There is something that I do not like, namely how I neglect again and again writing down things that are of importance to me. There are now so many long very lonely hours when I have time to reflect a lot. And I really do reflect a lot, yes very much indeed. Every so often I do contemplate about what I want to write down in my diary. So, why then don’t I write it down straight away? It’s simple, I always find an excuse, why I have to delay it for a while. When I finally open up the computer I check on this and on that. I tell myself, actually I cannot write anything personally right away. There are other things I want to do first on the computer. So, I get distracted, very distracted. Never mind, I tell myself. I can write my own stuff later. Right now, I just don’t feel up to it! Then when I actually think, now I can take time out to write something, I find it too difficult to remember anything I had been wanting to write about. So, I leave it for some other time . . . .
It is strange, how easy it feels at times to write something. I am sure, it’ll come to me soon.
Shellharbour, Wollongong and the Wollondilly Shire are included the state’s extended lockdown
Mayor Marianne Saliba is slamming the decision as “utter stupidity”
A local businesswoman says extended financial support does little to soften the blow
Shellharbour Mayor Marianne Saliba has criticised as “rubbish” Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s decision to include the Illawarra community in New South Wales’ extended lockdown.
Key points:
Shellharbour, Wollongong and the Wollondilly Shire are included the state’s extended lockdown
Mayor Marianne Saliba is slamming the decision as “utter stupidity”
A local businesswoman says extended financial support does little to soften the blow
Stay-home orders will now be in place across Shellharbour, Wollongong and the Wollondilly Shire until August 28, after the state recorded 177 new locally acquired cases of the Delta variant.
Among the new cases is a person from Wollongong, whose source of infection remains under investigation.
It takes cases numbers in Wollongong to 10, while Shellharbour has been free of the virus since early in June, when a person from Sydney infected with COVID-19 attended a baby store in the city.
“It’s absolutely rubbish, complete and absolute rubbish [that] we’re being included in this lockdown,” Cr Saliba said.
“We had zero cases 30 days ago, we’ve had zero all the way through [the lockdown] and we still have zero.
“This government has continued to stuff this process up from Day One. It’s utter stupidity,” she said.
Blow for business
Her disappointment has been echoed by local businesswoman, Melissa Gorgievski, who owns hairdressing salons in Shellharbour and Wollongong.
“I was shocked. It’s not great for small businesses to battle through another four weeks,” she said.
“We thought we would be able to open one of our salons and [we] hung on to a bit of hope for that. But that’s gone now.”
On Wednesday, Treasurer Dominic Perrottet announced additional financial support for businesses impacted by the lockdown.
That included an increase of the annual turnover eligibility threshold from $50 million to $250 million.
Maximum weekly payments businesses could receive would also be boosted, from $10,000 to $100,000.
Ms Gorgievski said the changes did little to soften the blow for her business because it faced another month without trading.
“It doesn’t look they’re bringing any more to the table for small businesses. So, that’s disappointing,” she said.
Melissa Gorgievski (third from right) says she is disappointed her salons at Wollongong and Shellharbour will have to remain closed for another month.(Supplied: Melissa Gorgievski)
Individuals who lose work would also be eligible for increased assistance from the federal government.
Those who lose 20 hours or more of work in one week can now receive $750 a week, while employees who lose between 8 to 20 hours will be offered $450.
Construction resumes
A two-week pause on construction will end in the Illawarra from 12:01am on Saturday, with workers allowed to return to unoccupied sites in all but listed Sydney suburbs.
Tradies, including cleaners, can also resume work under the changes, so long as they don’t have contact with residents.
“I jumped for joy,” local cleaner, Terry Darby said.
“I’ve been stressed, worried about how I’m going to pay my rent, how I’m going to pay my bills.”
“It will depend on the clients but, maybe, they can go off for a walk while I clean their house for them,” she said.
Construction work will be allowed to resume on Saturday in Wollongong, Shellharbour and Wollondilly, at sites where the are no residents. (ABC News: Brendan Esposito)
Families with children at school will have to continue home-learning for the next four weeks, but students in year 12 will be allowed to return to the classroom on August 16.
Rapid antigen testing for those students is also being considered by the New South Wales government, to mitigate outbreaks.
Among the changes announced on Wednesday, a ‘singles bubble’ was introduced, with people living on their own now allowed to nominate a sole family member or a friend they can visit for companionship.
