A few personal thoughts on the Sydney coronavirus outbreak. I’m not an expert. I don’t debate facts or fiction. Best go elsewhere if debate is what you are after.

Sars-Cov-2 has made a break for it again in Sydney, Australia, and we’re all pretty nervous. I bet the 83 people infected over the last week aren’t happy either. This new community outbreak has left many people’s Christmas plans in disarray. On the one hand, I am impressed by the amazing job the New South Wales (NSW) contract tracers have done to identify the chain(s) of infection in Sydney. Thank you, contract tracers! On the other hand, I know further outbreaks are inevitable but I am deeply unimpressed by the circumstances that apparently led to the outbreak in the first place.

This pandemic management business is a huge and massively complex task. Most Aussies have been working cooperatively with governments to suppress the virus and care for one another. I wonder if the NSW Premier is disappointed with herself for putting this cooperation at risk? After all, how can she expect anyone to take infection control seriously if, as the leader of the pandemic response in her jurisdiction, she fails to quarantine until her own test results come back? It is an example of poor judgement at the very least. Here’s hoping the damage is small.

I have a tendency to have a bit of a rant about these things in the privacy of my own home, but really, are any of us confident that we could do any better? Sometimes I think I could but then reality intrudes, like today when I couldn’t find my cloth face masks. Given my propensity to forget where I’ve put things and my inclination to expect the worst, I should have known better than to pack them away. Knowing the problems to avoid, as well as the positive steps to take, is my own personal “gold standard” of infection control. To err is human, or so I’ve been told.

To all the Aussies out there that have had to change their travel plans at the last minute and or who have had to cancel their family reunions, I send you my greatest sympathies. We know that our own good behaviour can make a huge difference to the trajectory of this latest outbreak. Let’s do it, but I think we need a song first – a song of regret, a song of resignation, but with some hope too. Fortunately, it is “Making Gravy” Day in Australia in honour of Paul Kelly’s famous Aussie Christmas song, How To Make Gravy.

Be on your best behaviour, ladies and gentlemen, and stay safe.

Kind Regards.
Tracy.

59 thoughts on “Imagination Goes Mad”

  1. Of course I don’t envy our leaders at this time: getting it right must be impossible. And I can’t comment on your situation either, except to sympathise. But England’s response has been utterly woeful – always behind events, flip-flopping from one U turn to another. It’s getting harder and harder to have us all in the same team, each of us doing our best to contain this virus, when advice is so muddled and contradictory. Nevertheless, happy Christmas Tracy. Enjoy the season in the best way you can.

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    1. I wonder if those who voted for Mr Johnson and his party are pleased with their choice now? I guess it is one thing for people to deliberately flout advice and another thing for the advice to be inadequate and short-sighted/contradictory in the first place. It has happened here too, especially at the start of the pandemic and when vested interests get their hooks in. We seem to have done much better when we prioritise public health and protecting the vulnerable. I’ve been reading about the changes to the virus adding further to the UK’s woes and global concerns. At least the UK’s climate change policy is better. Good luck, Margaret and all the best for the holiday. I suspect there will be more people online at this time of year than there would normally be. You’ve got a very cheeky bunch that comment on your blog so that will hopefully help you all endure this nightmare.

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      1. Johnson still has a surprisingly loyal fan base. It’s a bit like the Trump thing. He can do no wrong in some people’s eyes. Thanks for your good wishes. We’re all going to need them. Yep, I have some great followers, as have you. Blogging friends of the world unite! And – enjoy the Christmas season in the best way you can.

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  4. Well Tracy it is of little comfort to know that illogical and ironic behaviours are ubiquitous. I used to wrack my brain trying to make sense of irrational human behaviours. Those contact tracers in Australia will do their work. But in some countries things are so dire that they are no longer doing contact tracing.

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    1. I understand this only too well. We should heed this lesson. An overwhelming amount of responsibility is being put on the contract tracers and I would hate for stupid mistakes, poor decisions and systems, and irresponsible behaviour to let them down.

