Australia, Community, Mental Health

I was only just saying….

Forestwood

Sometimes a word or two can spark an outrage or can offer comfort. Other times words might even be prophetic.

Unfortunately, it seems the later is the case. I write about Australia’s Covid-free bubble and cautioned that we shouldn’t become too complacent and forget hygiene measures.

At New Year’s Eve, I noticed people were fast getting a too cocky with life, resuming normal practices like hugging and kissing, even though there were still a few isolated Covid cases in a few states, including ours. All cases were in hotel quarantine and out of public access, until now. Then:

Credit: Facebook meme

New Covid Outbreak in Queensland, Australia

A cleaner in hotel quarantine has come down with the highly infectious UK strain of the virus. The cleaner was catching public transport for a week prior to detection.

The region is now in lockdown from 6pm tonight and masks are mandatory. [You might remember I was prevented from wearing masks, last year in my workplace].

shopping centre with consumers

The announcement came at 8.30 am today, but at 8.20 am people were already out and about panic buying.

Toilet paper supplies, I suspect.

Credit: giphy

The lockdown is only until Monday morning, but they suspect it could last a week.

Has the public forgotten shops were once closed all weekend? Are we not able to survive more than one day without shopping? Are toilet paper supplies that thin? (Excuse the pun).

Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels.com

One Covid case; (no new cases today) and wholesale chaos reigns at the stores. Think of the UK – or other states and countries that have been in lockdown for months.

The hotel staff in the quarantine hotels, are now going to be tested daily. I wonder why this wasn’t previously instituted?

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Published by Forestwood

A philosophic Aussie writes here at StPA, one who will readily admit to loving Scandinavia. I'm interested in global politics and what drives us to be who we are. Scratch the surface and you'll find a practical Environmentalist with an egalitarian bent, trying to unleash a little creativity via the written word. Scandinavian culture, literature and traditions are close to my heart, even though I'm Australian. Travel and courteous discussions greatly broaden the mind, so I travel if I can and am always up for a vigorous, respectful discussion. I'm an avid reader, a writer and I enjoy photography and crafts, particularly traditional art forms. I hope you'll find 'Something to Ponder About,' in my WordPress Community.

84 thoughts on “I was only just saying….”

  1. You make a really good point about the power of words, Amanda. Excellent opening paragraph. We have many restrictions spelled out in detail for us the past few weeks which, of course included Christmas. Only socializing with people in our own household. Therefore Christmas, New Years and Birthdays all via Zoom. Today we were advised the Covid restrictions were extended until Feb. 5th. Many people are following the restrictions, and unfortunately, many bending the rules. As my daughter said before Christmas, ‘how we spend Christmas this year will allow us all to spend Christmas together next year.’

    Liked by 3 people

    1. The sacrifice of missing out on get togethers will be worth it to stay safe, Eric/ka. I can only imagine how difficult it must be facing the prospect of weeks on end in lockdown. People here are spoilt and react like crazy puppies deprived of their bone!
      At the very least, we have technology to allow us to connect in some way. Even though it is not ideal.
      I do wonder how they coped prior to technology and the net if isolation was ever necessary.

      Liked by 3 people

      1. Hello from the Caribbean! We have had long months of lockdown since we have not rebuilt everything after the hurricanes, and quite honestly do not have the infrastructure to handle a COVID-19 explosion. Curfews, masks, temperature readings, closed public areas, even days we are not allowed to use our cars on the road. We survive it… to survive. There is an island next to us that doesn’t even have a hospital. I have learned that as long as the lockdowns are only as harsh as the threat, then everyone should understand and want to comply. Let’s all be responsible and get through this safely! ❤️

        Liked by 2 people

  3. It really makes you wonder about hotel staff, why are they allowed to work in different places. At the moment in WA it seems okay but our premier is known for hard lockdowns! It seems only a matter of time. What is it with the toilet paper! Shops will be rationing them square by square soon

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    1. It is ridiculous. I guess people are thinking they can still get food from takeaway or home deliveries or even growing your own, but toilet paper is something they cannot make themselves.

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      2. Friendly Friday will start again in a few weeks time, Alison. Sandy will post first. The format has some new features! Looking forward to seeing your posts this year.

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  4. Acute observations! I suppose people or a nation can only understand/ react to the situation they’re in. If the whole world was new to Corona once more, the idea of a potential week long lockdown would be terrifying. The toilet paper thing is so strange though my goodness

    Liked by 1 person

      2. Thank you, Josh. I wouldn’t say we are well stocked but we have enough. We have the extra Xmas weight to sustain us! And the shops are still open, so we will find something to eat even if it is not rice, pasta or loo paper.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. I feel sorry for that poor lady, who was simply doing her job and didn’t know she was infectious. I never want to be that person so I’ll be staying put and following all requirements. We were in Brisbane this week so it’s home isolation for us for the next three days. We both have plenty to keep occupied with and there’s plenty of food, so we’ll be just fine.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. What a relief to can do your isolation at home.
      Apoarently the cleaner didn’t du anything wrong but one wonders if the was a breakdown of hygiene somewhere. One of my kids works in a hotel (not a quarantine hotel) and not all staff are completely familiar with the procedures, it seems. Hotel run out of supplies too. It can easily happen. I rentbrennende barrier nursing infectious patients years ago. Breaches happened by medical and ancillary staff.
      I might start making sourdough again?

