sitting the feline you were looking after?

[Yastreb]

The lockdown in Victoria has been extended for another week amidst concern about how COVID strain B.1.617 is so easily spread.

Róisín, sadly the cat went home a while ago. Too bad, huh.

[Yastreb]

The number of cases confirmed in Victoria is approaching seventy, and the Delta-variant has been identified among them.

But in the midst of it all, anti-lockdowners and anti-vaxxers found the time and energy to try a rally to block access to vaccination sites, although they were "moved on."

[Opaque]

Anti vaxxers are so annoying to deal with. At least they were shooed away. Keep staying safe.

[catbirds]

I also get quite annoyed by anti-maskers, anti-vaxxers, anti-lockdowners, anti-etc… :') especially while working at a retail store, dealing with them is frustrating and sours my day sometimes. But, ehh… personal issues with them aside they definitely do throw a wrench in the whole quarantine-lockdown-social distancing thing. Especially for vaccinations, I've yet to encounter that myself but that sounds awful for all the volunteers and nurses trying to give everyone their shots

As usual, hope you're stocked up on supplies and staying safe, Yastreb! Everyone else, too, as this pandemic never feels quite like it's approaching its end.

[Róisín]

Yastreb, good luck mate, and I hope you all survive. It’s a worry.

[catbirds]

It's that time of the pandemic again! My city has now opened outdoor dining and people are lining up to go into totally regular department stores. I don't really get the rush, but sure, some people are probably bored of their tiny apartments. I still think it's Too Early because didn't we try this a year ago? But I guess at the time we also didn't have vaccines, so I'm not really sure what to think of this particular decision...

I'm still kind of nervous about it all, though. Especially with the relatively low amount of people fully vaccinated. I might even start double-masking again just to be Extra Safe now that people can walk around the store I work in. :')))

(for context: I live in Ontario)

[JoB]

I'm still kind of nervous about it all, though. Especially with the relatively low amount of people fully vaccinated.

Germany is at about 50% partly, 25% fully vaccinated¹, plus steadily falling incidences. Nonetheless, the fed parliament has extended the "state of an epidemic of national importance" (which allows for faster federal countermeasures) until the end of September, and some places (like the city of Cologne) are keeping some above-legal-minimum mandatory-masks, no-alcohol etc. regulations in place.

Since such regulations restrict constitutional freedoms, which is only allowed when the restrictions are absolutely necessary, we're now headed into debates whether even the most basic regulations are even constitutional ...

Spoiler¹: show

IIUC these figures hold for most of Europe, with notable exceptions in the UK (higher) and part of the East of Europe.

I might even start double-masking again just to be Extra Safe now that people can walk around the store I work in. :')))
(for context: I live in Ontario)

... would your employer happen to appreciate some regional avantgarde fashion?

[Yastreb]

The restrictions in Melbourne are a bit of a patchwork. While masks are again compulsory outdoors, on public transport, and in shops and the like, the travel limit is now out to 25 kilometres, which means that better supermarkets are accessible, and I can visit my sister and her family.

[Opaque]

Yeah, it does still feel too early. But what can you do? If the government stops caring about precautions then people will do everything they can to not be safe. I just know that I'll still be wearing masks for a while still.