Coronavirus 5 - Last Blood

[David]

It's all relative, but for what it's worth around 10 people a day are currently dying from COVID in Australia, which is higher than it's been since July.

If that doesn't sound like a big deal, nearly 6000 people have died from COVID in Australia in total in 2023, or 26% of total COVID deaths in this country since the beginning of the pandemic, which I guess most of us wouldn't have noticed based on the minimal media coverage of the pandemic since the end of the lockdowns.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/country/australia/#graph-deaths-daily

[Culprit]

^^More people die daily of heroin overdoses. Yes, it's all relevant, and in saying that the media as a whole is pretty average and Covid just exposed how pathetic they are. My perception is all you need is a few social media accounts and bang you are a journo. Journalism was once a highly respected profession, now it sits alongside used car salesman.

[think positive]

Journos have been that way as long as I can remember!

People are forgetting, that’s the problem. I forgot. I can’t believe I didn’t think to test, or to test junior!

My uncle and aunt I was meant to visit last Thursday, the day I got sick, are elderly, and not in good health. I’m so so thankful I didn’t go and visit them.

10 people a day…… ugh, I’d never have forgiven myself.

Day 5, still light sensitive, but the blurry vision is all but gone, feel like crap, but definitely on the mend. Still testing positive!

[David]

The thing that blew my mind is how many people have died since the lockdowns finished and most of the population was vaccinated. Between March 2020 and October 2021 (when the last lockdowns finished in Victoria and New South Wales), there had only been 1688 deaths from COVID in Australia; in the two years since, over 20,000 have died.

So if we've had 20,000 deaths with a mostly vaccinated population, can anyone imagine how many would have died if we hadn't done lockdowns beforehand? They must have saved tens of thousands of lives, minimum. Those deaths that would have occurred could have been anyone here, or their loved ones. Could have been me, for that matter. So as much as the lockdowns sucked and we all look back on it as an awful time, they were literally a lifesaver in a big way.

[stui magpie]

^

maybe, maybe not. You'd need to look at the demographics of the people who've died. The lockdowns may have saved 10's of thousands of lives or maybe just gifted a small minority a few extra years.

I read a good article recently somewhere, because of the number of elements combined in the restrictions in Victoria, it's impossible to objectively analyse which ones worked. There's just too many moving parts.

What that means is that if we do get a bad variant or some other such new gift from China, they don't know which levers to pull.

Do we actually need lockdowns or will masks suffice? Don't know.

Do we need to stop kids going to school and playing in playgrounds again? Don't know.

[think positive]

What’s it going to take for masks to be mandatory again? I can see it coming.

I agree with David on the lockdowns thing, as hard as it was. Just look at countries like the states who couldn’t control their population. Maybe it went too far sometimes, but yeah, I’m not resenting it

[Culprit]

^^Thanks to the media who spent months undermining all health advice along with attacking chief health officers, no one will introduce mask mandates across the board. It will be Hospitals, and aged care off their own bat.

I head to work tomorrow and I have a meeting. I am not going into the small room with 12 people, I will sit in my office with my headset on and Skype in.

[stui magpie]

^

Skype? Shit they do have money problems at your work. Skype was dead 2 years ago, it's either teams or zoom.

I don't miss going into the office and I definitely don't miss having to wear a fkn mask while there. Not doing that shit again.

[Culprit]

We are talking Defence here I required Corel Draw software and the crap I had to go through, I could have ordered a Blackhawk quicker. No, I still don't have the software, told them to stick and hire a graphic illustrator. My response was "NDP". Not Dale's Problem. I put that out a lot.

[eddiesmith]

[eddiesmith]

[pietillidie]

That sounds like a shocker, TP. How's it coming along today?

Is the knowledge better these days for recovering from Covid specifically? I know over the last year or so various studies have advised on protective measures and follow-up actions.

[think positive]

[David]

One thing I’ve never quite understood myself – is there any point in continuing to test once you know you have it? Which is to say, is there any correlation between a negative test and the condition passing, or is it expected that the virus will linger in your system days or weeks after you’ve recovered?

[stui magpie]

^

Once you test negative you should no longer be infectious, even if you still feel sick