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      1. Yes, we just drove straight home this morning and here we are for the next three days. We were talking to a staff member at the hotel we stayed at this morning and she said it was a quarantine hotel early on and she said it was so stressful every day trying to cope with all the risks. I take my hat off to them all because it must be very difficult.

        Liked by 1 person

      2. It is not an easy job in the best of times. You have to be a good time manager, customer skills, be reliable and keen and have a good dose of com.on sense. Are you getting plenty of rain?

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      3. It is not an easy job in the best of times. You have to be a good time manager, customer skills, be reliable and keen and have a good dose of common sense.
        Are you getting plenty of this rain up your way?

        Liked by 1 person

      5. We needed it. The sun is so strong these days. Even though the wind is howling here with a light drizzle, the temperature will be at a tolerable for a few more days, I think. No sweating. (Happy dance)

        Liked by 1 person

  8. People are the same everywhere. All thinking about what they are supposed to be deprived of, not being able to look ahead of the here and now.
    England, and to some extent Scotland, is a good example of citizens with civil rights but with no obligations. I know of many who continue to think it is “just this one time” to meet each other with no social distancing and then convincing themselves they did nothing wrong, that a picture with santa is worth all the risks. We are, obviously, in lockdown again at least until February, home schooling starting monday, and I’m not really looking forward to that…
    In terms of shopping, for years people like myself who work in retail, have been frustrated how customers see us and shopping. It’s a day out, for the entire family. Shops are open for longer hours, Christmas is not a holiday anymore for us, it’s a day off. If we’re open, they will come.
    Call me a cynic but this pandemic shows that if people have a choice, they will pick the wrong thing to do.

    Liked by 3 people

    1. Well said, Sofia. I don’t think you are a cynic at all. People often make the wrong choice in many different ways. They are flawed, just as society is flawed.
      In the past I’ve worked in retail and have witnessed how, the purpose of shopping, has changed from functional to recreational. It makes me feel for the workers who get no break at the busiest time of the year. Now we have continuous shopping offered all through the nights up til Xmas day. People flock to the stores at 3 in the morning, to buy the same items that is available at 10am! Short term thinking and a seeming lack of ability to delay gratification of wants, at the expense of needs appears rampant.
      Yes they forget social distancing. Yes they rationalise a small breach as okay. People the world over are much the same. The world becomes smaller every year. You’d think that might enhance unnderstanding.

      Liked by 2 people

  10. You ask a good question: “Has the public forgotten shops were once closed all weekend?”

    I wonder a similar thing here where in my lifetime grocery stores closed at 8:00 p.m. each night and were closed on Sundays. I mean, do your shopping mindfully, with a tad of planning. Sorry to read about your current lockdown, but so it goes. Happy New Year, btw– although it seems like the troubles of 2020 are leeching into 2021. Still it’s a new year.

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    1. It is a New Year Ally and I for one, am optimistic. Vaccines are on the horizon so there will be an end or at least a tapering off.
      Planning shopping – those were the days. It has become the fashion here with younger people, to just,”pick up” food or a meal on the way home from work, so those folks don’t actually store too much in their fridges. I don’t subscribe to that at all. Although I am not the best planner with meals, I do a rough outline of what I might need to buy BEFORE I go. If I don’t do that, I plan as I purchase, selecting those items that are on sale. It would drive me nuts to go to the grocery stores every single day.
      I cannot and dare not complain about the lockdown measures here – three days and even a week is nothing compared to what people have suffered in other parts of the world. Two weeks locked in a small hotel room in quarantine would not be something I would like, but refugees and prisoners/ older folks in aged care or disability facility, unfortunately do this for years! That puts any complaints of Australians in perspective.

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      1. Thank you Amanda

        It’s convenient, easy and achieves the selfish agenda.

        My guess is humans have two types of memory stored in brain.

        Short term memory and long term memory .

        Past history( events that happened) comes under ‘short term memory’ and these events fail to gain into our ‘long time memory’ slot of the brain.

        The reason is simple.
        Most of the times the events that happen in the past lose relevance because they are not needed in our day to day survival activities that keeps us busy.

        Since we forget the history ( which we feel unimportant past events ) we tend to commit the mistakes by repeating the history.

        Sometimes forgetfulness is convenient based on our selfish motives, example being irresponsible behaviour of people during Covid restrictions.

        One quote attributed to Mark Twain ” History doesn’t repeat but it rhymes’

        Liked by 1 person

  12. The new strain is in South Africa too. Actually, one developed here. and it is more contagious than the previous one. I am really looking after myself, (masking, sanitizing, distancing) but I’m a teacher who was very sick with covid before and now I struggle not to get anxious when going out. People I know are dying, young and old.

