The cycle of new variant is getting faster , Pfizer saying 100 days to make booster , oil has gained %50 of its losses , futures back up in states . Borders will be closed just in time to reopen . Whiplash will be only concern .

100 days to CREATE the new vaccine. Another 9 months to manufacture sufficient quantities and then actually get them into people. Or in short, a year to get back to where we are now with around 90% fully vaccinated.

however I heard an interview this morning with the South African doctor who was the first to find this new strain. She seemed not to be overly concerned as it appears that while it is more infectious, the symptoms are mild with no hospitalisations. So far of course and we will need another two or three weeks to confirm. But the sharemarkets are bouncing off their days low quite convincingly. I have bought in. So fingers crossed this will be a storm in a Petri dish.

No they are not, no it won’t.
Israel has gone hard but they always do.

Australia’s international border is OPEN.

“We can start SHIPPING in one hundred days” is what he actually said.

dr dre, thanks but that’s a study of those who had the jab, 43 and I were on about those that hadn’t

I watched the same interview in the UK, closely followed by another specialist warning that the SA age and comorbidity demographics are markedly different from those of many Western populations, so no conclusions can be drawn yet. As you say, another two of three weeks of data gathering required, during which politicians and their advisors across the Western world will (hopefully) prepare for the worst, while we all hope for the best.

This may or may not be relevant

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/hea...he-delta-beast

"Xi" is the name of the president of China so naming a virus variant after him wouldn't have gone down well. Most of the cases of the new variant were in unvaccinated people, so the present vaccine seems to offer some level of protection and most of the cases only had mild symptoms. With the start of the vaccination campaign being nearly a year ago, most people would be looking at another jab next year anyway. We're in a much better position to deal with the new variant now compared to being totally unprepared for the initial outbreak. Defences are up and we're learning how to live with COVID.

As predicted, all borders never to open , still can’t go to many places in Australia. Will not get to WA until the masses form a civil war at the border .
we’re mostly 90% vaxed and there is really no concessions.

Foxxster, the people in "little" Australia couldn't give a stuff about the NHS, so he lost me in the first ten seconds and went downhill from there. A mocking tone of voice when talking dangerous nonsense really isn't the way to change anyone's opinions.

Australian border is open.

We can travel overseas without an exemption.

Australians can return with a 72 hour isolation.

Only WA and QLD are holding up the border freedoms.

Strange that some people always single out WA and QLD and ignore SA, TAS and NT, all of which have restrictions on international arrivals in excess of 72 hours. I wonder why that is?

Because WA and QLD have the most obnoxious premiers.

I think you proved the point StudentinDebt was alluding to.

Reports on the radio just now that Jetstar have cancelled all flights to WA until the end of January. Looking at the Jetstar web site, it appears to be true.

I think pointing out abject hypocrisy is always welcome. And deserves mocking. As for dangerous nonsense.. ????

Good! I hated going there.

The Jetstar website?

Looks as if WA is intending to open up next year and throw some money behind it:

The package focuses on international education, airlines, tourism and sourcing skilled labour.

It includes $65 million for re-establishing pre-COVID flight routes to Perth and securing new direct routes to Perth from countries such as Germany, India, China and Vietnam.

There will also be $10 million for more intrastate flights.


WA government to spend $185 million in effort to lure students, tourists, workers back when borders open

This is a good article about vaccines and other treatments in general and with relation to the new variant.

https://www.investors.com/news/techn...id-shots-fail/

WA will have to throw a tonne of money to get anyone other than family to visit over there now. WA border antics are all forgotten over here in the sense no one seems to care about it MM has not had any air time for months other than what’s related to the Ashes and even that was a 10 second headline, SCG or MCG are happy about this I would think.

I guess WA can expect more of this treatment in the future. Sad that Sam Kerr won’t play a match in her home town in the biggest (women’s) tournament in the world.

Womens World Cup

Pure holiday visitors to WA from interstate pre-COVID were about 400k average per year (2016-2019) spending around $675m per year. They pull that much worth out of the ground every 1.2 days.

Well they will have to dig double the amount to make up for the tourist dollar they’re loosing out on.

Yep, start today and finish by morning tea tomorrow. There’s your annual domestic tourist dollar equivalent done!

Fair point but only in dollar value.

Look at the distribution of where tourist dollars get s p r e a d around the state versus mining income.

But you need a buyer

Remember, it’s only worth what the buyer is willing to pay and it won’t last forever.

Well,well. NSW, Vic and ACT residents now need to test on arrival to SA

Queensland mandates all people from Adelaide need to isolate for 14 days.

so much for open borders. Who is next.


And internationally.

All international arrivals to the UK will again have to take pre-departure Covid tests in a bid to tackle the Omicron variant, the health secretary has confirmed.

All travellers, regardless of vaccination status, who are visiting England, Scotland and Wales, or returning home after a holiday will be required to take either a pre-departure lateral flow or PCR test under the new restrictions.

Why get vaccinated is the real question. They can jam the booster shot where the sun don’t shine if they mandate it!

Because you want to reduce your risk of seriousness illness of death.

Indeed, and to top it off the Guvmint have all but shut down with just a handful of sitting days before the next election. Given by their most recent performance it would seem they are handing over to the states. I look forward to 7 different countries as the states fumble about.

Because you want to keep your job.

If borders keep closing there will be no job. O

You obviously don’t appreciate the impact that border closures have on families that live interstate. Money is everything is it? Who cares if grandma passes without ever meeting her grandchildren.

Assuming they can find someone to dig it. Not to mention all the other industries to can't afford to pay $150K+ to attract workers.

Mc Gowan will have to watch out next year as he could get wedged politically between the all important 'Health Advice' and the economy.

From what I have read this is also impacting on people's decision to move to WA for work. People's mindset has changed since Covid.

And that’s why a decision is imminent. To be announced after Nat Cabinet on Friday, around when the state hits 80% DD.

As to a stated opening date, 90% 12+, it could be sooner than stated. Currently 88% first dose (remember how a lot of people said West Aussies were too complacent and wouldn’t even get 80%?), 90% comes in about 8 days. Then 4-5 weeks to dose 2, so could be Jan 10-20th potentially. May get that Ashes test squeezed in at the last moment. If they delay it then reopening is just a week or two later, hardly noticeable over a 2 year pandemic.

Pretty sure CA had moved on from having the Ashes in Perth, SCG and MCG and Canberra are in contention

Not disagreeing with you but if only that week or two had been saved at the beginning instead letting 5 million loose over Lunar New Year instead of hiding it like Chernobyl, we wouldn’t have had a pandemic. Academic now of course. Wondering what they know now that we don’t, with their insistence on a zero Covid strategy for the Mainland and Hong Kong. Bye bye CX.

More dumb meaningless rules out of this backwater state. She wants to test those dirty folks from down south on Day 5. Meanwhile IF they are positive they have been roaming around our good state for nearly a week now? Pointless.

Testing 3-4 thousand people a day in Cairns? Geez that will break the non existent testing services up here. Haven’t crunched the Goldy numbers yet.

Stupid. Dumb. What more should I expect. We will fine the living daylights out of you should you not comply. Save yourself the hassle our good friends down south, don’t come here.