“Here is a website giving you the death rate per capita. As I understand it the Delta virus is very good at spreading. The latest outbreak seems to indicate that within family groupings almost all members of a family become infected from just one contact.” https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
I replied as follows:
Thank you, Gerard, for the link to the Worldometers Website. There is such a huge amount of information on this website that I could click onto it for hours. My understanding about the Delta variant of the virus is the same as yours: It is very good at spreading! And my understanding why this is so, is that this virus is airborn and stays in the air we breathe. So to get fresh air, seems to me to be of the utmost importance. So why do we quarantine people in badly ventilated buildings? And why do a lot of people do their shopping in poorly ventilated buildings? It is beyond me, why so called ‘experts’ do not talk about it more. Just with vaccinations we cannot get on top of the virus. This is how it seems to me. For how long shall this hackling about the ‘cost’ (well ventilated buildings cost money”) for how long shall this hackling go on? Because it costs money, they don’t even want to talk about it. All these vaccinations, do they not cost money too? Someone has to pay for these. And big Pharma is in big, big business! Eventual we do need a good vaccine, this is true. But good vaccines need an awful lot of research as I understand it. But nobody wants us to talk about this. Fair enough, it is an emergency now. What we need is sunshine and fresh air, right?
I ask myself, Is there any acknowledgement in Australia that this is the case?
In this Conversation article it says: “The role of airborne transmission has been denied for so long partly because expert groups that advise government have not included engineers, aerosol scientists, occupational hygienists and multidisciplinary environmental health experts.
And then they explain the difference between aerosols and droplets.
In November last year the Conversation published an article with this heading:
Many of our buildings are poorly ventilated, and that adds to COVID risks.
Why has indoor airflow not been a bigger part of the conversation?
Airflow inside buildings and other enclosed areas like public transport has received less attention than other prevention strategies, in part because of debate within medical and scientific circles about the role of aerosols in the transmission of the virus, with some experts focusing on bigger droplet particles as being more important in transmission.
Here another interesting point about the airflow in buildings:
“Airflow inside buildings and other enclosed areas like public transport has received less attention than other prevention strategies, in part because of debate within medical and scientific circles about the role of aerosols in the transmission of the virus, with some experts focusing on bigger droplet particles as being more important in transmission.
But in recent weeks, the World Health Organization, the American Centers for Disease Control, the European Commission and Canada have acknowledged airborne aerosol transmission has a significant role in the spread of coronavirus. . . .”
Here another expert opinion:
“All major buildings where people congregate should be assessed for ventilation, according to Professor Mary Louise McLaws, an expert in epidemiology, hospital infection and disease control and a member of the WHO’s expert panel on COVID-19.
She said confined spaces need ventilation rates of 3 litres of air per second per person.
“It’s [the ventilation message] not getting nearly enough traction because it costs money,” she said.
“It will cost money for every single building to go back and ensure it can do 3 litres per person per second and that is an enormous undertaking.
“They can do it in a hospital and some of the older-style hospitals are now being required to improve their airflow: they’re becoming woke to the importance of this.”
The Victorian Health Department’s Building Authority has commissioned engineering assessments of the HVAC systems within wards dedicated to suspected and confirmed COVID-19 patients at 20 hospital sites over the coming weeks.
Some countries are already taking substantial action, with Germany recently investing 500 million euros to improve ventilation systems in public buildings.”
The above was already said in November last year! Now we have July, that is some eight months later. And what has Australia done in the meantime, I would like to know.
For instance, can anybody tell me, how much Australia is spending right now to improve ventilation systems in public buildings?
Does Australia even discuss this issue?
Good, improvements like this cost money. But wouldn’t this be money spent the right way?
Does anyone know, how much government spends on vaccinations? Yes, I agree, vaccinations are necessary. But it seems to me to improve ventilation systems in public buildings is absolutely essential, no matter how much it costs!
Authorities working to determine the source of three COVID-19 cases confirmed in the Illawarra this week suspect they may be linked to cases in Sydney.
Key points:
Three new cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed in the Illawarra, but no venues have been listed as places of concern
Two cases have also been confirmed in the Wingecarribee Shire, and one in the Wollondilly, where community exposure is said to be “minimal”
The exact source of the Illawarra infections is unknown
Two of the cases from the Wollongong area were revealed on Monday, with the Illawarra-Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) confirming the third case this afternoon.
“This case is from the Wollongong local government area and is linked to the two cases announced yesterday,” the spokesperson said.
“All three cases are currently isolating at home.”
New South Wales recorded 78 new locally acquired cases in the 24 hours to 8:00pm on Monday, 27 of which were infectious in the community.
