Welcome to NSW - the land of the free

[Bobby]

We went to the shops to get some stuff, to Bunnings to get the last materials for the built in and to the supermarket.

How many times were we asked for our proof of vaccination......none, zilch, nada.

That is a surprise - I thought everyone would be checked by law?

[Valkie]

We went to the shops to get some stuff, to Bunnings to get the last materials for the built in and to the supermarket.

How many times were we asked for our proof of vaccination......none, zilch, nada.

That is a surprise - I thought everyone would be checked by law?

We got some more shopping today.
I need some material for my next project and the wife needs some clothes.

Might even have lunch at the club.
We shall see if we get checked today.

[lisa jones]

Welcome to NSW - the land of the free

Good reasons to believe COVID cases may not skyrocket as NSW opens up


Professor Catherine Bennett is chair of epidemiology at Deakin University. She is a leading researcher and teacher in public health.

NSW has begun the process of opening up in earnest. Former premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the state could expect cases to “go through the roof” once it reached this stage. But NSW may well avoid a calamitous rise in infections, with quite a few things working in its favour already.

First, there has already been some progressive easing out of restrictions throughout September, according to the mobility data. This is not unexpected after a long lockdown, and we are seeing the same pattern in Victoria and the ACT. The mobility reports linked to retail and recreation show NSW achieved a nearly 50 per cent reduction in mobility in August compared with pre-pandemic, but this eased back to just over 35 per cent by the first week of October.


This anticipation of rule changes and increased movement actually makes the 70 per cent easing of rules a somewhat smaller step in epidemiological terms than it might otherwise have been. While the range of retail, services and hospitality businesses now opening up were excluded then, the increased mobility may reflect a greater degree of engagement in other unallowed activities including home visiting which is, in many ways, more risky than managed indoor encounters in work, retail or hospitality settings.

NSW’s staged opening is also occurring with vaccination levels in the eligible population over 16 years of age closer to 75 per cent then the scheduled 70 per cent and may even reach close to 80 per cent by the weekend when most will really start to enjoy the extra freedoms. In addition, more than 90 per cent of this group has at least one dose, so more than half those not yet fully vaccinated do at least have one dose, reducing their risk of hospitalisation by as much as two thirds.

Two temporary COVID-19 wards closed in Sydney due to waning demand last week, a good sign of where things might be heading. Hospitalisations in NSW have now declined by one third since the peak, same with ICU admissions. They may rise over future weeks, but the pattern to date suggests this will be below the Burnet modelling estimates and within surge capacity.

Importantly, the population level protection from vaccine coverage will be at its peak right now with more than 50 per cent of recipients having completed their second dose within the last six weeks. The timing of the opening up leverages this period of maximum risk reduction for both infection and forward transmission among those who are fully vaccinated.

NSW is heading towards becoming one of the most highly vaccinated populations in the world, with 75 per cent of the entire NSW population, including infants and children, having had at least one dose. That’s now just in front of Britain today, and equivalent to Denmark, which has also opened completely but with case numbers in check.

But we have to remember that we don’t have the same natural immunity in Australia that many other countries have. It is important to ease into living with the virus, and we will continue to have rules in place, density restrictions and caps at events as we take this step by step. The public health teams will continue to manage outbreaks and monitor community transmission, but we may go for days at a time without paying attention to the case numbers.

It is also important that we remember it’s not just what we are allowed to do as restrictions progressively lift, but how we do it. We can also help manage local and global risk by staying mindful of transmission risks, especially those linked to household gatherings that we know only too well now. We can make an impact on next week’s hospitalisations by staying in step with the rules as they ease, and making the most of the outdoors when we have people to our homes, or meeting at venues where COVID-safe rules are in place.

All eyes are now on NSW – may these next weeks be epidemiologically uneventful. There is a lot that all states and territories will want to learn from this next, more substantial, step towards living with the virus.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/goo ... s-may-not-...

[lisa jones]

No masks.

No QR codes.

What vaccine passport?

Who needed what jab?

We're still using hand sanitizer though. BFD we Europeans have been using that for decades!

Hubby's Covid19 tests are coming back negative every 3 days. As per always.

We've not had a cough or a sniffle in our household for 2 straight years ffs!

And we still don't know anyone who's contracted Covid19.

I'm off to cook a yummy healthy organically grown dinner for tonight!

[lisa jones]

We went to the shops to get some stuff, to Bunnings to get the last materials for the built in and to the supermarket.

How many times were we asked for our proof of vaccination......none, zilch, nada.

That is a surprise - I thought everyone would be checked by law?

We got some more shopping today.
I need some material for my next project and the wife needs some clothes.

Might even have lunch at the club.
We shall see if we get checked today.

Let us know Valkie.

The more feedback the better. Speaking of feedback...the mortgage broker I ended up using was on the phone to me this morning about the shitful situation of Melbourne (where he lives). He's making plans to move his family up to Sydney.

He reckons Dicktator Dan won't last. Come next election he'll be out. Too many Victorians have died under his botched dictatorship. And people there will never forget that. Nor will they ever forget the economic and psychological ramifications of his harsh lockdown measures.

Interest rates will move up next year AFTER Scomo introduces tougher lending criteria which means people won't be able to borrow as much irrespective of low interest rates.

Ok now ... I gots ta cook.

[sprintcyclist]

Still cannot go and see my wifes dying mother in Coffs Harbour.

What a joke, we are fully vaccinated and yet we must bow to those who are not.

Sorry to hear that

[Bobby]

We went to the shops to get some stuff, to Bunnings to get the last materials for the built in and to the supermarket.

How many times were we asked for our proof of vaccination......none, zilch, nada.

That is a surprise - I thought everyone would be checked by law?

We got some more shopping today.
I need some material for my next project and the wife needs some clothes.

Might even have lunch at the club.
We shall see if we get checked today.

Please let us know?

[Valkie]

Ok,

Bunnings, checked to see I used the app to log on, no double vac check.

Woolworths, again, checked that I logged on, no vac check.

Big W, covid log on and vac check.

The local club, vac check, covid log on, membership log on.

Two out of four ain't bad.

[Bobby]

Ok,

Bunnings, checked to see I used the app to log on, no double vac check.

Woolworths, again, checked that I logged on, no vac check.

Big W, covid log on and vac check.

The local club, vac check, covid log on, membership log on.

Two out of four ain't bad.

I think it's because the experience at night clubs is well known.
People who get told they can't enter the night club
start bashing the security guards -
it happens every day.
Who wants to stand at the door of Woolworth's and get bashed to a pulp
for the minimum wage?
The stupid idiots making the legislation never thought of that.

[sprintcyclist]

Ok,

Bunnings, checked to see I used the app to log on, no double vac check.

Woolworths, again, checked that I logged on, no vac check.

Big W, covid log on and vac check.

The local club, vac check, covid log on, membership log on.

Two out of four ain't bad.

How do they check for vacc or not ?