wuhan - coronavirus

[Melissa Louise]

2 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

 

Or your local govt may be taking similar stance to UK, that omicron cases are already unavoidable.

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/11-countries-removed-from-the-uks-red-list

”As Omicron cases rise in the UK and in countries around the world, the travel red list is less effective in slowing the incursion of the variant from abroad and these temporary measures are no longer proportionate. The red list has served its purpose in delaying the spread of Omicron into the UK to buy time for the government to learn more about this variant and prepare for its potential impact.”

I think even Boris is ahead of us, Tbh.

We are still getting the whole 'it's very mild' hopium. 

 

[Melissa Louise]

5 minutes ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I am not into conspiracy theories at all but I can see why some think it is deliberate.

I think the government is either incredibly stupid or just wanting to keep their positions

Or both!

[Canadianmumof5]

1 hour ago, wathe said:

Sense of dread here for about the last week.

Hospitals are in quietly panicking mode, I think - a.k.a. mad scramble to rearrange the deck chairs on the Titanic. 

@wathe 

Have been grateful for your comments the last 20 months….also here in Ontario and seriously cannot believe what we heard at the presser today.  It’s Lord of the Flies……and I am so sorry for the disaster that all HCW have to manage now becuz of the sheer incompetence of our govt.  

[chocolate-chip chooky]

22 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

It must be a federal election equation - more votes in 'freedom'.

 

I must be talking to the wrong people, because everyone I know is freaking out. This isn't going to gain votes in my circles.

Even my vet was ranting about it to me this morning. 

My Woolies delivery guy was ranting about it to me yesterday.

I don't know anyone who thinks any of this is good.

Edited December 16, 2021 by chocolate-chip chooky

[Melissa Louise]

3 minutes ago, chocolate-chip chooky said:

I must be talking to the wrong people, because everyone I know is freaking out. This isn't going to gain votes in my circles.

Even my vet was ranting about it to me this morning. 

My Woolies delivery guy was ranting about it to me yesterday.

I don't know anyone who thinks any of this is good.

Neither do I. 

Maybe it's party donors influencing decisions. 

I do assume they've decided to avoid lock down again at all costs. 

[lewelma]

Um, do you guys want to hear from a place with good news?  I kind of feel like I should never post because who wants to hear about rainbows when the sky is falling, but here it is:

Case numbers continue to fall here, and are now half of the peak. (91 today and peak was 212)

We have officially reached 90% of the entire country of 12+ as double vaxed. Auckland is at 96%, and Wellington is 94.5%.

Only 1 more death this week. We are up to 47 in total. 

And no omicron has been found yet in our border quarantine facilities. 

I'm sure it won't last, but today I'm feeling very grateful for a well managed government response that has lasted almost 2 years.

 

[chocolate-chip chooky]

3 minutes ago, lewelma said:

Um, do you guys want to hear from a place with good news?  I kind of feel like I should never post because who wants to hear about rainbows when the sky is falling, but here it is:

Case numbers continue to fall here, and are now half of the peak. (91 today and peak was 212)

We have officially reached 90% of the entire country of 12+ as double vaxed. Auckland is at 96%, and Wellington is 94.5%.

Only 1 more death this week. We are up to 47 in total. 

And no omicron has been found yet in our border quarantine facilities. 

I'm sure it won't last, but today I'm feeling very grateful for a well managed government response that has lasted almost 2 years.

 

I might come move in with you, Ruth 🌻

[Ausmumof3]

France hit a record today of 65,713 cases.

[bookbard]

7 minutes ago, lewelma said:

Um, do you guys want to hear from a place with good news?

Absolutely - and it's vital, because it stops the people who go round saying 'oh well nothing we can do'. Yes, NZ had a bad go of Delta - but now low numbers. Same with Taiwan. It can happen. And in fact, Australia would have returned to low numbers too (and NSW did) if there hadn't been this sharp political u-turn. 

