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Coronavirus
- Thread starter Tigers of Old
- Start date
I’m not sure what States rights are under the Australian Constitution, but surely this can be classified as a National Crisis, or whatever wording can be used for the Federal Government to take over.
A National Cabinet (Committee) was formed to work together to manage the COVID Crisis. Was it there that the Feds abrogated control back to the States?
Surely it’s time that a standard Federal Action Plan is needed
Medi hotels in capital cities cbd just don’t work. It’s a ticking time bomb. Every capital city has an outbreak from medi hotels.
My only concern with the Feds taking over HQ is they could do a worse job.
This bit very neatly summarises why hotel quarantine is inherently flawed and why we will always face outbreaks while it is being used: "The nebulised mist entered a poorly ventilated room, then wafted onto a poorly ventilated corridor, there the mist was moved around by people perhaps not wearing sufficient personal protection equipment, then wafted into other poorly ventilated rooms and hitched a ride on hapless staff out into Melbourne. And MIGHT now have hitched a ride through an Italian espresso onto planes around Australia."
Concern over Wuhan probe (paywalled)
The Biden White House has joined an international chorus of criticism of the World Health Organisation’s probe into the origins of the coronavirus as an Australian specialist confirmed that China had limited investigator’s access to data.
The WHO last week said there was evidence COVID had not begun in Wuhan, was unlikely to have started in a lab, and even that it was possible that it came from another country.
But there are lingering questions about how much access investigators were given for their report, which is expected to be released in coming weeks.
Australian infectious diseases specialist Professor Dominic Dwyer, a WHO investigator who has returned to Sydney and is currently in quarantine, confirmed that raw data had been held back.
Prof Dwyer reportedly said raw data, known as “line listings”, on 174 Wuhan cases in December 2019 was not made available.
The data would have been anonymous but would have contained details about disease progression, patient movements and their treatment response that investigators could have used.
“That’s standard practice for an outbreak investigation,” Prof Dwyer told Reuters.
Mr Dwyer said the data was considered important because only half of those documented 174 cases had been exposed to the Huanan wet market, where the virus was first detected.
“That’s why we’ve persisted to ask for that,” Prof Dwyer said.
“Why that doesn’t happen, I couldn’t comment. Whether it’s political or time or it’s difficult …
“But whether there are any other reasons why the data isn’t available, I don’t know. One would only speculate.”
The origins of the coronavirus have become a geopolitical football and Donald Trump and his secretary of state Mike Pompeo had forcefully and repeatedly criticised Beijing’s handling of the pandemic.
Mr Trump also pledged to withdraw from the WHO, a decision President Joe Biden reversed in his first days in office.
New national security advisor Jake Sullivan on Saturday morning, local time, said the Biden administration also questioned the WHO’s handling of the investigation and how the preliminary report findings were communicated.
“Re-engaging the WHO also means holding it to the highest standards,” Mr Sullivan said in a statement.
“At this critical moment, protecting the WHO’s credibility is a paramount priority. We have deep concerns about the way in which the early findings of the COVID-19 investigation were communicated and questions about the process used to reach them.
“It is imperative that this report be independent, with expert findings free from intervention or alteration by the Chinese government. To better understand this pandemic and prepare for the next one, China must make available its data from the earliest days of the outbreak.
“Going forward, all countries, including China, should participate in a transparent and robust process for preventing and responding to health emergencies — so that the world learns as much as possible as soon as possible.”
Full transcript of Aust CMO press conference:
www.health.gov.au
Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly's press conference on 13 February 2021
Read the transcript of Chief Medical Officer, Professor Paul Kelly's press conference on 13 February 2021 about coronavirus (COVID-19).
I am just so sick of the politics. I heard that weasel Tim Wilson on the ABC yesterday morning supposedly talking about COVID and all he could do was play politics and praise St Gladys and slam Dan. It's just too much, I've had a gutful.
