The virus may have a 98-99% survival rate but don’t mistake survival with recovery. I’d like to keep my Class 1 by ensuring I don’t get complications arising from the virus such as scarring of heart and lungs. Many studies are being conducted into the long term effects and they’re barely scratching the surface. That’s not to say I agree with these draconian measures either, we need to live alongside the virus. Heck, even with the vaccine we’ll have to live alongside this thing.

I can’t find the link but there are now reports from France that a few cases have sent people blind. The virus is attacking the optic nerve. This is not the flu.

There is no way ourselves in the U.K. (and hopefully not the US for that matter) are pissing ourselves at the way Australia have handled this. Both countries will probably have 6-700,000 deaths combined by the end of this pandemic and livelihoods destroyed. The U.K. NHS will be at capacity in 20 days time.

What I would say is the need for balance. I see an Australian government spokesman has censured Qantas today regarding reopening of international routes on July 1... the government saying you can come in when we’re ready. It seems to be getting needlessly political.

Does closing an internal border for the sake of 8 cases benefit more than having managed risk? Because the vaccine doesn’t eradicate 100%.

An interesting point there. measles has serious complications for under 5 and pregnant women, chicken pox in Adults has serious effect particular for pregnant women but these are risk we are willing to accept. No border closures no quarantine we just accept it even shooter Mcggose on be west does.

Will there be accepted risk after October when it’s expected all citizens of the states and territory have voluntary taken the vaccine. My biggest fear is this will go on for years and years of this madness because no risk will be accepted, so how does this end?!

Shutting down economies for premiers to grand stand beat their chest over a disease that’s been elevated because of the media and how they report it and for a disease so deadly half don’t even know they have had it until they get a blood test.

Hope you guys are doing ok over there,seems quite messy at the moment.
Do you wish your government had closed borders for longer or put other measures in place to try & stop it spreading or are the majority pretty ok with what the government has done so far?
Always good to get an opinion from somebody looking at us from the outside so to speak.

At least Governments are waking up to whom the culprits are - International aircrews.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/f...05-p56rw0.html

Can we please have rational discussion of where the pandemic is going?

The UK and South African mutations are ominous. We need to stop them getting a foothold here.

As for the chatter about closures, seriousness, etc. I think its been established that Covid is a serious health risk because it attacks the health system. If the health system fails we get deaths from preventable causes - accidents, pregnancy, etc.

As for the economy, it will bounce back. Unfortunately air services and interstate tourism are going to continue to be badly affected.

I rely on international air travel for work having done 130 flights as SLF between 2018-2019. I need it to return!

If you go back to the start of last year - we didn’t know what we were dealing with. Of course if you look at recent history with Ebola with a virus that isn’t as transmissible but incredibly deadly, people were rightly panicking. As a result, the virus is deadly probably in 1 in 150 cases. Out of 75k deaths in the U.K., only around 4000 were under 60, and the odds decrease further if you don’t have any underlying health problems. We also have capacity for 500k tests every day and yet today we still have 60k cases and statistically 1 in 50 have the virus right now... but on the other hand 49 in 50 don’t have it.

The day the US closed its border to Europe, I was being pulled out of Istanbul being there for work reasons.

Politicians and the public at large think everyone gets on the plane to go on holiday - people need it for work, to see family as well. To do a total shutdown of international aviation makes it very difficult for those who have genuine travel reasons. We have a long list of quarantine exemptions of which I have used the airline one for certain occupations.

The best way is to have a solid testing regime both at the departure and arrival location. If you test negative twice, perhaps 5-6 days apart, that should be a ticket to freedom, not to spend another 14 days in a hotel room. I think the UAE has now struck the correct balance.

To shut a country down with no exit plan for the sake of a handful of cases I find a bit ludicrous. It has to be cost / benefit.

For the Australian government to say the vaccine isn’t going to be qualifying for a quarantine exemption, I find that quite incredible - because you will never reopen otherwise. The England CMO today has said restrictions vaccine or not could remain until next winter 2021-22 as this becomes a background seasonal disease but with a manageable risk. The purpose of the Oxford vaccine was to prevent serious disease, not complete eradication.

While I don’t like the border closures, isn’t the fact that we have such low infection rates testament to the effectiveness of limiting movement of people and thus the virus. We mustn’t forget that this whole thing started with a handful of individuals with “the flu”, and look at the world now.

P.S. It isn’t the flu, this virus comes with severe physiological and neurological side effects. The ongoing economic burden for the health sector due to life long illnesses will be enormous.

Fair enough - but don't tell me the problem, tell me the fix.

Your inference is don't travel and the virus won't spread - so we'll never open up and forever live in a siege mentality.
I dare say that's NOT your intent.

So what's the fix? Open/don't open? Domestic open and accept infections, maybe deaths? Open international and be guaranteed mutations and guaranteed infections, probably deaths?

SO what's the plan??

Maybe the solution is a more generous aviation/tourism financial support package for workers beyond March, and have airlines use it as intended to keep people properly current in sim etc?

Just accept aviation is screwed until vaccine covers most of the population.

Yep it will cost the Govt a large sum, but if they want the other 80% of the population largely unaffected by COVID and contribute to the economy that is one solution. (80% is a guess and that large sum is still peanuts compared to expenditure with a debilitating UK style lockdown.)

That’s the double edge sword isn’t it. No I’m not suggesting we live a siege existence indefinitely, but we have been incredibly successful in saving lives. Economically speaking, we are also holding our own, the rest of the world is in bad economic shape but with a death toll to boot.

My feeling is that our state and federal governments are waiting to see vaccine data from overseas and also to see what our vaccine rollout yields. It’s hard to make a call on letting the population roam until there is data.

It’s a shame our vaccine was abandoned, apart from the false positive for HIV, it was doing very well.

Giant face palm emoji. MMR and chicken pox vaccines are readily available. What's your question?

Personally I don't think it's about the vaccines - it's about when Australia will be open for business again - and NOT be arbitrarily closing certain areas.

This would mean accepting there will be outbreaks, possibly deaths but minimised as much as possible with contract tracing, maybe isolated suburb closures....whatever.
Along with that an improved fast result testing protocol, 14 days is becoming unacceptable and increasingly unpalatable to many.

Now how the feds "encourage" various states/territories to fall into line for the greater good - that appears to be a major roadblock.

No question, the covid vaccine will be readily available as you state about the others but they’re not 100% effective but we accept the risk of some of the population getting those and it’s ok.

If you want a question- what will be the acceptable risk for covid once a vaccine is readily available?

Give yourself a massive face palm.

he didn’t say that at all. He speculated that some restrictions “may” be reintroduced next winter if the virus was to run away again and put pressure on the NHS. He didn’t say which restrictions they would be.

Measles vaccine is very efficacious at about 95%. With MMR immunisations and immunity coverage (remember a lot of people born before 1970 actually caught measles) at about 70%, this means we effectively have herd immunity from measles in Australia.

Howard Springs is nowhere near big enough for what you suggest. We are currently receiving around 6800 arrivals into Australia per week. Howard Springs can only accept 500 arrivals per week. What we need is a remote place that is comfortable for arriving pax but is somewhere Australians don't want to go; may I suggest Canberra?:ok:

I think the Fed Gov is waiting to see real world data on the vaccine's effectiveness, particularly with different strains emerging, and its being reported the South African strain may not be protected against.....

Well that rules out Canberra then.

Ayers Rock??