Filth? ?

Bacon, Bill, Cop, Dicks, Five-O, Flatfoot, Filth, Jack, Nick, Walloper.

Yeah, I can’t see O/S aircrew visiting the local RSL.

Elephant in the room...
 

For all the arguing on this thread about where it might have come from, at the end of the day it doesn’t really matter!!!

Australia is one of the few countries without COVID. That means there will be a continuing threat of outbreaks until well into next year. It’s how they’re managed that is the key. NSW has done a pretty good job so far of closing down outbreaks.

All arriving international flight crew are subject to quarantine for the duration of their stay (or 14 days). I have personally been subject to this multiple times now.

HOWEVER!! 😂

This is carried out at our normal hotels. Now things are more normal in Aus, these hotels also contain normal hotel guests. There is minimal police checking, although it’s made very clear we are to stay in our rooms. The fines are around $10,000 for breach of quarantine.

Compare this to:

Singapore
- all airline crew are isolated at the airport hotel. Seperate checkin areas isolated from everyone else. Seperate smoking/outdoor lounge that is managed by a full time staff member (must call before leaving room). Again significant fines AND jail time, plus threats against the company for non compliance.

NZ
- airline crew are placed in the same quarantine hotels that the passengers use.
However we are on a seperate floor and use the “rear entrance” to remain clear of any infected travellers. These hotels also come with fencing and guards, so no opportunity to leave.

Malaysia
- airline crew are made to download an app before arrival. This is used to “checkin” (QR codes) at any business/building within the country. BUT we are NOT allowed to leave the hotel premises, so this would be picked up by the extensive use of QR codes throughout the country.

Hong Kong
- as far as I know they still require all flight crew to undergo a COVID test on arrival. I’m pretty sure they’re also unable to leave until the results come through. For this reason we don’t currently do layovers in HK

So as you can see, there is a wide range of ideas for how to ensure compliance. I’d argue Singapore and NZ are the “gold standard” so far.

Australia has been lucky so far. It’s not because of outstanding government (despite ScoMo’s bragging), being an island far from other countries was always going to give us an advantage. The current passenger quarantine system is draconian and heavily restrictive. The current way aircrew are quarantined also presents a threat because of a relative lack of control.

Why is it after 9 MONTHS the best we can do is 7000 arrivals a week?

Why is home quarantine with a $20 tracking bracelet not an option?

Australians are kidding themselves if they think our various governments have this under control. Shutting the border was an easy political decision to make. But the continuing minor outbreaks show the ongoing threat that NEEDS TO BE MANAGED. This is where true ability and competence is shown, something clearly lacking in Australia this year.

It seems WA has enforced policed quarantine at two hotels for airline crew, but again, why cant we have the same standards and policies across all states. How many times do we need to find the same loop holes that authorities seem to think only exist in certain states - Federal gov needs to mandate these requirements.

Home quarantine is not an option because the *&^%ers will invite their friends to visit.

Hotel quarantine is debatable UNLESS arrangements are made to test and quarantine staff who are potentially exposed.

Returning people AND airline crew need to be tested BEFORE they get on the aircraft and rejected if they are positive.

FFS shut all borders with NSW and lock down Sydney!

At the point in the Adelaide outbreak where it was at 17 cases restrictions on public and private gatherings, mask mandates and business closures were announced. Within 48hrs it was a full lockdown of the city.

Will NSW do the same even though there’s evidence this outbreak has spread throughout Sydney? I think not.

So don’t blame the other states if they enforce border restrictions with NSW especially since the current one in in charge doesn’t seem too fussed about it all.

The latest list of exposure sites is alarming....all over the city

It was also announced that it was a virulent new strain that was super highly infectious and would destroy the world in number of hours, until epidemiologists elsewhere suggested that they calm the **** down. The clowns responsible for this hyperbole then attempted to divert the attention from their idiocy onto the foreign student. The lockdowns reversed fairly soon thereafter.

Thankfully NSW doesn't behave like rest of the country.

Maybe it's the case that she's not a moron using any crisis that presents itself to make her look like a hero. Any moron can lock a state down, that's proven. It takes courage to act reasonably.

Woolloomooloo, Terrey Hills, Lane Cove, Cronulla, Bondi, Rosebery, Eveleigh, Forestville, Penrith. NSW Health has issued a warning now for the whole state.

