Comments by "annoyed aussie" (@annoyedaussie3942) on "Pandemics, Update and history" video.

Thanks for the survey link. I am in Queensland and appreciate the sacrifices Victorians must make. I notice comments in this thread that are simply incorrect, every jurisdiction with major outbreaks can't have hospitals carrying on like normal so letting the virus rip will never improve other health outcomes. Truth is but many don't realise it or have forgot Victoria had the least oppressive approach in the beginning which was an error and has contributed to people being angry now. As far as the economy there is 0 evidence that countries with out of control outbreaks are performing better and have provided approximately equal levels of government stimulus and economic declines are also very similar but non tourism parts of the economy are far better in places with little to no virus because things are more open. Victoria's comeback is impressive and looking good for reopening cautiously and I don't think the same mistakes will happen again. To all Victorians hang in there you will be like the rest of Australia soon.
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@enrobsorussell open borders and voluntary quarantine which has holes in it is a partial lockdown only. Evidence is poorly executed partial lockdowns do the most damage , search for pew research covid 19 country response survey and hopefully you can find it. US and UK least approve of their governments approach out of 14 high income countries, Australia and Denmark out of the countries surveyed had the highest approvals. Evidence is success is the only thing the public wants. If you looked at the survey support for certain measures actually rose as numbers have improved in Victoria. This is counterintuitive but can be explained by the vast majority would prefer a cautious approach that will succeed even though it might take a little longer. It's amazing to see actually and extremely encouraging the support for the curfew for the time being , actually increasing. The curfew is a low cost but effective measure which frees up resources for other times of the day, particularly to do with enforcement which is required because of the small minority.
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@vietnam1978 It's not about being honest, Dr Campbell is trying to look at too many things at once and if course can't understand all peculiarities in every country. Good to hear it looks like you have got rid of it again in Vietnam.
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@enrobsorussell I smoke and I drink and have had benign non melanoma skin cancers for over 20 years now. Nobody is harmed by my smoking or drinking or whether or not I go in the sun. Mum always used to say Queensland was the skin cancer capital of the world, not sure if we are still the worst jurisdiction in the world for that but that's people's lifestyle choices and I do support government information campaigns on not getting sun burnt or not getting fat or my vices but can't and should not interfere with personal freedoms as much as is possible. Containment of infectious diseases is totally ok. Not sure where you are from but under normal circumstances there are biosecurity quarantine zones within Australian and within state boundaries themselves. I think this partly explains the success of Australia and NZ because quarantine measures are just a normal part of life. Dealing with humans as the carriers is a little different of course but the same general concepts apply.
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@essanjay8604 that's a very sensible question and the answer could be yes but all jurisdictions in the world are doing it to some extent. However containment or slowing the spread has saved lives because treatment has improved. If a widespread vaccine comes in about a year or so the countries that contained virus will come out the best. If a vaccine doesn't come most if not all countries have no plan B. I have heard Australia , Sweden and US and I am sure many other countries saying we are waiting for a vaccine and no alternative plan mentioned because I think there is no other plan other than keep doing the same thing.
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@enrobsorussell What you speak of regarding limiting healthcare is only occurring in Victoria , not the rest of Australia. The rest of Australia has less restrictions than virtually any country in the world other than travel. In Australia we cherish what we have and Victorians for the most part want the freedoms as the rest of Australia has and can see this is preferable to continous lockdown lite as many seem to prefer. Victorians aren't fleeing to Europe or even suggesting they would want to. They talk about fleeing to the original hardline Australian states, that have less virus problems.
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@peterderidder6549 yes broadly speaking there is 2 policies throughout the world , mitigation which is like you say prevent hospitals overflowing and make some effort to protect the elderly and containment which is get the outbreak to 0 and any new outbreaks attack very swiftly, testing and contact tracing and try to get back to 0 again. I think police in these jurisdictions are becoming highly skilled at tracking people. I think after this is finished the police will be able track criminals better too.
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@petero9584 I agree with your comment if it wasn't only Victoria maybe a very different outcome. I think if any 2 out of Melbourne Sydney and Brisbane get out of control turning things back around would be extremely difficult. I am in Brisbane and I am confident it won't get out of control here but as we know it only takes a few errors for things to turn really bad.