[lewelma]

First case of Omicron now in a quarantine facility in Christchurch. We will see how good the infection control is. They have been tweaking and tweaking, trying to remove any chance of transmission. So hopefully, what they have learned with delta, will keep omicron out too. We will see. 

[Ausmumof3]

I am really feeling it with the news today both Covid and non-covid 🙁

[bookbard]

1 minute ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I am really feeling it with the news today both Covid and non-covid 🙁

Yep. Very sad news today. 

[Melissa Louise]

It's so sad. Horrible. Those poor children, families, students and staff. 

News break time, maybe? 

 

[Arcadia]

1 hour ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I am really feeling it with the news today both Covid and non-covid 🙁

 

1 hour ago, bookbard said:

Yep. Very sad news today. 

 

1 hour ago, Melissa Louise said:

It's so sad. Horrible. Those poor children, families, students and staff. 

News break time, maybe? 

 

Just saw the tragic news about Devonport, Tasmania. Hugs.

[Melissa Louise]

42 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

 

 

Just saw the tragic news about Devonport, Tasmania. Hugs.

Sadly, two more children have died.

 

[TCB]

This Tweet about the Missouri AG just sums it up. I wish he would be held accountable for his actions, but it will be a cold day in h*ll before he will be in Missouri. 

[Arcadia]

Looks like even Apple gave up on guessing when their staff can return to office.
https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/apple-delays-return-to-office-indefinitely-gives-workers-1-000-work-from-home-bonus-11639672932
“Apple delays return-to-office indefinitely, gives workers $1,000 ‘work-from-home’ bonus

Apple also closed three stores in Miami, Annapolis, Md., and Ottawa over a rise in COVID-19 cases

That’s according to a memo that Apple Inc. AAPL CEO Tim Cook shared with employees on Wednesday, which was viewed by Bloomberg and verified by a company spokesperson.

… Apple also announced that it was temporarily closing three retail stores in Miami, Annapolis, Md. and Ottawa, Canada this week due to a spike in COVID cases among employees at those stores. This comes on the heels of colleges and universities such as Cornell, Princeton and GW moving final exams online and canceling in-person events and activities in response to COVID outbreaks on their campuses.

And Apple isn’t the only company rescheduling its back-to-office date. Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. FB recently said that it will fully reopen its U.S. offices at the end of January, but workers can defer coming back to the office until as late as June 2022.“

[1234]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

Looks like even Apple gave up on guessing when their staff can return to office.
https://www.marketwatch.com/amp/story/apple-delays-return-to-office-indefinitely-gives-workers-1-000-work-from-home-bonus-11639672932
“Apple delays return-to-office indefinitely, gives workers $1,000 ‘work-from-home’ bonus

Apple also closed three stores in Miami, Annapolis, Md., and Ottawa over a rise in COVID-19 cases

That’s according to a memo that Apple Inc. AAPL CEO Tim Cook shared with employees on Wednesday, which was viewed by Bloomberg and verified by a company spokesperson.

… Apple also announced that it was temporarily closing three retail stores in Miami, Annapolis, Md. and Ottawa, Canada this week due to a spike in COVID cases among employees at those stores. This comes on the heels of colleges and universities such as Cornell, Princeton and GW moving final exams online and canceling in-person events and activities in response to COVID outbreaks on their campuses.

And Apple isn’t the only company rescheduling its back-to-office date. Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. FB recently said that it will fully reopen its U.S. offices at the end of January, but workers can defer coming back to the office until as late as June 2022.“

Dh’s office tried a return earlier this year and the first week his VP was diagnosed with Covid. So, they never moved to step two and it’s just the first handful of people showing up to work in office (and they only are doing so a few days a week). Every employee they’ve hired the past two years is a remote worker from all over the country. Dh’s company talks  as if they will never force employees to return to the office full time at this point because remote working is going smoothly.

[Arcadia]

5 minutes ago, Joker2 said:

Dh’s company talks  as if they will never force employees to return to the office full time at this point because remote working is going smoothly.

