Originally Posted by
SOPS
I have just come from our local supermarket here in Perth. The shelves are getting empty. Speaking to the owner ( it’s an iGA ), he said there are big supply problems from the Eastern States. I just saw the QLD Premier saying she is worried about keeping the lights on, water running and food on the shelves. NSW is changing isolation rules to try and keep food on the shelves. Flights are being cancelled because of lack of crew and/ or passengers ( I’m surprised about the lack of passengers, I kept hearing about how opening the borders will release a huge pent up demand… it seems sick people don’t like to travel.)
I am waiting to see how long it takes to affect fuel supplies.
Hospitals admissions continue to climb. ICU admissions continue an upward trend. Available health care workers continue a downward trend as more get sick.
I could continue…. So I just want to check. This was the plan, wasn’t it? Open up and all will be normal. That was the idea, was it not? Just checking.
SOPS…Omicron threw a spanner in the works with its transmissibility. What’s happening is due to Omicron, not the border opening. Omicron is more transmissible, but less severe so it comes with some benefit. They made the best decision at the time based on the information available at the time, as do we as pilots. A new threat has presented itself in the form of a new variant, so that threat has to be dealt with, and if needed, the mission will be changed. They are changing the rules regarding isolation in critical industries, they’ve changed the testing requirements etc. The new threat is not ICU or ventilator shortage, it’s supply chain and labour shortage. Which would you rather have? You honestly sound petrified.
Regarding the upward trend in hospitalisations, that’s always going to happen. But take a look at the numbers in NSW: 38 on ventilators with 1962 spare ventilators. SA Health for example have come out and said whilst their case numbers are more than what they forecast, their actual ICU are less then forecast.