The data is empirical and comes from real world superspreader events where the parameters were known.  Its not a lab result in isolation to the real world.

Also its not just public transport that the mask mandate applies.  In  indoor settings where its not possible to maintain distancing, or there is a lack windows or good ventilation are places where masks should be worn.  If people wear them tokenistically, that isn't a reason for the mandate to be removed.

If people mostly get infected at home how is it that the virus spread across the entire city?  Clearly those people are spreading it others outside their home.

The data in the link you provided is rubbish. 300% more likely? What does that mean exactly. Is that based on diagnosed cases or is that based on a computer simulation. Data is information, statistics are conclusions. Thats just one of dozens of rubbish articles aimed at driving a political view point. If somebody says you are 50% less likely to catch it if you are wearing a mask - it means 2 fistfuls of fuck all when 5 million people caught it in 3 months

When Gladys announced 80% of infections were from the household or shared spaces, thats real data. That says how it is spreading and where the risk factors are. 80% is not 100%. So obviously there are chains of transmission elsewhere but it still means you are most likely to get it from somebody known instead of somebody unknown. It wasnt 5 million cases over night, it takes time to spread - one person gives it to a family of 4 who give it to neighbours and friends, who give it to their family of 4, who take it to work, a few transmission chains from the super market = exponential growth. We have seen this happen during lockdowns and during mask mandates. This is a social disease and if the law provides any avenue for social interaction (a human necessity), the virus will spread. This is why nowhere in the world despite 2 years of data, up to 200 response teams, and the best medical minds have been able to reach "optimal" numbers. Its either lock it out or roll out an inconsistent bunch of placebo rules during waves

Also "mandate" and "should" are not the same. Places where you cant socially distant is an ambiguous recommendation, not a mandate. The law is for hospitals, aged care and public transport only. The first two are aimed at keeping the virus out (amongst a plethora of other regulations and measures). The latter is the only law aimed indiscriminately at the general public for all forms of something nationally regardless of time, density, or number of cases in the area

It fails to meet the direction, the definition of a contact, and is not based on any science or data that says why all forms of paid transport is too risky but nothing else is. And why masks are the answer despite you claiming that even people today dont wear them properly despite 2 years of being yelled at

I'm not going to lose my long weekend posting about something that nobody believes. We both know this is a rubbish law. If you can provide real meaningful data that demonstrates that in the current situation and direction public transport is high risk, nothing else is, and face mask law (with no other regulation) is the answer - I'll pick this up later

The data comes from actual superspreader events where it was possible to accurately measure the variables: mask, no mask, densely-populated not densely populated, ventilated not ventilated etc.  From that data, supercomputers were used to make predictions.  That's how science works.

In Victoria masks are mandatory:

• On public transport, in taxis/rideshare services and in tourism vehicles.
• While in a publicly accessible space at an airport and while inside an aircraft (for ages 12 and over).
• While visiting a hospital, care facility or any other indoor space that is a publicly accessible area in a healthcare setting, including allied health settings.
• In a public indoor space if you are a close contact.
• Working in an indoor space that is a publicly accessible area of a court or justice centre.
• In an indoor space that is a publicly accessible area of a healthcare facility, including at an allied health facility.
• Working in a resident-facing role in an indoor space at a care facility, including when not interacting with residents.
• Working in an indoor space at a prison, police gaol, remand centre, youth residential centre, youth justice centre or post-sentence facility.
• After being tested for COVID-19 and awaiting results.
• If you have COVID-19 or are a close contact and are leaving the premises for a permitted reason.

Not everyone is a moron who after 3 years still doesn't know how to put on a mask properly.  And just because they won't do it right, isn't a reason to abandon the policies above.

Anyway we'll agree to disagree.  Enjoy your long weekend.

Finally got the 'rona. Was feeling average, negative RAT, next day feeling worse, positive RAT.

4 days on the couch watching telly and not doing much.

The most annoying part of it is I'm wheezy after spending the last 10 or so years asthma free.  

Same thing happened 15 years ago when I had the flu. Flu was way worse than this though.
 

Get well soon Muz..... Hope your ISO passes quickly and the wheeze goes away mate.

Take care and get well soon. Anecdotally, a lot of friends recover from the ongoing symptoms in 5-6 weeks.

Thanks and that doesn't sound great about being 6 weeks ill. I have to play Over 35s Thursday and ref this weekend and I was planning on doing both.

