0_0 » 18 Apr 2020 22:49 wrote:Hey Joe, I understand you're in Australia and that Australia is in lockdown. Can you explain to me what the plan is exactly? Are you guys going to stay in lockdown until the virus has left Australia? And what then? Are you going to hermetically seal your continent with no incoming tourists or goods allowed ever? Or are you guys waiting for bloodtests for everyone wanting to travel, track and trace devices for the whole population and/or mass vaccination? I am genuinely curious.
No one knows what the plan is.
Right now state borders are closed for the first time since the Spanish Flu pandemic.
The lockdown essentially means no public gatherings or non essential activity. So buying beer is okay. Or other supplies. There are gathering limits of two people (except in one household obviously) indooors or out except for essential activity. Playing Golf is okay in NSW but not in Victoria. Everyone is allowed to walk themselves or animals if they claim its for exercise.
Different states have different rules, different plans for exiting lockdown etc etc.
Its school holidays as well.
As usual its a bit chaotic and unorganised.
Because our transmission rates are dropping off a cliff for nearly two weeks now and hospital admissions from untraced sources are very low there is genuine feeling it isn't widespread through the community.
The plan is over the next four weeks restrictions will start to lift progressively. So indoor meetings to five then ten, outdoor ones to ten then fifty. Mass gatherings like footy or music festivals may be years away. This is obviously dependent on keeping our infection rates low and traceable transmission, but it is being talked about as a probable outcome.
If rates stay low till the end of April of mid May the restrictions will begin to ease.
At this point the state govs have ruled out using tracking software on smart phones, due to public objections, but that may change if people get jack of lockdowns.
The border is open to goods but they are sterilized and quarantined. We are still exporting too. Its closed to non Australians and all other entries (Australians returning home of international transport crews with temporary stays ) are quarantined for 14 days if they are Australian or until they leave in their plane or ship.
Dunno what will happen with essential foreign workers but i imagine that will mostly be around fire fighting activities if we have another shit fire season. Maybe some form of isolation of quarantine if we need it.
I think New Zealand is pretty much the same.
Were not expecting any form of vaccination for at least a year. Maybe never. Corona viruses are notoriously hard to develop vaccines for.
If treatments - say with anti virals, convalescent plasma or other sources - become available we may push for deliberate exposures among controlled groups to develop herd immunity.
Otherwise who knows what the long term holds.
Plagues have historically changed the world in unpredictable ways. Dunno why this would be different.