I won’t be surprised if more companies did what Cisco used to do; work from home employees not having assigned desk space and just using whatever workspace is available. That cuts down on office space required. 
My husband’s dept is fully vaccinated but they have breakthrough cases. He is in hardware so they stagger coming back to office to minimize face to face interactions. 

[cjzimmer1]

35 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

I won’t be surprised if more companies did what Cisco used to do; work from home employees not having assigned desk space and just using whatever workspace is available. That cuts down on office space required. 
My husband’s dept is fully vaccinated but they have breakthrough cases. He is in hardware so they stagger coming back to office to minimize face to face interactions. 

Early last summer, DH's employer polled the employees about what they wanted about returning to work at some point or staying home permanently (this company didn't allow any remote work at all prior to COVID).  The vast majority wanted to stay home.  So they sold off one of their two buildings, rented out 2 of the 5 floors of the second building and are remodeling the remaining 3 floors.  One floor is dedicated to the servers and the other two are being set up with a few assigned spaces for those who really wanted to work away from home and the rest will be communal use spaces/meeting areas for people who need/want to come in here or there.  So yeah, they ditched 2/3 of their office space which I'm sure saves them money but they also made their employees really happy because they listened to what the employees wanted.

Edited December 16, 2021 by cjzimmer1

[Random]

20 hours ago, Corraleno said:

Arizona hospitals are getting slammed, with many already over capacity — and the wave is not expected to peak until mid-January.

https://apnews.com/article/coronavirus-pandemic-health-arizona-c1b3db28b716c388035ac1e344243717

Banner Health "has 18 hospitals in Arizona. As of Tuesday, 10 of them were running above 100% of their ICU staffed bed capacity. Five of them were operating above 100% staffed in-patient bed capacity, according to spokesman Corey Schubert. “We are more stretched now than we have been since the start of the pandemic,” Bessel told reporters. “ICUs are where we are experiencing the most significant strain on our resources.”

Banner has had to postpone medical procedures, new patient visits, and non-urgent appointments because of the intensive care unit needs. Hospital professionals are prioritizing medically necessary surgeries like mastectomies and gall bladder removals. The hospital system — with assistance from over 2,600 travel nurses who travel around the country filling staffing needs — is trying to counter a hemorrhaging of Banner staff nurses who retired, left the field or took non-bedside jobs.

Banner’s modeling predicts that its number of Arizona hospital bed occupancies will escalate and peak in mid-January, Bessel added.

Nearly 90% of Banner patients undergoing treatment for COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Some days, the percentage of unvaccinated COVID-19 patients in intensive care has been 100%. Bessel reiterated that vaccinations were the key to reducing the burden on health care workers."

I clicked this link to read the story.  I checked the AZDHS website as well.  It looks like, according to the AZDHS website that this piece might be missing context?  I noticed the name on the ambulance, Gila River, is an area around Tucson, close to the Mexico border.  I wonder if there is a connection there because there has been such a huge influx of (mostly unvaxxed) people coming from Mexico into AZ?  IDK.  I'm just speculating. The DHS website doesn't seem to bear out that the covid hospitalizations are the highest they've ever been.  Maybe that was in reference to a singular city or county?  In my familys' neighborhoods, in suburbs of Phoenix and north in Flagstaff, the situation is quite different than what the article portrays.  Arizona is HUGE and diverse.  To say, Arizona is getting slammed, is inaccurate.  I don't like it when it's painted with such a broad brush.

https://www.azdhs.gov/covid19/data/index.php#hospital-bed-usage

[Corraleno]

3 hours ago, Random said:

I clicked this link to read the story.  I checked the AZDHS website as well.  It looks like, according to the AZDHS website that this piece might be missing context?  I noticed the name on the ambulance, Gila River, is an area around Tucson, close to the Mexico border.  I wonder if there is a connection there because there has been such a huge influx of (mostly unvaxxed) people coming from Mexico into AZ?  IDK.  I'm just speculating. The DHS website doesn't seem to bear out that the covid hospitalizations are the highest they've ever been.  Maybe that was in reference to a singular city or county?  In my familys' neighborhoods, in suburbs of Phoenix and north in Flagstaff, the situation is quite different than what the article portrays.  Arizona is HUGE and diverse.  To say, Arizona is getting slammed, is inaccurate.  I don't like it when it's painted with such a broad brush.

https://www.azdhs.gov/covid19/data/index.php#hospital-bed-usage

Most of the Banner Health facilities are in the Phoenix metro area, there are only two near Tucson. According to the article, Valley Health facilities are also struggling and are dealing with the same number of patients they had a year ago. Obviously there will be regional variations within the state and between hospital systems, but the data you linked actually confirms what the article said: the number of people in ICUs in AZ right now IS the highest it's ever been, at least since before the pandemic started (which is how far back the graphs go). Not all of those are covid patients, many are patients who may have deferred medical treatment earlier in the pandemic, but even the number of covid patients in ICU in AZ right now is the highest since mid-February, and about where it was in early December last year (which is what the spokesman for Valley Health said). Given that the current wave isn't expected to peak until mid-January, that is definitely concerning.

ETA: Current 7-day average for covid deaths in AZ is 78, which is higher than it was on this date in 2020. That may partly reflect a recent data dump, but even if you go back a week, to the 9th, the 7 day average was 67, which is right where it was a year ago, and is the highest since late February. Positivity is 8-9%, and the state currently has the 5th worst per capita death rate in the US. 

Edited December 16, 2021 by Corraleno

[TCB]

We are not in the middle of a Covid surge here at the moment but have a steady number of Covid patients, about 30-40% of the ICU, but we are generally very busy. I get a group text at 5 am every day begging for people to work, and that is with a number of travel nurses still part of the workforce. I don’t think people realize how close to the edge most hospitals are operating, nor how exhausted everyone is because there have only been a week or two of respite here or there. I don’t know what will happen if/when another surge occurs.

[Melissa Louise]

NSW cases today - 2213.

AU peeps - Christmas advice.

https://amp.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/17/australians-should-hold-christmas-festivities-outside-to-cut-risk-of-omicron-spread-expert-says

Outdoors, day time, reduce numbers, boosters etc. 

 

 

 

[prairiewindmomma]

Can I ask a dumb question (about the US system, from a US perspective)? 

If part of the fundamentals of the nursing crisis is burnout ---->burnout coming from understaffing ----->understaffing coming from a lack of qualified nurses to schedule shifts for ------->limited slots in nursing programs ---------->nursing proctor/instructors are short because they pay them so little.....  

Why haven't we systematically addressed that issue? Schools are rejecting tens of thousands of qualified applicants a year.  

I also, just my .02, think one of the other fundamental problems seems to be that hospitals are playing a very dangerous HR game, just like a lot of factories, where it's easier to squeeze the staff you already have rather than hire on new at appropriate salaries. They use contract workers (travelers) just like other businesses do but that shifts the culture, which contributes to existing staff not having job satisfaction.

I just sit here, mind blown, that we'd rather break things than fix them.

 

Edited December 16, 2021 by prairiewindmomma

[Ausmumof3]

1510 with VIC 

Apparently we’re getting a press conference about easing restrictions today 

[Melissa Louise]

28 minutes ago, TCB said:

We are not in the middle of a Covid surge here at the moment but have a steady number of Covid patients, about 30-40% of the ICU, but we are generally very busy. I get a group text at 5 am every day begging for people to work, and that is with a number of travel nurses still part of the workforce. I don’t think people realize how close to the edge most hospitals are operating, nor how exhausted everyone is because there have only been a week or two of respite here or there. I don’t know what will happen if/when another surge occurs.