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@waycam77 I had to laugh a bit at your comment, reminds me of the Victorian that snuck into Western Australia, it's possible they didn't understand the term lockdown measures so now WA is teaching them in a small room with bars on it for a while. People have the ability to sneak into anywhere now especially on the internet.
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@allangibson8494 That's great news, even though it's largely symbolic having a zero death day I think would lift Victorians spirits a little and that the sacrifices are working.
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@rogerstarkey5390 I'll go one better Queensland Australia population : 5.1 mil Covid 19 deaths: 6 (1.2 per million) Hope it stays like that. Taiwan population:23.8 mil Covid 19 deaths 7 (0.3 per million) It's good however Sweden's deaths are down and the nursing home restrictions seem to work. In the end Sweden looks better than quite a few countries and is one of the better lockdown lite or mitigation models, Netherlands policy whatever it is has more internal support than in Sweden according to a survey by pew research and the final analysis is up to people who live somewhere not outsiders. So while I think Australia overall has done great if you are happy with your country even if the policy is completely different that's up to you and your fellow citizens who are the ones that matter most.
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@zeroneutral in answer to your queries and assertions, the death numbers will be highly accurate in Taiwan, South Korea, Japan , Thailand, Australia and New Zealand because very low cases means other than at the beginning all suspicious deaths people will be tested and even the strain of the virus will be tested because unless it is through known contact they want to check it's not a new outbreak. The high case rate countries will be less accurate but I would suggest if they are a high income country then at least 95% plus accurate versus the low case countries being 99% on average more accurate, ( a case could always be missed and if deaths are really low percentage terms it could actually be less accurate). The hard lockdown as you put it in Australia is different state by state. Every state has some border restrictions and all but one state Victoria have very relaxed internal restrictions by world standards. I will give the travel restrictions of Queenslanders and it might amaze you. There is a border zone where residents of New South Wales and Queensland can cross the border after going through a Queensland checkpoint but must stay within the zone specified. If someone comes from New South Wales or Victoria and are not exempted like trucks for example or the border zone exemption. To travel into Queensland a Border pass (sort of like a visa) is required and you must declare where you have been for the previous 14 days and if you lie could be 6 months imprisonment. If you have been in Victoria or New South Wales in the last 14 days you need to be quarantined in a government supervised hotel at the cost of $2,800 AUD for a single, extra 10 days plus costs if you refuse to be tested. Other states people can enter without quarantine, however some states are a little tougher than Queensland. To give the most extreme example , to enter Western Australia basically you can't unless you are going there to live permanently or visit a very close relative or something. So sort of like a permanent resident visa I guess. Western Australia has virtually said to it's residents if you leave Western Australia and it isn't for essential travel you might not be permitted re entry. The example is they are being told they can't come to Queensland to see a football game because it's not essential. Western Australia of course has same quarantine procedure but not sure of cost. So travel restrictions in my opinion have gone a little crazy however I do agree with the rights of the states to do it. I think my state is about right with travel restrictions and sort middle of the road by Aussie standards at present.
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@zeroneutral Which costs? There is only one cost, the ability of free travel. If you look at economic impacts and government stimulus spending you will see exactly the same numbers as a proportion in Sweden for example. Everywhere is doing it tough and every country has bankruptcies occurring. If you look at UK economic decline it's the worst I believe and truly catastrophic. UK had open borders from day one or as you might say did nothing, the policy on paper was very similar to Sweden, just stop hospitals overflowing. Sweden comparatively did a better job and looks economically similar to Australia while noting Victoria will probably push us to a little worse than Sweden for the 3rd quarter.
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@zeroneutral what you are referring to is travel and I accept that cost has increased. As far as you mean staying at home the handouts from the government have skyrocketed to the point people are actually getting higher incomes on average and the savings rate has increased. There is no possible way to make everyone better off. Every country has unemployment increasing and many countries would not be so generous with the hand outs. In Australia you don't see 3 hour queues for food handouts from charities or modern day soup kitchens like the US. If you expect perfection you will not find it anywhere if you look properly. If travel costs over borders are a concern you are probably not doing it too tough. Some borders are almost shut tight anyway, including Australia s external border.
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