It was to be expected, but the new modelling of case numbers in New South Wales still seems shocking. The state has been warned to expect 25,000 new cases a day by the end of January as transmission surges and restrictions ease.
The messages have been mixed: from politicians it’s stay calm and celebrate our high vaccination rates. But from others, like NSW chief health officer Kerry Chant, it’s be cautious and wear masks indoors. Elsewhere, Western Australia has again tightened its borders to Victoria and NSW, and across Europe restrictions are being reintroduced as the Omicron variant spreads.
These conflicting viewpoints follow two years of fear and panic and are doing nothing for our mental health, experts say, as we are primed for worry and anxiety.
Politicising public health a huge concern
Politicians have never really got it right on COVID-19. They’re quick to announce good news, such as the vaccine rollout or — as of this morning — new jobs and the economic rebound, but don’t acknowledge plans have been continuously thrown into disarray as variants emerge.
Co-director of health and policy at the University of Sydney’s Brain and Mind Centre Professor Ian Hickie says pretending everything is fine while other parts of the world struggle with Omicron creates tension.
“The counterfactual is running all the time, and against the background of everything that’s happened over the last two years it becomes harder and harder to reconcile these differences,” he said.
“Conflicting information is most fear-inducing so, of course, lack of trust in public health messaging is a key concern.”
Hickie says rather than erring on the side of caution, politicians are focusing on the business messages to help them through the election cycle.
“It doesn’t work,” he said. “People want to know how the case numbers are going to affect Christmas and the return of school next year with kids still unvaccinated. Close contacts will impact health workers and hospital capacity, and mental health impacts of the pandemic keep rising.”
Messaging is designed to curb anxiety
CEO of Community Mental Health Australia Bill Gye says although it seems people were enjoying the lift in restrictions, he predicts within the next few days anxiety will rise as events are cancelled and more people become close contacts.
The messages from the media and politicians was important, he says.
While people often come back from the new year feeling ready to tackle new challenges, this was down to groupthink and a social construct over the actual break.
“Politicians are attempting to shape the emotional state of the populace and to a certain effect that will have an impact,” he said. But it won’t work for everyone: For those with anxiety and depression “there will be a lot of difficulty adapting [to new normal]”.
What is the new normal?
High case numbers were always to be expected and eased restrictions once regions hit rates of 80% fully vaccinated was in line with Australia’s national plan based on modelling from the Doherty Institute. We need to focus on deaths and hospitalisations over case numbers which so far have remained steady.
The new normal means people should be combining at-home rapid antigen tests with official PCR tests, maintaining social distancing and good hygiene, getting booster doses on schedule and, soon, taking antiviral pills once they have a confirmed case COVID to reduce the change of developing severe symptoms.
But it also means that as QR codes remain mandatory only for high-risk settings, people will have to alert their social circles if they catch COVID. It also means those who are unvaccinated, either by choice or for health reasons, are at a higher risk.
And the vaccines don’t protect everyone from the virus. The elderly and those with comorbidities are still at risk of developing serious illness.
NSW are acting like lunatics. Health Hazzard is ignoring the facts, though speaking about caution. Perrottet is demonstring that his is a prattling idiot. Daily case numbers for Western NSW have trebled in a few days and everyone is acting as if there is no issue. Yet cases are almost exponential. We do not know how dangerous Omicron will be for another 10 days at least, but the highest risk venues are told they can be even more high risk. Yesterday NSW changed the definition of close contact to define them as household contacts. Apparently the entire super spreader at Newcaslte was between people who had no close contact. What kind of nitwit this man?
Bugger it. Nitwit is this man? demonstrating.
Wow, still thinking it’s March 2020 and clinging to doomerism despite ample evidence that vaccinations dramatically reduce the risk of serious illness and death.
If you’re still terrified of COVID despite being vaccinated then feel free to lock yourself inside forever.
Omicron has not been properly examined, yet.
As such we know that only 41% of the antibodies extracted from fully vaccinated donors bind to this new strain and so those vaccinations and boosters help in 41% of the exposures and the other 59% of the time are useless.
I agree that the vaccinations have reduced the effect of Covid19 infections, the degree of reduction can be disputed.
A double Vaccinated friend in Sydney, got Covid19 and spent 10 days in the ICU followed by 4 weeks in hospital.
He asked the ICU specialist “What use was my double vaccination”, as he was being discharged to a rehabilitation ward for 4 weeks. The reply was “The difference between leaving here in a body bag days ago and going to a ward”.
The research from South Africa seems to show a slower rate of expansion in the lungs and no one is saying “It will be fine” except for that string puppet like premier and the Prime Minimal”.
And so, if NSW reaches 25,000 per day, the death rate will also be enormous and the ICU units will need to ration beds.
I am not afraid of this virus, and I most certainly do not live my life in fear of anything, no not even death.
However, if this No QR codes, No Masks and generally mimicking the same thick as, stupidity of Boris and his band of Boofheads “Freedom Day”.
With all its super spreader events ends up with our population having 1 in 3 of its workers crippled with Long Covid, I would call that an own goal, just as the UK military used to call it when the IRA blew themselves up accidentally.
How will this all play out? Time will tell!! .
All good points ratty.
I guess I’m naturally optimistic!
The effect is worse in places where people have lived for months without local cases of Covid. First, all those people who might still have serious illness, despite being double vaccinated and even with a booster, but who do not yet know what Omicron is like, other than its infection numbers double every two to three days, fear the unknowns of getting sick. Second, people who are unsure whether the unvaccinated are mingling with the vaccinated, stay away from venues in districts where infections occur, disappointing the traders, who expected that opening up would mean more trade. Third, people who are told that only hospitalisations and deaths matter but know there is a lag of two to three weeks before the numbers are known, after exponential increases in cases, and who don’t know whether Omicron is less dangerous than Delta, feel they can’t go anywhere without risking isolation orders or worse. In such circumstances, “opening up” is eerily like “shutting down”. If only states, where people have not had experience of local cases, had waited till 90% of people over 12 were fully vaccinated and all the vulnerable had booster shots, then people might not feel that “owning up” is just like “shutting down”.