I hate what we are doing to HCW's, and worry about long term impacts on health care. 

Our hospitals are hunkering down. Visitor limits reimposed. Code Red. 

[mom2scouts]

I hate that this thread has well over 400 posts!

Covid is surging again here. Sigh. The schools are going on break early. One of the big hospitals is bringing in a morgue truck. I really hope Omicron is less severe and that's what is spreading so fast here.

DD was with several people last weekend who have now tested positive for Covid. So far, she is testing negative. One of the girls is a teen who has multiple health issues including breathing issues and Covid could be very bad for her. I'm so tired...

[Corraleno]

11 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Can I ask a dumb question (about the US system, from a US perspective)? 

If part of the fundamentals of the nursing crisis is burnout ---->burnout coming from understaffing ----->understaffing coming from a lack of qualified nurses to schedule shifts for ------->limited slots in nursing programs ---------->nursing proctor/instructors are short because they pay them so little.....  

Why haven't we systematically addressed that issue? Schools are rejecting tens of thousands of qualified applicants a year.  

I also, just my .02, think one of the other fundamental problems seems to be that hospitals are playing a very dangerous HR game, just like a lot of factories, where it's easier to squeeze the staff you already have rather than hire on new at appropriate salaries. They use contract workers (travelers) just like other businesses do but that shifts the culture, which contributes to existing staff not having job satisfaction.

I just sit here, mind blown, that we'd rather break things than fix them.

 

I'm with you, I don't understand why we haven't been expanding access to nursing programs. DS's university has an excellent nursing program that is extremely hard to get into — it's not direct admit, students have to apply at the end of their sophomore year, and every year on the FB parents group I see a flood of posts from parents whose distraught kids did not get admitted, despite taking all the prerequisites and having super high GPAs, and those kids are then faced with having to choose between trying to transfer to a nursing program in another university, leaving behind all the friends and connections they've made, or stay put, give up their dream of nursing, and chose a different major. It just seems nuts when we desperately need good, highly-trained nurses to be turning away smart, hard-working kids who really really want to fill that gap.

But ultimately I think even if we greatly increased the number of nurses and other healthcare workers, as long as we have this totally dysfunctional profit-based healthcare system it will always be a clusterf$%* and HCWs will always be overworked and underpaid. And hospitals will continue to be filled with people who would not be sick, or not nearly as sick, if they'd had access to affordable healthcare and affordable medication before their issues got to the level of needing hospitalization.

[prairiewindmomma]

I agree, Corraleno, I think the way out of this is single payer healthcare.

[Jean in Newcastle]

57 minutes ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Can I ask a dumb question (about the US system, from a US perspective)? 

If part of the fundamentals of the nursing crisis is burnout ---->burnout coming from understaffing ----->understaffing coming from a lack of qualified nurses to schedule shifts for ------->limited slots in nursing programs ---------->nursing proctor/instructors are short because they pay them so little.....  

Why haven't we systematically addressed that issue? Schools are rejecting tens of thousands of qualified applicants a year.  

I also, just my .02, think one of the other fundamental problems seems to be that hospitals are playing a very dangerous HR game, just like a lot of factories, where it's easier to squeeze the staff you already have rather than hire on new at appropriate salaries. They use contract workers (travelers) just like other businesses do but that shifts the culture, which contributes to existing staff not having job satisfaction.

I just sit here, mind blown, that we'd rather break things than fix them.

 

Our state legislature is addressing the nursing school problem. It’s still under discussion so I don’t know how it will go but at least it’s being discussed. 

[Ausmumof3]

64 in SA today

[Acadie]

2 hours ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

Our state legislature is addressing the nursing school problem. It’s still under discussion so I don’t know how it will go but at least it’s being discussed. 

The university where dh teaches is opening a nursing school. The pandemic has been an enormous fiscal challenge for them as for most of higher ed, and adding the nursing school strikes me as one of the more promising components of their strategic plan.  