Looks like McGowan was right in treating all of NSW as a threat, looks like Andrews was right in mandating permits for all of NSW, I’d expect other states to follow suit very soon.

Looks like Gladys is going to have to do something quickly, will she have the guts too?

Other countries seem to manage home quarantine with modern tracking methods (bracelets or phone apps) and ACTUAL follow up by police etc daily. Don’t see any jurisdiction in Aus capable of that. It’s easy to blame the user.... Harder to create a solution.

Hotel and transport staff should be tested regularly. Again an example of how Aus has got lucky, not from good governance.

Testing before departure has been proven to be of limited utility. Even 2 tests over 14 days of quarantine still gives a 5% chance of missing a positive case.

As for locking down Sydney and NSW.... 🤦‍♂️

And, what's the population of Adelaide? 1.5 million? So around 1 case per 100,000 residents, give or take. Apply that rationale to Sydney and you'll need 70 cases to call it an equivalent outbreak. That being said, we might get there, and I say that as a NSW resident.

I bloody well will blame other states if they aren't willing to carry their fair share of the incoming passenger load. When was the last time Tasmania took a planeload of international arrivals. Every other state - and their citizens - has been more than happy to let NSW carry the can, in come cases, with 60+% of the incoming arrivals, yet with NSW only having around 30% of the Australian population! But they're also very quick & happy to decry "those filthy sickly NSWelshmen!" the instant something like this happens and shut the borders.

Yep, great times to be an Australian looking after your mates...:ugh:

I fully agree, but we have seen other people on this forum would rather it spreads all over the country. The thing that has kept the economy going this year is enabling single states to contain and shut down while being propped up by other covid free states. Our resource sector (probably our largest GDP contributor currently) output has not been impacted by Covid to date, we need to keep it that way.

How about the Australian government step up and take care of Australia by doing what their supposed to in regards to international borders, immigration and quarantine and mandate remote quarantining. Direct international arrivals to land at places like Alice Springs or military bases and put them into federally funded facilities. Stop palming it off to states stop using the cheapest option of inner city hotels and step up and lead, because it’s obvious all states will continue this cycle of shut down and open up every few weeks/months until the vaccine uptake is widespread. If Australia is to be one country again it’s time for the Australian government to lead.

Back mid year, talking to the Emirates chauffeur in Melbourne taking me from home to tulla. He had been getting a COVID test every Monday out of an abundance of caution. Then the government said you had to isolate until the results came back. He couldn't not work for 2-3 days a week so stopped getting asymptomatically tested on a weekly basis.

im sure the Australian government would love to. But then you’d have idiots like McGowan refusing to have returned travellers, or limiting the number of returned travellers etc. keeps the feds powerless. Such a **** system we have. What a joke.

Why is there so much suggestion within the community that Military bases should be used for Covid quarantine. Makes as much sense as putting them in the various State Police Academies, or any other emergency services training facilities.

Such a harebrained idea which would only result in the compromise of our Military Health and Emergency Services which are designed for the defence of the Country and Communities.

Suggestions such as that seem to be just populist and can’t see any justifiable reason to do.

Have a research of the effect of Covid on the various military service around the world.

However using place such as Christmas Island, theDesert etc, with appropriate trained Civi’s seems a good idea.

Why do you say that? If you look at the number of returned travellers each state accepts per population it’s actually WA that accepts the most returnees at 1 traveller for every 2630 people, NSW next with 1 for every 2730 people, SA close behind at 1 per 3000. Qld and Victoria lag behind at 1 per 5200 and 6000.

Check the numbers yourselves here

One of the bare bases like Curtin, Learmonth or Scherger. At the moment our economy and health systems are at risk of being overwhelmed, and that is far more likely than an armed invasion happening overnight. Long runways and capability to set up temporary accomodation well away from population centres.

And how would you get the health care/ cleaning/ admin/ security teams up there to man these bases in the middle of nowhere?
Practicalities make it tricky. It's not like these options aren't being looked at

NSW is about to be cut off from the rest of the world it seems. Well two Labor leaders to the north and south are expected to put the walls up.

Did not fill me with much confidence in that press conference today. Hard to judge who is making the calls and the arrogance is mind blowing.

They seem to be taking a different approach compared to fellow Liberal leader over in SA. What exactly are they waiting for? Mandatory masks on Public Transport should be a given.