Originally Posted by
KRviator
You can think of it as being ignorant of those overseas or as it being unAustralian, but while I've always subscribed to the concept of 'doing the right thing', I don't believe it should be done 'at any cost'. That's what people are suggesting. "Reopen the borders, bring our people home, let them quarantine at home, it'll be fine!'
Except it won't be.The PPE for the staff to process you. The ongoing & repetitive cleaning of the vehicles used to transport you. The overtime and diversion of GD police to monitor the respective HQ sites. The salaries of the security guards who monitor the corridors, government-sponsored repatriation flights, if you can get one. And let's not forget, the hundreds of millions of dollars it costs your fellow Australian's whennot if it gets out of HQ again, because some asreclown of a driver of the flightcrew who brought you over wasn't vaccinated, caught it, and spread the love throughout the eastern suburbs, or an UberEats driver tarried in the corridor delivering someone's dinner.
More returnee's = more flightcrew = more chance of it getting out, even if you quarantine at home!. Going back to pre-Covid flight numbers, which some here seem to be suggesting happen, will likely result in a similar number of flight & cabin crew in HQ as we have returning citizens now. And as we've proven so many times, HQ can't keep it contained, and that being the case, where is the reward for the additional risk?
You say you can quarantine at home. Fat chance of that. We have seen far too many examples of returning citizens, or even interstate travelers breaking out of the HQ system, the old couple who was reported to have triggered the northern beaches outbreak after they decided to go for lunch at the RSL, HQ guards getting it on with 'inmates', the bird who climbed down two balconies and broke a door to get out.... Face facts - people cannot be trusted to do the right thing. Vaccinated or not. Home quarantine or not. Most people will play by the rules but there will always be those that don't! And that's probably why home quarantine isn't even on their radar. Because sooner or later, someone will decide home-quarantine isn't all its' cracked up to be, will go to the shops and will spread it through the community. Being vaccinated simply means there is less risk of it happening.
If I read that right, 5% of those in that chart were vaccinated of some description, and still caught, or had, the pestilence.
If you apply that to the so-called magic figure of 30,000 overseas citizens, that's still 1,500 people coming home, to suggested home quarantine, with the virus. Even reducing it to the 2% reported to be fully vaccinated still gives you 600 people coming home with it. Whether that number will stay static or reduce as time goes on, I can't say. If it doesn't though, the Government will be knowingly importing Covid at a rate of roughly 4 cases per aircraft (assuming 200 pax), with the core belief that every one of those people will not pass it on to their housemates or family while they are in home quarantine.....Until we reach herd immunity or the vaccination target, I can't see that happening...
Stop being sensationalist. Bringing home fellow Australians is as moral a debate as why shut down our economy to protect many who will be dead soon anyways? That's the line you have taken. The cost of it? Or more likely, the cost to you? Not very nation building in a century that's going to need strength and resolve.
Repatriating Australians stimulate the economy at a time when the economic panacea of immigration is on hold.
You have no idea what goes on in hotel quarantine! Uber drivers don't deliver. And why the hell aren't transport staff vaccinated? Just as quarantine staff must be. The Fox Footy channel wasn't working in my hotel and it took a week to find a vaccinated technician. Stop making stuff up!
This brings me back to what are the risks of a COVID tested and COVID vaccinated fellow Australian repatriating, passing on COVID, to a COVID vaccinated, daily COVID tested, hotel quarantine staff member in PPE equipment? What are now the chances of community spillage? Near zero.
Wow! There's a big problem solved. The caveat being repatriating Australians lying about their vaccination status. This may be the case in the positive cases of NSW vaccinated returnees and it is easily countered by presenting legitimate vaccination evidence. I had to offer my vaccination status to the Vic Government who mixed me up with returnees from high risk countries.
The most frightening issue with COVID, is the common sense solutions, lost on those who would rather live in irrational fear.