I'll let you know how I go.

hope u better soon bud, I just booked a few trips overseas and I'm a little worried I will get covid and miss a flight 

Me too. Luckily had it a a month ago so fingers crossed I should be good.

Yeah I felt perfectly fine for 2 weeks after recovering then got hit with what was either a cold that felt worse than covid or reoccurring covid symptoms. 

Just take it easy I reckon.  You'll be good 

Cheers lads.

yer all the best mate......hopefully your immune system counters it qiuckly compared to some.

I had one of ours sons wedding on Saturday, my sis calls Sunday she's pos doing a rat having felt funny and sneezing alot.
I was hung over and TBH couldn't have cared less at the time said I'm going back on the couch to veg out fall asleep again.
Woke up later the wife and daughter done rats all neg.
Our oldies are neg.
She back tracked her time came to be she was out with her girlfriend at a gig Thursday night and her girlfriend reported to her Sunday she's pos.
Man so weird how this germ moves.

Were all feeling fine still.

My son got it a month ago and still coughing bad. Doc says his fine, just sounds shocking

Same with my Dad. Doctor said it's in the bronchial tubes and just keep an eye on it but it sounds horrifying. 

The 6 weeks is just minor for those people - not 100% but still good enough to move about freely with a lingering cough etc

So I guess everyone here is a paid shill working for the mainstream media or big pharma? lol

https://www.smh.com.au/national/we-re-living-with-covid-but-more-of-us-are-dying-than-ever-20220429-p5ah7y.html

COVID-19 went from being the 38th leading cause of death in 2020 to the second, behind cancer, in January this year, according to provisional mortality data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics....

....Toole estimated that the virus would be in the top five leading causes of death for 2022....

....Victoria recorded 502 COVID-19 cases in hospital on Friday, the first time the number has exceeded 500 since February 11. The state, meanwhile, surpassed 3000 COVID deaths this week, almost half of which occurred this year. ..

....Since mid-April, we have been either first or second in the world for new COVID-19 cases per person, trading places back and forth with New Zealand. ....

...“[It’s the] the biggest medical emergency or challenge that we’ve ever faced, and continue to face, and yet you hear nothing,” she said. “There’s no actual meaningful discussion or debate around management of the pandemic.”

In Victoria, Baxter said Premier Daniel Andrews, who faces an election in November, also no longer wants to be attacked over strict restrictions in the state.

....She said low childhood vaccination and third-shot booster rates, along with the relaxation of mask and isolation restrictions while still in the peak of the Omicron wave, were leading to increased transmission...

Ended up not playing 35s and withdrew from reffing on Saturday. Still not a million bucks. Shortness of breath being the main one. Scheduled to do reserves line and firsts centre on Tuesday night so fingers crossed. 

Other than that life goes on normally now I'm out of isolation. Down at the markets today, lunch and schooners at the yacht club on a balmy autumn day.

Might apply for my $750 covid payment that the government is giving out. Put it towards my new coffee machine.  God love cheap interest rates and my grandkids paying off our debt.

Lockdown-free Sweden among lowest death rates in Europe

Sweden copped an awful lot of flak for deciding not to place its population under full house arrest as Covid swept the world.

Yet the country’s excess death rate has proved to be one of the lowest in Europe, at 56 deaths per 100,000, according to fresh data from the World Health Organisation.

The WHO report estimates that excess deaths due to Covid have reached 14.9 million worldwide, three times higher than officially reported. It also reveals that the UK had a lower excess death rate than other European countries, with 109 deaths per 100,000. This compares to 111 in Spain, 116 in Germany, and 133 in Italy.

Sweden’s inquiry into the handling of the pandemic concluded that, while mistakes had been made, a full lockdown had not been necessary, and that relying on citizens making their own decisions around social distancing and working from home had been the right call.

Bars and restaurants were able to remain open, allowing Swedes to retain “more of their personal freedom than in many other countries.

”The WHO’s findings suggest that strict lockdowns alone did not determine numbers of Covid deaths. Various factors will have been at play. Sweden’s low death rate could be down to low levels of obesity, for instance. But the latest data reinforces the idea that the wisdom of lockdown shouldn’t have been taken for granted.

https://reaction.life/lockdown-free-sweden-among-lowest-death-rates-in-europe-who/

Well seeing 1 in 3 people are obese in Australia (1 in 2 over 50) probably a good idea to lockdown everyone. Or should they just have locked down the fatties with high BMIs? 

Interesting to see what worked where. Probably why America faired so badly given the size of those people.

Member since 2008.

