AT what point did the Victorian Government’s stance switch from “flattening the curve” to “eradication” of the coronavirus?
Because if eradication of this disease from our country isn’t the intention, then what are we waiting for in terms of further easing restrictions?
There are fewer than 500 active cases across Australia, a vast continent with almost 26 million people. Many of those cases are people who are in hotel lockdowns after returning from overseas. The daily growth in new cases has hovered at just 0.5 per cent for almost six weeks.
It’s a small number and certainly disproportionate to the damage being done to our economy.
We have diligently stayed home when we were told we needed to flatten the curve so that our health system wasn’t overrun. This was accepted, given what was happening overseas. We didn’t want to see lives lost because our health workers couldn’t cope with the demand. We wanted to buy time to ensure there would be enough intensive-care beds to cater for the wave of sick people.
Now, though, with our ICU beds still sitting idle waiting for a wave that — thankfully — has never hit, and with tracing procedures in place, is it not time to take the pressure off Australian businesses and communities?
In the past few weeks, some suburban and country football and netball leagues across Victoria have made the gut-wrenching decision to cancel their seasons.
Among them is our own Millewa league, which last week decided to put a line through 2020.
Others will surely follow, including the Sunraysia league, which has already stated it will not proceed without crowds.
In the meantime, the Victorian Government continues to offer no clarity as to a way forward for these community competitions, maintaining draconian restrictions and giving no timeline as to when or if larger outdoor gatherings will be allowed.
It’s been a horrible limbo to leave many sports people in, as well as the communities who support them.
Hopefully, as a minimum, junior sport can return in Sunraysia, as well as a large majority of country regions.
Our community should be proud of how it has handled this crisis and be trusted to continue doing the right thing.
On a positive note, it’s been great to see local shops and businesses reopening this week.
The streets were busier, with people getting out in the winter sunshine, buying their lunches and coffees from local cafes and restaurants and quietly browsing through retail stores.
You get the strong feeling that locals are itching to support local businesses where and when they can. To help them get back on their feet.
To walk the streets is to see that people understand what living in a COVID-19 environment is like. They are not flouting social distancing rules, they are abiding by this new normal.
So, with infection rates so low, can we not be trusted to responsibly decide for ourselves what risks we’re willing to take?
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said that he was not expecting to reach “zero cases” or to declare COVID-19 eliminated, although it would be “well and good … if it’s achieved as a by-product” of the National Cabinet’s efforts to flatten the curve of infections.
But, with just 0.0019 per cent of our population on the active cases list, just how flat does the curve need to be?
