Core business

 

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Our core business ought to be public health so that businesses can continue to flourish and we can thrive. Suppressing the  spread of  illness ought to be  a priority. I have said before we do not help ourselves when we bang on about losing our freedom and things like the inconvenience of mask wearing . Health professionals have talked to us about good practice until they are blue in the face and our hospitals and staff have become stressed and distressed.  Some people, no matter their age, are very keen to get the fourth booster. Currently it is restricted to over 65s and those with health conditions which warrant it. Doesn't everyone need it? I know health care people are fed up talking to us and trying to help us when so many would rather abandon something as simple as a mask rather than keep themselves and everyone healthy. I know there have been some irrational and unreasonable protests about health measures to keep the public safe. Keep your distance! How hard is it? Wear a mask! What an imposition. Santitise! I have worked out we have been so unhygienic and grubby. We did need to lift our hygiene practices, especially when it came to cleaning public spaces. Right now the messages don't seem to be supporting the welfare and wellbeing of people. I am concerned how easily covid is spreading, how much gastric illness there is and then how worried people are because it seems we are doomed to live with constantly being sick. 

We need some sort of concerted effort and messaging to get ourselves past this bit. Remember the Life Be In It campaign? Something a bit cheerful and positive to get the core business of public health on a surer footing. When the public knows better than qualified health professionals then I am sure we need to suffer the consequences of ill informed decision making. Trouble is, there are innocents going to the wall as that approach is adopted, and that is wrong. When you have to rely on others for your own wellbeing because that is the nature of infectious diseases, we need some collaboration and co operation. Maybe a bit of lively,  cheerful messaging might work? As it stands we are dragging this public health mess around and it is weighing on us all. 

What are we thinking?

 

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Bit hard to know what we are thinking. Here we have been shopping non stop since Covid hit. It has been relentless for supermarkets and other shops. We seem to need all this food. There has not been a quiet period since 2020 and maybe it will never happen. What is the matter with us? We are also quite divided as to our approaches to Covid. Some are happy to be maskless, have  no problem being sick or allowing others to be sick. The level of illness is a health crisis no one is taking seriously. Just in my own sphere there are gastric illnesses, heart ailments, strokes, respiratory illnesses, vertigo and dizziness, anemia, fatigue, flu, Covid. I have never seen or heard of so many people sick. We really need to sort this out. We are no longer sure if a fourth booster will help because there is information saying BA5 is not helped by our vaccine and that is on the way. We are being pulled down and messed around. Workplace absenteeism is normal. I should like to know how much absenteeism is affecting schools. Certainly affecting kindergartens. Whole families are sick. Social clubs are affected by illness and workplaces are under strain. Not wearing a mask is silly. It helps. Sanitising helps, social distancing helps. Shopping seems to soothe?! We need a plan to get out of this because we are only a month into winter. We need to stop concerning ourselves with pretending it is all underlying conditions and start things about what it actually is we need to do to improve our health and welfare. For us, a change of state and federal government has been beneficial. It takes some getting used to , though We have been emotionally bashed and brow beaten for nearly 10 years and so people are worn out. They will rally. Maybe it will be slow and sure. We need a plan!

Covid has not gone away

 

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Covid has not gone away. In January it was the second leading cause of death in Australia and by now it might be top because our death rate has increased. But, it is okay , isn't it, it is only old people . The very people who built the strength, safety and security of Australia. The ones who spent their lives making this a prosperous, positive nation. It is okay if they die as long as we can have coffee, go on trips and be normal. The death rate for older people is not acceptable at all. While they are dying, younger people are dying too but no one seems to care. It is only a cold. Just mild really.  There was an article which tried to address this lack of care we had. In the end it assumed it wasn't our fault really. All very understandable. Killing old people is pretty normal and if we had the death rate we have been having this year for anything else, we would be acting on it. We have more than doubled our deaths this year form the previous two years. South Australia has just lost it. Until November 23rd 2021 we had four deaths from the pandemic. It has stayed that way from the beginning. Today we have 351. What is wrong with people?