The reality right now is that the current Victorian cluster is actually smaller than the one NSW had that started in the northern beaches and then spread to some degree into the western suburbs and elsewhere. The difference is the response as Victoria has locked down the state and NSW did a partial lockdown. NSW's cluster came from Hotel quarantine as well, as it did in Queensland, SA and WA.
I have posted earlier criticism of Victoria's quarantine response at the moment which to me is a failure of the bureaucracy but also a failure in a couple of areas of decision making at the Government level about how they run it. When and if it gets worse then a comparison with NSW might be valid but to be honest the strengths and weaknesses of states in this has very little to do with what party they represent.
The reality right now is that the current Victorian cluster is actually smaller than the one NSW had that started in the northern beaches and then spread to some degree into the western suburbs and elsewhere. The difference is the response as Victoria has locked down the state and NSW did a partial lockdown. NSW's cluster came from Hotel quarantine as well, as it did in Queensland, SA and WA.
I have posted earlier criticism of Victoria's quarantine response at the moment which to me is a failure of the bureaucracy but also a failure in a couple of areas of decision making at the Government level about how they run it. When and if it gets worse then a comparison with NSW might be valid but to be honest the strengths and weaknesses of states in this has very little to do with what party they represent.
Vic State has failed constantly. Willing to take the congratulations but constant blame shifting when something goes wrong.
Other states have all done excellent work & with more influx of travellers. This state has failed too often.
I would prefer anyone else imo.
from the article " The nebulised mist entered a poorly ventilated room, then wafted onto a poorly ventilated corridor, there the mist was moved around by people perhaps not wearing sufficient personal protection equipment"
...
"perhaps not wearing".... that's the key issue. Massive failures in PPE.
Not the neubulizer , he said , she said blame-shift attitude when something goes wrong about approving its use. Verbal communication will always be denied. If they noted it somewhere, well those delete buttons or shredders have proven life savers for some.
Any worker/staff working inside or out of the HQ imo should be at all times in PPE until they leave & disinfect. Its no brainer. Its an infectious work enviroment. Vic state are currently in control & they are responsible imo. Other states doing ok. I too DS would prefer the Feds to take over quarantine under a National emergency with countryside setups in all states. It only takes one state to constantly fail (not picking on Vic state) & it affects the whole country. every state on a weekly basis shutting & opening borders on each other is a joke.
You cant see or feel any escape of the virus so you cant assume you will be safe without PPE in any parts of the hotel. Massive failure imo. DDS correct hotels are not truly setup for this. I would perfer coutryside army bases with their med teams looking after travellers. Maybe Xmas island or elsewhere setup for bigger influx where any virus outbreaks are easily dealt with & let the rest of the country continue without restriction or fear. Australia is in a unique position we are in island. Use it better.
Have seen 1st hand near Albert Park lake & Dockands Drive the setup outside with the travelers arrive. The external setup is excellent. Police everywhere, staff there. Buses movement controlled. Areas closed off to public and all involved in PPE no matter how close or far away they are.
Sorry just venting today.
Just annoyed to the max on this latest lockdownPerhaps being key word, ie he does not not know whether they were or not so you can't categorically say it was a failure or not. I go back to my point that the above shows why hotel quarantine is flawed no matter what given how hard it would be to get proper ventilation.
PPE is still the key imo.
Agree HQ is flawed thats why PPE should be in force 100% of the time while within any part of the complex. Direct or no contact with travelers. KISS principal.
The govt have the footage when they checked how the person got the virus. Unsure if that has been released to show if PPE was in place or not. ( I think no PPE as they thought no direct contact & rooms "sealed")
If it was in place, then I can accept its part of the learning curve of dealing with the virus & no issues at all. No fault anywhere. Then a review of PPE should be looked at & improved as required.
Makes sense, they arrived by boat. Boat people belong to the Federal Government
if something went wrong, I reckon Morrison would start referring to the Queensland and Victorian Army
before you could say 'oh what a feeling, Toyota'
Delegation is often a good thing. But not so much for a PM.