[kbutton]

3 hours ago, prairiewindmomma said:

Why haven't we systematically addressed that issue? Schools are rejecting tens of thousands of qualified applicants a year.  

I wouldn't be surprised if finding enough clinical sites is an issue. Overworked people or people who are expected to meet productivity quotas often do not want to take on students. It's too risky to their own job status. 

It's also exhausting to have to explain everything you're doing to someone for weeks at a time in order to take on students. 

[Jean in Newcastle]

13 minutes ago, Acadie said:

The university where dh teaches is opening a nursing school. The pandemic has been an enormous fiscal challenge for them as for most of higher ed, and adding the nursing school strikes me as one of the more promising components of their strategic plan.  

I am having difficulty with posting on this forum. Part of the difficulty has been with likes- so consider your post liked!  

[cjzimmer1]

I don't know what things are like currently in my state but about 15 years ago a friend of mine was trying to get into nursing school but she had to wait about 3 years to get in.  Same story everywhere she looked, lots of candidates not enough space to teach them.  When asked why they didn't expand the program she was always told they couldn't find enough qualified teachers.  Not sure how you get more teachers without having more schooling options but that was how it was.  

[Ausmumof3]

In a tiny bit of non-Covid better news one child involved in the bouncy castle incident has been discharged from hospital today.  Three still remain in critical condition and one is recovering.

[bookbard]

Australians - do you that they will ever lock down again? Esp NSW/VIC? People are starting to talk about lockdowns already, but I feel like the govt just won't do it, and it'll end up with 'voluntary' lockdowns - ie people will simply stop going to the shops, will cancel holidays and so on. We were thinking of going to another show but no way now. 

[Melissa Louise]

8 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Australians - do you that they will ever lock down again? Esp NSW/VIC? People are starting to talk about lockdowns already, but I feel like the govt just won't do it, and it'll end up with 'voluntary' lockdowns - ie people will simply stop going to the shops, will cancel holidays and so on. We were thinking of going to another show but no way now. 

No, not in NSW. 

Not unless the hospital's literally fall down AND the govt can't hide it. 

Like a fool, I went into the city today  (masked). It's just a giant Covid incubator. 

Stay close to home this summer, do outdoor things only. 

[bookbard]

4 minutes ago, Melissa Louise said:

Stay close to home this summer, do outdoor things only. 

Yes. Our area has under 20 cases still, among 60,000 people. Won't be long before it hits though (Christmas will do it). We have no plans over summer. 

[Ausmumof3]

35 minutes ago, bookbard said:

Australians - do you that they will ever lock down again? Esp NSW/VIC? People are starting to talk about lockdowns already, but I feel like the govt just won't do it, and it'll end up with 'voluntary' lockdowns - ie people will simply stop going to the shops, will cancel holidays and so on. We were thinking of going to another show but no way now. 

Yeah I agree.  Unless the health system falls over spectacularly as per Austria and Netherlands 

Edited December 17, 2021 by Ausmumof3

[Melissa in Australia]

I think Victoria will

[Rosie_0801]

2 hours ago, bookbard said:

Australians - do you that they will ever lock down again? Esp NSW/VIC? People are starting to talk about lockdowns already, but I feel like the govt just won't do it, and it'll end up with 'voluntary' lockdowns - ie people will simply stop going to the shops, will cancel holidays and so on. We were thinking of going to another show but no way now. 

I hope so. Dd's stepsister has finished school for the year and has been getting herself a social life. In theory, the poor girl deserves it, but I sure am worried about her bringing it home to my daughter. I reckon it'll be just plain luck if she doesn't. 

[ktgrok]

19 hours ago, Arcadia said:

I won’t be surprised if more companies did what Cisco used to do; work from home employees not having assigned desk space and just using whatever workspace is available. That cuts down on office space required. 
My husband’s dept is fully vaccinated but they have breakthrough cases. He is in hardware so they stagger coming back to office to minimize face to face interactions. 