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  5. Tracy, none of this makes sense and people don’t make sense. I was so blue yesterday I could barely function, but it’s better today. A friend and I were talking on the phone, though, about how disappointed we are at having had to learn so much about human behavior. Hopefully when this is better, we’ll forget all we learned (but I’m a little doubtful…) ❤ Stay safe, Tracy, even if just on the off chance that we get to have a cuppa together.

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    2. No doubt there is nothing new in this behaviour with it being prevalent at times of crises across the ages. It is another matter living though it yourself though.
      I was a bit blue yesterday too. Fortunately the birds visited me and I sat on my front doorstep in the rain watching them. That made me feel a lot better.

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  6. I love Paul Kelly and that song; so thanks for my morning music. I’m watching the news with renewed anxiety — both because of the Sydney outbreak and the new strain in the UK. So much depends on the small actions of individuals; a terrifying thought.

    Stay safe my friend.

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    1. I share your worry, Su. For all of the NSW government’s confidence, their strategy does not seem that decisive and even worse adds to people’s stress levels by keeping everyone on tenterhooks for long stretches of time. Doesn’t seem gold standard to me. As for the UK, that’s just totally shit. I’ll be fine. I’m seeing a few more masks around again. Also, I took some nice photos for my monthly wrap-up yesterday. Very sweet.

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  7. It’s a terrible mess everything, and people are not behaving everywhere. The new strain has made our government close the airposts for UK and Denmark. It seems the strain is already in the Netherlands too. You have done well there in the southern hemisphere, and you have got the heat with you. The cold and indoors thing is worsening the problems. Stay safe is all we can try to do. ♥

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    1. I admire your courage, Ann-Christine and that of my other overseas readers and I take heart in that. The new strain is a worry. You must be a doing a lot of walking in the forest to keep calm. All the best to everyone. It will be a difficult few months I fear for those in wintry climes.

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      1. Tracy, we all have to be courageous…life is life, and” who said it would be easy” – my grandmother always said. Her father died in the Spanish flu.

        Stay safe and trust this too shall pass. ♥

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    1. Paul Kelly is a highly respected and hugely popular singer/songwriter, and rightly so. Hope you liked the song.
      So that is what that song is called – Something in the Air. I’m hopeless with song names. Thanks for the suggestion. They are a great distraction for me.

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      1. Not sure at all that Paul Kelly’s song is called “Something in the air”! I do like Paul Kelly’s words and they resonate with me. My partly formed thought was that the music accompanying Paul’s lyrics reminded me a bit of the music accompanying a Thunderclap Newman’s song. Beyond that I know little more on my surmise. Did You hear any similarities?

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      2. Paul Kelly’s song is called “How to Make Gravy”.
        I confess I struggled to hear the similarity between the two. Everyone is different though. Sometimes I hear another song that will have a couple of bars or a refrain that are identical or almost identical. I will mention that to friends and they will look at me blankly! 🙂

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  11. I sort of asked the guests who have booked my Airbnb over the few days after Christmas to cancel due to my concerns. They were understanding thankfully. Keep safe Tracy and have a fab Christmas 😀

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      1. You are welcome. It can be very tiring to be on guard all the time. I do hope things are in control soon enough.
        I am okay, Tracy.
        I do hope you all get a few days off together. Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. ❤️

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  13. Happy Christmas, Tracy.

    I, like you, wonder if any of us could have done better in tracing and restraining the spread of this virus. I have to applaud our own Premier in Victoria for the strength and courage he showed when our virus numbers got out of hand. He listened to the experts and made the hard judgement to place severe lockdowns and curfew despite the critics.

    I hope everyone has the common sense to forgive the changes NSW has had to make to protect the people at this difficult time when the whole country was breathing a sigh of relief and planning Christmas activities.

    There’ll always be a day to celebrate in the future, but not if friends and family are lost due to this highly contagious virus.

    I loved the song also. 🙂

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    1. Thank you, Vicki. You and your fellow Victorians deserve a reprieve from all the virus angst. I am so happy for you that all that hard work paid off and you can visit loved ones again knowing that for the time being, the virus has been contained.
      The rest of Australia is hoping that NSW residents are that extra bit cautious so that they can get on top of the virus spread too. I wonder if, like in the Paul Kelly song, it will be July before we can all, and not just Aussies, breathe that collective sight of relief?
      All the best to you, Vicki.

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