More than 20,000 new Covid infections in New South Wales overnight, almost double yesterday’s official numbers released by the state government (even though the Chief Medical Officer admits “it is likely that the case numbers are higher than that”).
Who’s taking bets? 40,000 more Covid infections tomorrow? 80,000 on Sunday? 160,000 Monday?? Tuesday???
Gold standard? Boy, am I getting shitfaced tonight!
Yes, it’s another daily record for NSW, and another leap in Covid cases, with 21,151 locally acquired infections and six deaths overnight, almost double yesterday’s numbers, which were double those of the day before. In just two weeks Australia rocketed from one of the lowest rates of new Covid cases per capita in the world to one of the highest. An absolute fucking disaster. The more cases the more likelihood of a deadlier variant developing. The Victorian government announced 5,919 new cases and seven deaths, Queensland 3,118 new cases and South Australia 2,093 new cases, four deaths. Interestingly, SA – an LNP government – refuses to adopt the Federal LNP government’s new close contact definition, joining Labor’s Western Australia as the only two states refusing to adopt the new changes. So far, that is.
That Victoria’s and Queensland’s ALP governments agreed to Morrison’s latest attempt at fudging the numbers beggars belief. ABC News online reports ‘Yesterday’s national cabinet meeting saw SA, NSW, Victoria, the ACT and Queensland all agree to reclassify a “close contact” as someone who has spent four hours or more with a confirmed case in a household-like setting.’
Household-like??? Four hours seems a dangerously long time to be hanging around somebody who is infected, regardless of location.
NSW premier Dominic Perrottet has repeated his insane claim that the state is in a “strong position” because of high vaccination rates, ignoring the fact that asymptomatic as well as fully vaccinated people can and do get infected and can and do pass their infections on to others. Contradicting the Premier’s bizarre rosy assessment, the state’s Chief Medical Officer says “Whilst we’re reporting 21,151 cases in the community, it is likely that the case numbers are higher than that. There is a lot of transmission of Covid occurring in our community and so the risk of transmission and acquiring Covid is high.”
Obviously numbers will continue to increase at an exponential rate as long as those in charge shrug their shoulders and skive off, no doubt hiding out in their seaside holiday homes up and down Australia’s east coast.
Jay Coonan of the Antipoverty Centre called the National Cabinet’s decision “heartless” and said it meant the poor will die at “even higher rates than we did last year,” as if Morrison and his cronies give a shit about “the poor”. Professor Adrian Esteman, an epidemiologist from the University of South Australia reckons “We have our politicians saying oh, look it doesn’t matter if cases go up because hospitalisations aren’t. I’m sorry, but it does matter if cases go up because there will be a reasonable proportion of those cases ending up with long term health problems”.
Because the Covid testing system is being overwhelmed, Perrottet – a cold-blooded religious zealot at least as deranged as PM Morrison – is urging people NOT to line up for PCR tests unless a RAT test returns a positive result when there is a national shortage of RATs! (PCR means polymerase chain reaction. It’s a test to detect genetic material from a specific organism, such as a virus.)
Perrottet and Morrison have taken a page from the Trump playbook: to reduce the number of active Covid cases, reduce the number of tests. Genius!
Joshua from Accounting
Meanwhile industry groups have denied the PM’s claim that they pressured federal and state authorities to renege on a commitment to provide free rapid antigen tests (RATs) to the public. Sociopathic liar Scotty the Simp had claimed the decision to allow “private market” operators to provide the kits was the result of concern from suppliers, blaming others for his own failures, as usual. All he ever does is lie and shirk responsibility. Gormless federal Treasurer Frydenberg refuses to hold an inquiry into price gouging of the kits after the Morrison government gutted the 1948 Prices Regulation Act in 2019, legislation designed to stop unscrupulous businesses profiteering during times of crisis on items precisely like RATs.
And this evening The Guardian online reports that NSW health authorities are trying to contain more outbreaks of Covid in aged care facilities across the state. Of about 70 centres in western Sydney alone, almost 50 have reported positive cases or have staff who have tested positive, according to “a senior health official”.
How bad can it get? To date, the Covid-19 pandemic has killed 5.4 million people across the world.
Faaark! Maybe I should just follow the example of the Australian and New South Wales governments; shrug, give up and take a fucking holiday!
Happy New Year!!!