No venues of concern
The ISLHD said in a statement that investigations into the source of the three infections was underway, but no new venues of concern had been listed in the region.
“It is believed there are links to employment in the Sydney area,” the spokesperson said.
“When a confirmed COVID-19 case attends a venue while possibly infectious, NSW Health carries out a risk assessment on that venue to determine whether other people may have been exposed and whether there is a public health risk.
“NSW Health does not disclose details about venues unless there is a public health reason.”
Woolworths said it deep-cleaned its Dapto store after being contacted by NSW Health on Monday.(AAP: Mick Tsikas)
Businesses exposed
Several businesses in the Illawarra have identified themselves as exposure sites and are working to allay concerns from customers and clients.
“We have been notified that a customer with a confirmed case of COVID-19 was present at our Dapto store on Thursday, July 15,” a Woolworths spokesperson said.
“As a food retailer, we already have very high standards of cleaning and hygiene in place, and the store had a detailed deep clean overnight on Monday 19 July.
“Customers and team members should be assured they can continue to safely shop and work at our Woolworths Dapto store.”
In a Facebook post, Dapto Healthcare announced it would close as a precaution.
“Due to a Dapto medical centre being declared as a COVID-19 exposure site, Dapto Healthcare will be conducting telephone consults only, until further notice,” the post said.
A dermatology clinic in Wollongong was also closed on Monday for deep cleaning.
In a phone message, the clinic said a person who had since tested positive for the virus attended the venue between 10:00 and 11:00am on Thursday, July 15.
Wollongong Dermatology informed its patients a person who has since tested positive for the virus attended the practice on Thursday, July 15. (Facebook)
. . . . .
Wollongong, Mittagong, and Burradoo have all been identified by NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant as focus areas for increased testing in the coming days.
By Dan Oakes, ABC Investigations 5h ago, updated 19m ago
The federal government has been urged to secure supplies of COVID therapy drugs amid fears Australia could be left at the back of the queue as the world’s focus turns from vaccines to medicines to treat the disease.
Key points:
Vaccination may be ineffective for immuno-compromised people, which is about 4 per cent of the population
Antibodies that are administered intravenously are already in use in the United States
Singapore has signed a pre-purchase agreement for one drug, while the European Commission has purchased doses of another
Pharmaceutical giant GlaxoSmithKline, which has struck an agreement with the Singaporean Government to supply one promising treatment, says it’s unclear if the Australian Government will buy its drug.
Currently there’s only one treatment used widely for COVID patients, a steroid called Dexamaethasone which treats inflammation of the lungs.
However, the drug is only effective on patients who are suffering severe symptoms and are receiving oxygen.
Experts say that as Australia moves towards a future where COVID is ever-present in the community, there is an urgent need for drugs to treat milder, yet more infectious, cases.
Australian Influenza Surveillance Report – 2021 Influenza Season in Australia
Australian Influenza Surveillance Report No 07 – fortnight ending 04 July 2021
Key Messages
It is important to note that due to the COVID-19 epidemic in Australia, data reported from the various influenza surveillance systems may not represent an accurate reflection of influenza activity. Results should be interpreted with caution, especially where comparisons are made to previous influenza seasons. Interpretation of influenza activity data from April 2020 onwards should take into account, but are not limited to, the impact of social distancing measures, likely changes in health seeking behaviour of the community including access to alternative streams of acute respiratory infection specific health services, and focussed testing for COVID-19 response activities. Current COVID-19 related public health measures and the community’s adherence to public health messages are also likely having an effect on transmission of acute respiratory infections, including influenza.
Activity
While influenza-like-illness (ILI) activity in the community remains at historically low levels, it has continued to gradually increase since January 2021.
Notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza have remained low since April 2020. In the year to date in 2021, there have been 388 notifications to the National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System (NNDSS) in Australia, of which 25 notifications had a diagnosis date this fortnight.
Severity
There is no indication of the potential severity of the 2021 season at this time.
In the year to date, of the 388 notifications of laboratory-confirmed influenza, no influenza-associated deaths have been notified to the NNDSS.
There have been no hospital admissions due to influenza reported across sentinel hospitals sites since commencement of surveillance in April 2021.
Impact
Given the low number of laboratory-confirmed influenza notifications, low community ILI activity, and no hospitalisations due to influenza at sentinel hospital sites, it is likely there is minimal impact on society due to influenza in 2021 to date.
AuntyUta 