Reinfection is undesirable, killing people is not nice, putting under 5s at risk is horrible. Forgetting we are coming into flu season and there are other Covid variants is high risk behaviour. So why do we not care? What is the matter with us? Doing what works is not hard and being a rebel without a clue is silly. We are not rebelling, though. We just aren't doing what works. We are not using preventative measures which make a difference. That is not rational. The statistics to do with Covid are starting to amass and picture is not pretty. Living in a disadvantaged area increases your chances of not surviving. 

While we are spouting election tripe we should focus more on our own health and welfare. The election campaign should not exclusively fill the airwaves when we need to stop putting ourselves at risk from a vile disease. Not wanting it is not sufficient reason to ignore it because we have to collaborate to get rid of it. 

For a start , it needs to be broadcast about the distance between primary vaccinations which ATAGI has just notified. They have changed this based on all the data they are collecting. We do have people who are spending all their time trying to help us get through this pandemic. We need to practice the art of noticing and, at the very least, put on a mask. 

Mask up!

 

No matter how you think or feel, the pandemic is not over. Coronavirus has not gone away. We have to fight and manage the spread as adults, not fanciful toddlers with the I want ,I want , I want. I don't want covid. I don't want others to get covid. It is horrible . According to our national statistics, 20s and 30s are getting the disease in huge numbers, but older people are dying from it. As politicians forgo mandates and restrictions they must have a knowledge that what they are doing with that is killing old people in significant numbers and subjecting younger people to repeated reinfections and the possibility of long covid. Avoiding hard and difficult conversations about the reality of this disease matters not one bit to the virus. It will infect any host it finds. 

Stephen Colbert addresses the situation in America where they changed mask mandates for flying and some people were caught up in that as they flew. The change was immediately effective. No consideration at all for the health and welfare of others. Flying in a closed box means you can quite easily catch what others have. Been there, done that  as many would have even before the pandemic. The bonus with this clip is you get a bit about the presidentials in France. Colbert is very good. 

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Politicians may be saying one thing but we have to continue to follow good health advice to put barriers between us and the transmission of this virus. More sick people will not make it possible to run businesses and organisations. You need happy, well people to do that. We need to look at how to manage the virus and keep people healthy. Uninfected. Masks help. They really help. Social disancing helps. We have to do the things which keep us effectively in control. Ramping up case numbers and deaths is not a good ploy . How is that helping? Why are we also risking illness to under 5s? Taking control does not equate to locking people up and down when we can achieve vaccination numbers, good air quality and we have RATs available so people can test themselves. For those who think RATs are unreliable , maybe we need to have a good look at that to see if they are or not and how to make them , and people using them, more effective. Dealing with the issues and roadblocks is better than open slather which will create more cases. That is what happens. 

We have increased our flu cases in South Australia. Nobody needs flu either. The advice is to wear masks and social distance and , at least, there is vaccine for under 5s. 

Wearing a mask is the least possible thing you can do besides nothing. Masks work!

Coping with Covid

 Image: SA Health /Facebook

When the going gets tough, Adelaide goes to the supermarket. It has not let up since Christmas. There is normally the Christmas rush, a lull then it builds up for Easter again. My local supermarkets are always busy and staff tell me there is rarely a quiet time. What are we doing with all this supermarket haul? I am shopping as I have always shopped. I haven't changed. Are people stockpiling? Comfort eating? Staying at home more and so needing more at home more often? Are they cooking more for themselves? Shopping for others who have Covid?

I do not get the impression we are overweight. In fact, I'd say we are pretty fitness conscious at the moment. In the local area people walk their dogs, their children, walk with their friend or are walking in a group. Some are walking alone. This year there has been lots of walking. Not strolling. A good, solid walk at a good pace. So  why all this supermarket  shopping?

People are sharing ideas as to how to cope too. Some have just been going along quietly and following safe practices. Others are out and about and going off on local trips. Some are attending events. On a regular basis we hear of more getting Covid. Whole families. They approach it logically and sensibly but it is not fun . They get good help from SA Health and they get good help from friends, family and neighbours. Haven't yet heard of anyone just being left to get on with it. Maybe because they can't tell anyone? A lot of people mask up their children and we have kept our masks on because they work. 

