Our Covid challenge

 

Image: SA Health

We can do this , you know. If we set goals, have clear messaging, use what works and help each other, we are in a good position in South Australia to beat these numbers. Team effort and collaboration. We are not hugely built up. We don't have lots of high rise apartments. W have space, we have trees, forests and beaches. We can get away from it and we can shop when it is quiet. Still don't know why, but we do have to get to the supermarket. It is how we are coping. We are also helping each other if there is quarantine and isolation involved. We can safely do that too with contactless deliveries. RATS for familes all going down with Covid is proving to be expensive. Those on pension cards can get their last lot of free RATs this month. Given it started late because of the federal governments expecting chemists to acquire the RATs themselves and the misunderstandings around that,  then maybe that timeline should be extended for another month? Those having to pay for them if, say,  two adults and two children in the home are infected with Covid are having to pay a lot. Can we look at the RATs pricing yet? Can we offer some free? You can get two free with your PCR test. That tends to mean you need a car. We can do the logistics better for people without cars or who are sole parents quarantining with little children. 

The last two days we have got the number down under 5000. That is a great achievement. Today it was 4096 infections and yesterday it was 4483. We know what to do. Stay home if we are sick, mask up, increase fresh air, sanitise, wash our hands, social distance, get vaccinated. Dr Moy(Australian Medical Association Vice President) said yesterday, "We're going to transition from sort of what they are telling us to do — like rules — to what we should do, which is a different world then, and that is where we really get to see what we're like in terms of our care and consideration for each other." 

He is right. They cannot keep telling us. At some point we have to take the science and what works onboard and drive it ourselves. We don't keep being told about seat belts , suntan cream and safety goggles. We are told regularly about using mobile phones while we are driving. Covid is a bit like the latter. We have to keep being told. Who knows why? We must be listening , though, because the numbers are going down and we could get them down more. We need to look at who spreads the infections and where. So many seem to come home from school but many seem to go from home to school. We need to be clear how we are spreading the infections so people can do something about it. Wearing masks works. Pass that on, not Covid.