Take care and don't worry about the grandkids. Their grandkids will be paying off their debt :P

I'm back baby. Played 6 a side tonight and ran amok. Played an extra half as well because they left the lights on then went and played in reserves with my son's side who were training on the adjacent field for 15 minutes playing their first grade side. 

Get fucked covid.

No $750 payment for me. If you have $10k cash in the bank then no cash for you.

As I said, data is information where as statistics are conclusions

That's one of the most rubbish stat sets ever posted on this forum. Entirely meaningless

Australia, up until recently, had its borders closed. Aside from a few outbreaks we werent living with the disease from day to day. So obviously that means low cases and low deaths. Now that we have opened up with a 90% vaccination rate we have a ridiculous number of cases but a low rate of hospitalisations and deaths - the end game everybody was moving towards

Yet people want to sensationalise this just because they have a stake in B grade restrictions

Europe are opening up to each other and the rules are based on vaccination numbers and testing. Australia is still pushing face masks, which I can guarentee will be back after the election, and disappear before the next one

The article about Sweden above hits the nail on the head. This was an unprecedented pandemic with no rules. Response teams worldwide bought and enforced toolsets without even checking to see whether they worked. Problems arent solved by starting with the answer

The real shame of all this is that when the next pandemic occurs the outcome will be the same because there were no learning points. People will be bombarded with pointless B grade restrictions while it spreads like wildfire and statisticians will "prove" that whatever they said was working actually worked

I don't think they can chase it up, just BS it imo. You deserve a night out lol

Probably not but will play by the rules this time.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/libs-seek-to-cut-sa-covid-19-penalties/ar-AAXlSKG


So basically if this passes, and "experts" cant argue that supermarkets and buses are healthcare settings, South Australia will be the first state to be led out of rubbish b grade restrictions, and into the new era of the pandemic (which international experts tip to have a minimum of 5 years left). Hope they manage it. Need at least one sane state that the others can look at and learn from

Not great.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/she-wanted-to-do-her-bit-parents-call-for-covid-inquiry-after-death-of-daughter-20220516-p5aloj.html

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/nsw-vic-post-18000-new-virus-cases/ar-AAXzsuC

NSW and Victoria have reported almost 18,000 new COVID-19 infections along with 17 virus-related deaths.

More than 2800 patients are hospitalised with coronavirus nationwide, with over one hundred of them in intensive care.

So because case numbers have managed to go down without any restrictions being introduced, sensationlists are now combining Victoria and NSW data together just to make it look like an out of control outbreak. Even combining hospitalisations and intensive care patients at the national level

Wow - so national hospital numbers are less than what NSW alone recorded in Dec / Jan. Oh, and about 100 in intensive care nationally when Victoria have 4000 beds

Response teams didnt act fast enough and now they can't hide behind the placebo of introducing rubbish restrictions reducing numbers anymore. We knew when we were opening up that we would see waves. Sometimes the numbers go up, and sometimes they go down. We also know that high vaccination numbers mean our hospital systems can cope regardless of where the overall numbers are sitting

I'm suprised there are still people who want to panic about this 6 months after it was declared to safe to open up. What a sad life some people are going to have for the next 5-10 years

Agree. People say saying "Ukraine" or "Election" is being a big distraction for COVID. The fact is, yes numbers are relatively high (compared to when we were under lockdown), but it's well below our Dec / Jan figures and seems to be stable and manageable. 

Everyone has had the chance to get vaccinated/boosted now. People are aware of distancing, with vulnerable groups protected, etc, so it's just a matter of moving on. 

We can debate about masks on public transport or not, but I'd say the vast majority are in the move on camp. 

Its not that simple when its a criminal offence and comes with a fine

There used to be a time where state of emergencies were declared and special powers sought so that cities could be locked down, social caps enforced, businesses regulated, people detained, borders shut etc... Real issues requiring unprecedented power

Now health officials are literally riding on long outdated powers just to roll over mask laws for buses, and ramp it up to all indoor places during winter. Something with a speculated 50% success rate against 10% of situations. Its ridiculous

South Australia above have the right idea. Write protection for heath and aged care into ongoing legislation. And as hard as it must be for those with vested interests, drop all broader directives for the general public. There just isnt anything to warrant such extreme action

As long as there is an emergency declaration and fining of the general public, then this cant be brushed away as a non issue. Either there is a state of disaster that warrants fining and jailing people in the general public as a health risk or there isnt. Nobody should be milking it otherwise