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Has common sense taken a holiday? For months, we've been warned about the highly contagious subvariants of omicron. For months, we've watched the daily death rate from COVID soar to its highest point since the pandemic began.
We've seen our hospitals and ambulance services stretched to breaking point. And at the same time, we've seen the rules around the pandemic relaxed. We've seen governments - most notably the Victorian government - actually ignore health advice about reintroducing mask mandates in some settings. Pandemic support payments have come to end. We can't afford them, we're told by Treasurer Jim Chalmers. But we can, it seems, run the risk of infected people returning to work because they can't afford not to. Free RATs for concession card holders are coming to an end too, making it harder for the most vulnerable among us to know if COVID has caught up with them.
As case numbers stay stubbornly high, people are getting back on cruise ships and - surprise, surprise - getting infected. They're packing themselves into airports where masks are no longer mandatory - and getting infected. They're lining up to get into crowded nightclubs - and getting infected. They're living with COVID. But, sadly, they're dying with it too. COVID is now taking more lives than the previous biggest killer, cardiovascular disease.
It's perplexing. No one wants to go back to lockdowns. No government is prepared to risk the political fallout that would entail. None of us wants to see the anti-vax cookers and their red ensigns, Trump flags and conspiracy theories out en masse again either. Even the risk-averse Andrews government, which imposed the longest city lockdown anywhere during the pandemic, is now prepared to overlook health advice, urging it to re-impose mask mandates in retail and school settings. Its new Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said the government was in favour of letting the public "take control of their own health".
Out and about in NSW last week, The Echidna noted many more people were wearing masks and were, as much as possible, taking responsibility. But many were not. In a local shopping centre overrun with parents trying to entertain small children during a rainy holiday week, the maskless were coughing over the bain maries in the food court and sniffling as they leafed through the magazines in the newsagent. It did not feel safe.
Some - excuse the pun - positive steps have been taken. The post-Covid isolation exemption has been stripped back from 12 weeks to four. That's because the subvariants can reinfect people a lot quicker than previously thought. A fourth vaccine dose is now available to people over 30, with people over 50 urged to take it up as soon as possible. Access to antiviral Covid drugs has been expanded but you need to meet certain criteria to be eligible. And you need a script from a GP, which in rural and regional Australia means getting an appointment early enough to catch the infection - an almost impossible challenge.
Perhaps, then, the easiest thing we can do is adjust our thinking. Let's dispense with terms like "post-pandemic" or "new normal". The pandemic is still here, there's nothing "post" about it, despite our collective desire to see it gone. And these times might be "new" but they are far from "normal". People in authority from the prime minister down need to tell us it's not over. They need to be unequivocal about it, too, and not fearful of triggering the odd "sovereign citizen".
And someone, somewhere needs as a matter of urgency to develop a mask that doesn't fog up your glasses. More masks would be worn if they weren't so annoying.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Have we become too complacent about COIVD? Are we risking bigger outbreaks by ending COVID support payments? What more can governments do to ensure we stay safe during the winter outbreak? Or do you think we should just keep calm and carry on? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government is committed to ensuring pensioners don't fall further behind as inflation rises. A half-yearly indexation rise for pensions is set to kick in from September 20, with inflation sitting on 5.1 per cent and expected to push higher by the end of the year.
- Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt is visiting Indonesia this week to gather more information about how it's containing foot and mouth disease, which could decimate Australia's cattle industry, as Australian travellers return from the holiday destination in droves. Nationals Leader David Littleproud said Mr Watt's first priority should be to introduce comprehensive screening at Australian airports.
- People living with diabetes had an increased risk of complication and death during the COVID-19 pandemic, new data shows. More than 40 per cent of COVID-related hospitalisations in 2020-21 had one or more diagnosed comorbid conditions, such as type 2 diabetes or cardiovascular disease. This was a significant increase from 25 per cent the year prior, according to a new report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
THEY SAID IT: "We live in a world at constant risk of public health emergencies. In our increasingly interconnected world, public health emergencies can affect anyone, anywhere." - Tedros Adhanom, World Health Organisation
YOU SAID IT: We asked whether Reserve Bank board membership should be widened, if governor Philip Lowe should step down after his dud call on rates and if borrowers should always factor in unexpected interest rate rises.
"Lowe has to go," said Shirley. " He held back interest rate rises because of political pressures from the LNP as the election loomed. The whole board needs examination. Who are they? Big business folk? Are there economists and people representing workers on the board?"
Nominating ACTU secretary Sally McManus for an RBA board seat, Heather also said, "Yes to all of your questions. You didn't need an economics degree to know that interest rates were far too low for far too long. Gradual rises over time would have been the way to go."
Chris agreed there should be union representation on the RBA board: "The RBA should reflect the diversity of our community and logically trade unions should be there too. There are some very highly skilled people in our trade unions." He also cut some slack for Philip Lowe: "Lowe should not go just because of this. There is no crystal ball which allows us to forecast with 100 per cent accuracy what the shape of this world will be tomorrow. Rate variations should always be planned for; it's just common sense."
Laurence agreed Lowe should not go. "Most definitely not - his view on interest rates will have reflected the collective view of the Board - and economists of all stripes can never be expected to be right 100 per cent of the time."
But as for unions on the board, no way: "Most definitely not - trade unions are politically in Labor's pocket," he said. "A hallmark of the Reserve Bank's function is its political independence - and this should not be compromised in any way, shape or form." As for borrowers: "Only the financially nave would even begin to imagine that interest rates over the likely periods of their borrowing(s) would remain at the historically low levels which have been a feature of the economic landscape in Australia and other countries over the last couple of years."