Aussie Gives up the Ghost

Our neighbour Australia has woken up to the fact that trying to get rid of Covid doesn’t work. Even places like NSW and Victoria have woken up. NZ Herald reports.

There have been 107 Covid-related deaths since the Sydney outbreak began in mid-June, and there are currently 957 people hospitalised with Covid-19 in NSW, 160 of whom are in ICU.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said yesterday the state was getting ready to relax lockdown restrictions next month despite the worsening outbreak.

“It’s impossible to eliminate the Delta strain,” she said. “NSW has proved successful until this point in time of getting rid of other strains of Covid but the Delta strain is a game changer and every state in Australia, sooner or later, is going to have to live with Delta.

[…] Berejiklian said on Tuesday the state’s hospitalisation rate would peak in October, but she is still determined to relax restrictions when the initial target of fully vaccinating 70 per cent of the eligible population is reached. Currently, 37.8 per cent are fully vaccinated while 69.3 per cent have had their first dose.

Translation: NSW has given up on elimination.

Clinical epidemiologist Nancy Baxter has pushed back on NSW’s looming exit from the current lockdown settings, telling Network 10 on Monday night that “70 per cent [of the eligible population] is really only 56 per cent of the population. So that’s important to note – you have almost half the people unprotected”.

Surprise, surprise. Another “expert” insisting lockdowns continue.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews offered a grim outlook for the state yesterday after a sharp rise in new Covid-19 cases.

[…] A further 170 local cases were recorded today – the highest spike in 366 days.

[…] This will mean that instead of linking an easing of restrictions with case number thresholds, like Andrews originally indicated, restrictions will now be linked to vaccination rates.

Make no mistake. This is like Karl Marx admitting communism doesn’t work, meanwhile trying to save face.

Under Australia’s national plan, Victoria will remain in limbo until vaccination rates hit 70 to 80 per cent of the eligible population.

[…] Victoria’s Opposition leader Michael O’Brien said too many residents had sacrificed too much during what was meant to be a “short, sharp” lockdown, and industry leaders criticised what they saw as a lack of forward planning.

[…] Epidemiologist Tony Blakely told the same publication that Victoria was no longer in a position to ease any restrictions.

The world is moving from elimination to learning to live with Covid. The cost of lockdowns has been immense. Meanwhile, our PM has doubled down on the elimination strategy, using the naturally falling case numbers as “proof” that lockdowns work.