The bad news is I finally got COVID. The good news is it seems I didn’t pass it on to anybody else.
Categories
The dreaded lurgy
Category: Health
Not a transport post I’ve been having annual eye tests for a few years now. It was prompted by noticing floaters for the first time about five years ago. Initially they said there were no issues… well, apart from my right eye which has been nearly blind since birth, but nothing can be done about ... [More]
The continuing use of masks on public transport came up last week when Premier Andrews remarked that they’d be around for some time yet. (For a segment on this topic on ABC Radio Melbourne last Thursday with me, listen here – it starts at roughly at 1:55:40.) So I thought I’d quickly review what the ... [More]
Categories
The Clayton’s lockdown
I hope everyone’s doing okay. The widespread view is that government mismanagement has made this latest outbreak far worse than it needs to be. They don’t want more lockdowns – perhaps fair enough given high rates of vaccination – but they’re not ensuring the testing (PCR and Rapid Antigen Test) capacity can properly handle it. ... [More]
Happy end of lockdown, Melbourne! On a related note: Last week Texan Republican senator Ted Cruz weighed into the news that the NT government will mandate vaccines for public-facing workers: I heard similar sentiments from an Australian recently, in the context of Victoria’s vaccine mandates for permitted/essential on-site workers. Here’s my view on this, if ... [More]
Categories
18 months in
With spring now upon us, we’re now almost 18 months into this. Last month I had another birthday in lockdown. A nice dinner and a video call with family made up for it. I don’t enjoy being in lockdown, but it seems to be the least bad way to keep the virus under control while ... [More]
Categories
Go get vaccinated (if you can)
In our last exciting chapter, back in March, COVID-19 had settled down in Victoria, and largely disappeared. Life pretty much returned back to normal except overseas travel was near-impossible, and you had to wear a mask on PT. It couldn’t last. Another outbreak is now upon us in Melbourne. My view: no matter where you ... [More]
There’s been a bit of confusion about the rules around masks and public transport. I’m not here to speculate on whether the rules are needed. I’m not an epidemiologist and probably neither are you. While there’s been no COVID-19 community spread in Victoria for many weeks, the recent case of the gentleman who unwittingly caught ... [More]
Categories
25 hours in isolation
When I last wrote about COVID-19, it was just before we went into Level 4 restrictions in Melbourne. Level 4 has been harder. While I’m not affected in a financial sense, the further closure of businesses is causing stress for people. There are now severe limits on leaving the house: once per day per household ... [More]
Categories
Some thoughts on COVID
I tweeted these thoughts out earlier, and thought I’d post them here too. Some thoughts on Melbourne’s COVID crisis, just over halfway through the 6-week lockdown (likely to be extended) The daily numbers are an essential quick summary view of how it’s going, but sometimes agonising. There’s collective relief when they drop, but anguish and ... [More]
Categories
Time to mask up, Melbourne
It’s been almost two week since the recommendation to wear masks when you couldn’t stay 1.5 metres away from others. This includes public transport. With COVID-19 case numbers rising, on Sunday they upped the ante: masks (or other face coverings) will be mandatory outside your home (with a few exceptions) from Thursday. Interestingly this is ... [More]
Some things worth noting in PT this week. Masks now recommended On Friday, the Chief Health Officer recommended that Melburnians now wear masks outside home when it is not possible to stay physically distant from others – including when using public transport. Obviously this has been prompted by the current rates of COVID-19 community transmission ... [More]