It then seems weird to live in a country , and world, where a virus is just left to spread. I grew up in an age where there was polio, diphtheria, rheumatic heart fever, measles, scarlet fever. I was there when the vaccines and good medical practices were being developed. I missed the bit where children had to be hospitalised because of scarlet fever and I had it twice. Once with measles. I was three. My parents cared for me at home and a doctor home visited. They followed what he said. At school I was with children in leg irons and who were sickly from rheumatic heart fever. That experience taught me that not everyone is well all the time. At no point did we let disease spread. As soon as vaccines arrived we had them. We were given bottles of milk and medicine, not disease. 

It was good, then, to hear the press conference this morning which included information about schools. It was done in a very reassuring way for parents, especially, but was very clear about the guidelines for teachers and teaching staff so that everyone had a Covid safe plan. I grew up at a time when everyone did the right thing because it was the right thing to do. Military precision. People have become the options and choices people now. They want to make their own choices. The pandemic has taught us we have to operate as a cohesive group to get success. We cope with those who don't want vaccines by making good health choices for everyone. If they get Covid , and survive,  they will have antibodies. If they spread Covid more easily, as has been said, then we have to look at what they are doing so the social distancing and clean air  is there. The old are dying from covid, not so much the young, so we have to protect older people and we have to protect the under 5s. Clear press conferences help to explain decisions and the conference was firm but fair. 

We had just about five and a half thousand cases today. We have to change this and our behaviour. It is not logical or sane to let disease spread unchecked. It is a lunatic way to go about living. It does not make sense to let Covid spread and offer a legacy of long Covid, constant illness and reinfection, sick households. It will be debilitating and will create so many more problems besides Covid. Common sense and mitigation have to prevail . Talking people  clearly through this has to continue. 

Covid Bingo

 Image : Reddit

Doesn't seem to matter where you are in the world at the moment, we get up every morning and play Covid bingo and then it is a lottery as to whether you get it or not. The cognitive dissonance is strong. When have we ever let a lethal virus run riot? When have people just plain ignored health information because they want to be "normal". When was covid informed we have had enough and it's time just to get on with life?

Today, in South Australia, we hit over 30, 000 cases. When the borders opened November 23rd 2021 we had no cases and the odd breakout we controlled. If you look at the very extensive health information on our Australian government health site the 20s and 30s are driving the infections in Australia but the 60+ age group are sacrificing their lives. We are using young people to carry the virus to older people so they die. Nice. We are also using that age group to infect unvaccinated under 5s who are getting the virus. We keep schools open so the not properly vaccinated children can bring the virus home and so schools are like super spreader venues where teachers and families can get covid. Is that what we are doing?

Harsh. Yes. Very harsh. it is a really unpleasant, unbelievable set of circumstances. Every morning we get up and struggle with it. Where is the sense? The logic?  I understand we had all those freedom fighters protesting their rights and people were banging on about opening the borders and  having one Australia. I understand politicians were receiving vile threats to themselves and their families. I understand politicians  said one thing and people wanted another then they got the other and still the politicians were wrong. Open the borders, shut the borders, turn the borders over. Wear the masks , don't wear the masks. Stay at home, don't stay at home. Always you have to come back to what works : masking, ventilation, social distancing, sanitising and washing hands. SA Health puts good information up on Facebook and in Facebook stories every day. Instagram puts up Covid safe information all the time. 30, 000 plus cases tells me we are not listening. Supermarket shopping, yes. The shops are always busy.  Listening , no. We have a population of 1.7 million . Victoria has a population of around 6 million and has 56, 000 plus cases. We are getting it wrong. 

Some think it is all over because they can't do this bingo everyday. Have the kids got it? Do they go to school or not? Have I got it? Can I go to work? Is the RAT showing negative right or wrong? I don't want it, do I have to stay home again. What? They were vaccinated and are in ICU? The confusion and complexity is rife. People can't necessarily get in to see a doctor. They can't necessarily get an ambulance. The world is unsafe and we are on our own. The information is there but not percolating through the population and then there are those who are just plain making it worse. 

It is currently a bit of a free for all and the only way through is to keep a level head and consult solid information. You then end up hoping the health resources will be there. Are they? This is not managing a pandemic. Living with covid is horrible.