WE’VE all become a bit too well acquainted with the number 14 over the past year and a half.
Our hotel quarantine and home isolation rituals are built on a rigid two-week timeline.
Keeping with the theme, today marks a fortnight since a positive COVID-19 patient presented at Mildura Base Public Hospital.
Several new cases have emerged in the fallout, all household contacts of the initial case.
Today is also day 14 for our last batch of people self-isolating after attending the hospital as a tier 1 exposure site.
To them, and to everyone who has been in quarantine or isolation: thank you.
Isolation is no cakewalk. It’s an incredibly difficult, uncertain and nerve-racking time.
But, without everyone’s collective efforts, Mildura would not have contained the spread as well as we have.
This ordeal has challenged our health services, and the community’s sense of responsibility, to its core. But actions speak louder than words. And the actions of our community, by and large, have been beyond commendable.
Mildura has led by example and demonstrated how even the most isolated community in the state, a community with a 17-month COVID-free streak, no less, can work together and navigate its way through a major health threat.
To the local family enduring COVID-19, and for all of the societal stigma surrounding it: I’m sorry.
It was a horrific card to be dealt, made worse by a sense of anxiety and frustration vented by some members of our community.
It’s important to remember that this family has done nothing wrong.
A man in his 30s innocently attended a footy match at the MCG. The experiences of the past two weeks are not his fault.
And, while the situation is slowly resolving locally, this man and his family remain locked away, and will for some days to come.
This scenario has, for the most part, brought out the best in people. I’m buoyed by the obvious community spirit shown by many proud Mildura businesses and families. And by the resilience of those who’ve endured isolation.
But we mustn’t forget to support this family as we collectively mend from the trauma.