..or inside an ICU if immunocomprised, and in proximity to Spicelab & Co.
What people can’t see is not real. What people haven’t experienced doesn’t exist. There is no covid, it’s the flu. Anyone experienced long flu yet? My mind hurts, my eyes cry for the unnecessary graves.
Whackjob
That is what A,Commenter is describing.
I have experienced this and it was truly frightening because I was dealing with a delusional couple.
We had a couple who phoned and asked if we treated anti-Vaxxer’s.
We explained that we would see them and treat them, but, they must wear a mask, wash their hands and be the last patients of the day so that we could get the cleaners in to a deep clean after they were finished.
Yes, of course it was the antifa that led the riot on the Capitol and Donald Trump is a misunderstood genius and the rightfully elected president of the US, and the Left wingers were out of control…………
By the end I was fearful for my own sanity.
I too, cry for all the unnecessary graves that already exist and the ones to come.
A face mask is your friend. We are nowhere near being over this pandemic, regardless of what Dom and Scotty tell us. Use your commonsense people.
The extensive use of at-home rapid antigen tests would be great, if they didn’t cost $15 a pop. Would make sense for government to subsidise these too.
Here we go again with the “Awaiting for approval” ….. what’s wrong with “Awaiting approval”?
A p-i-c-t-u-r-e p-a-i-n-t-s a t-h-o-u-s-a-n-d words :–
“Some Enchanted Evening – ‘Elf Hazzard and Perrottet H-i-d-i-n-g B-e-h-i-n-d C-h-a-n-t” …. where was Scotty FM? H-i-d-i-n-g in the b-u-s-h-e-s, “L-u-r-k-i-n-g/l-o-o-k-i-n-g for a h-o-s-e”?
At last the “b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s/economy first/’O-p-e-n up and let ‘er rip’/’Living/D-y-i-n-g With Covid’” crowd have got their w-a-y.
On the bright side there’s some safety because of the b-u-n-g-l-e-d s-t-r-o-l-l-out vax plan.
How much further could we be if not for the Ruby Princess; p-r-o-p-e-r q-u-a-r-a-n-t-i-n-e f-a-c-i-l-i-t-i-e-s, ‘Elf’ Hazzard’s bu-n-g-l-e-d D-e-l-t-a D-a-w-n. And a w-e-l-l-m-a-n-a-g-e-d vaccine p-r-o-c-u-r-e-m-e-n-t/d-i-s-t-r-i-b-u-t-i-o-n system?
‘Reply’ with the original = again “Awaiting for approval”?
A picture paints a thousand words :–
“Some Enchanted Evening – ‘Elf Hazzard and Perrottet Hiding Behind Chant” …. where was Scotty FM? Hiding in the bushes, “Lurking/looking for a hose”?
At last the “business/economy first/’Open up and let ‘er rip’/’Living/Dying With Covid’” crowd have got their way.
On the bright side there’s some safety because of the bungled stroll-out vax plan.
“O-n t-h-e b-r-i-g-h-t s-i-d-e t-h-e-r-e-’-s s-o-m-e s-a-f-e-t-y b-e-c-a-u-s-e o-f t-h-e (b-u-n-g-l-e-d) s-t-r-o-l-l-o-u-t v-a-x p-l-a-n.”……….(?)
….. that ‘worked’……
How much further could we be if not for the Ruby Princess; proper quarantine facilities, ‘Elf’ Hazzard’s bungled Delta Dawn. And a well managed vaccine procurement/distribution system?
Good on ya,”klewso”! Crikey absolutely needs us cranky old guys, -( Without
Prejudice & assuming my long-experienced guesswork is accurate, – but what the heck, anyhoo!?) People do not even have much of any idea of what they speak using the term “new normal” – and this term is going to be long debated by the survivors! The “old normal” was never truly normal anyway, but it would be a waste of my time, at least, trying to explain this, if there was any need, as I ‘d usually expect. Let’s see how much I get away with, even in these few words. It is another very competent article on a tricky topic by Amber Schultz. We look forward to more Revelations regarding “sexual violence.” “Better out than in” was an old medical saying. Another was, “Catharsis was never a pretty sight.”
why didnt you write it like this in the first place???
Because until I launch it I don’t know whether they’ll let it float.
Can you see anything wrong with the g-a-p-p-e-d paragraph – that would cause it, and the whole piece to be run aground on the shoals of Awaiting for approval?
i.e anything wrong, “if it was presented without the h-y-p-h-e-n-s”?
So now the original is back into “Awaiting for approval” and after momentarily being deemed “duplicate”, suddenly it’s not?
Now, back to 9 in Afa detention?
Right from the start our govt’s Covid response has been an embarrassment to us. Instead of getting ahead of the game and start thinking of pro active activities like, you know, manufacturing vaccinations here under licence and becoming part of the global supply chain solution instead of a burden on it. We are supposed to be a first world nation. The sight of us begging around the rest of the world, please sir, can we have some more? was both sad and pathetic! Thank you Poland for giving us a million of your doses earlier this year. Even now. I heard the CEO of Moderna say a few weeks ago that they were in negotiations with the govt re manufacturing and stood ready, all going well, to be in production by next year. Comes the announcement from Scomo, yes they’re totally on board and going full speed ahead and will be in production in a few years time. Really! What the hell happened to next year!?
Smirko the clown.