It's termed "hotel space" - like you check into a desk for the day or whatever and then check out and someone else uses it. Lot of companies doing this now. 

[Acadie]

Hospitals in Northeast Ohio have cancelled elective surgeries, limited visitors and one is using a refrigerated morgue truck again. A friend who works at a local hospital told me they have pulled all the recliners out of patient rooms and lined them up in the ER and hallways for new patients. They tape a sheet of paper with a number over each recliner to identify patient location. Not safe in terms of fire codes, never mind patient care. 

It reminds me of early in the pandemic when cases were rising quickly in cities on the east coast, but not the rest of the country. Delta is everywhere but some cities in the US have really started to climb the Omicron escalator. Although it may seem distant and unreal to people in places with fewer cases, I'm sorry to say Omicron is spreading so quickly it won't be long before it's all over the country. 

 

[mommyoffive]

US Coronavirus: A Covid-19 'viral blizzard' is about to hit the US, expert says (msn.com)

[Arcadia]

12 hours ago, bookbard said:

Australians - do you that they will ever lock down again? Esp NSW/VIC? People are starting to talk about lockdowns already, but I feel like the govt just won't do it, and it'll end up with 'voluntary' lockdowns - ie people will simply stop going to the shops, will cancel holidays and so on. We were thinking of going to another show but no way now. 

 

12 hours ago, Melissa Louise said:

No, not in NSW. 

Not unless the hospital's literally fall down AND the govt can't hide it. 

Like a fool, I went into the city today  (masked). It's just a giant Covid incubator. 

Stay close to home this summer, do outdoor things only. 

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/taylor-swift-album-party-at-sydneys-metro-theatre-deemed-covid-venue-of-concern-c-4977065.amp
“Almost 100 cases of COVID-19 have been linked to a Taylor Swift album listening party in Sydney.

The “On Repeat: Taylor Swift Red Party” at the Metro Theatre on George Street has been declared a venue of concern.

Anyone who attended the event, which celebrated the re-release of Swift’s album Red, from 9pm on Friday, December 10, is considered a close contact.

They are required to get tested immediately, then isolate for seven days.

Any household contacts of attendees are required to get tested until they are confirmed negative.

At least 97 cases of COVID have been associated with the night, with health authorities saying Omicron is “likely” to be among them.”

[chocolate-chip chooky]

12 hours ago, bookbard said:

Australians - do you that they will ever lock down again? Esp NSW/VIC? People are starting to talk about lockdowns already, but I feel like the govt just won't do it, and it'll end up with 'voluntary' lockdowns - ie people will simply stop going to the shops, will cancel holidays and so on. We were thinking of going to another show but no way now. 

I hope so, but I'd say it's unlikely.

Our QLD lockdowns in the past were hard and fast, usually when there were only handful of cases, so that contact tracing could be done thoroughly and quickly. Those lockdowns were often only about 5-7 days, and each time it completely stamped Covid out. 

Well, we're well past only a handful of cases now. Our exposure sites list is so long I doubt many people keep track of it. And our border is open, so more cases will still just keep coming in.

I think we'd need a health system crisis before they'd lockdown now. 

Or maybe if the public revolts in some way. I'm not the only one who feels that this new 'freedom' is making us less and less free in our everyday lives.

[ktgrok]

My county in Florida reports Omicron as the dominant variety in wastewater, although hospitalized patients are still almost all Delta. They say it is too soon to know if that will continue though. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/omicron-dominant-wastewater-samples-florida-county-81793644

[Laura Corin]

1 hour ago, ktgrok said:

My county in Florida reports Omicron as the dominant variety in wastewater, although hospitalized patients are still almost all Delta. They say it is too soon to know if that will continue though. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/omicron-dominant-wastewater-samples-florida-county-81793644

Scotland is at 51 percent Omicron on tests. My county is pretty well vaccinated. I keep hearing about cases but I don't know of anyone who was hospitalised.