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      3. It is an after effect. Never suffered from it before. I am currently taking some natural products to curb the anxiety. Of course I’m scared of contracting it again, especially because of the mutant strain we have here.

        Liked by 1 person

      5. No, afterwards. I became tearful, emotional and anxious, something I never was before. When I started crying in my grade 2 class one day because a struggling little girl’s mum had not helped her, I walked out of my class and went to the doctor.

        Liked by 1 person

      6. That must have been tough, Appeltjie, but it is great that you had the good sense to seek help. Many with anxiety feel that is too much to speak about.
        There is a lot of fear of this dreaded virus but I didn’t realise that it could cause this as an after effect. I do hope it abates in time. Find supportive friends and take each day as it comes. Your body and spirit need time to heal. Hugs.

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  13. Sure hope the precautions will nip this damned virus in the bud for your area. The virus, including the new strain, is running rampant in our country. About the only good thing I can say is that we still have plenty of toilet paper.

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    1. Yes, Laurie. It is strange. You have tons of Covid cases and toilet paper and we don’t have much of either. I do like that our State leader is so strong to uphold lockdown measures and border closures, but I don’t like that people see the need for panic buying, when we are allowed to go out and shop for food! This time we have to wear a mask – the first time really in the whole epidemic. How do you ensure you stay safe. Do you follow your own variant of a lockdown?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Clif and I work from home, so it is easier for us. We limit our trips outside the home and always wear a mask. We only meet with people outside, which is a little brisk in the winter. In short, we are very, very careful. So far, so good!

        Liked by 1 person

  14. Well said, Amanda. I feel for people who are subjected to unsafe working conditions. I wish we were in lockdown. Our area is an epicenter and it is frightening. I don’t understand why people continue to flout restrictions. Sigh.

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    1. More worrying that lockdown in an epicentre is the lack of it. I agree, Jane. The fact that authorities feel it is okay to let community transfer continue unabated or that borders are okay to be left wide open is anathema to me. It would make me feel quite nervous. Our Government has handled this superbly but as I said, slip ups occur. How are you handling your anxiety about the situation in your part of the world? Do you immense yourself in your work or some pursuit?

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      1. Besides our little family bubble, we do nothing except long walks which reduce stress. I try to limit how much news I watch and read. Immersing myself in photography helps, despite the limitations.

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      2. Long walks are wonderful for a mental shift, as is limiting the news. I only started watching it again the last week or so. I had a complete break for several weeks myself. No news, radio or TV. Only blogging of course. It is hard to eliminate my urge to check in, read or write blog posts. The news here is generally only about ten minutes long on TV, and the rest is very sports oriented. I started to turn off when the fires hit last year. It was so depressing I couldn’t bear listening to the trauma of people, wildlife and the environment. Now that focus has shifted to Covid, and it is equally as appalling hearing about tens of thousands of cases each day in some countries. It is a balance we have to find between being informed and not being horrified.

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  16. I’m sorry to see that your concerns were realised. Over here we’re in lockdown until at least mid February, and quite possibly until the end of March, but I’ve seen no reports of panic buying thankfully.

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    1. It sounds like you folks are getting so used to lockdown and how to manage it. It is still new to us. This morning I woke up to total silence except for the birds. No car doors, kids chatting, or cars zooshing past. It was not unpleasant. Although three days we hope will pull it up. I suspect it may extend to a week. We shall see. It doesn’t unduly worry me being at home as I have loads to do. How have you found the best way to cope is?

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      1. I’m not sure what difference three days or even a week will make but I hope it works for you 🙂 As to coping, taking one day at a time, finding stuff at home to keep busy (we’re currently redecorating our bathroom), taking pleasure in little things … And of course I started my blog!!

        Also, I started a group on Facebook in our first long lockdown last spring, called One Small Thing and it’s really taken off and resonated with people. The aim is to share one small thing, daily or just whenever you can, that has brought you pleasure or made you smile. By being part of the group you’re incentivised to look for these things, and also seeing other people’s ‘small things’ can brighten your day. Currently those of us in the Northern Hemisphere are enjoying summer posts from the south, and people also share recipes, films or books they’ve enjoyed, country walks, gifts received, grandchildren’s smiles and more. I’m really rewarded by how the little group I started seems to be helping lots of other people (we have 275 members) 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      2. A lovely initiative you have created there, Sarah. It is a little like Trent’s Weekly Smile – do you follow him? It is like a blog version of your group by the sounds of it.
        We have only three days of lockdown to flush out any possible cases from contact with one cleaner who developed covid whilst working in hotel quarantine with overseas visitors. They want to trace the 800 potential contacts she had to prevent them further contaminating the community. The cleaner caught public transport and visited shops you see. They will reassess after three days. So far no new cases have energed today. The state Government have kept us safe til now. I like that our borders are closed and that visitors have to do two weeks isolation when they arrive.
        This one case is the only outbreak since middle of last year so I trust the authorities know what they are doing. How long have you been in lockdown now?

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      3. This full national lockdown started last week, but London was under tight restrictions from before Christmas, and we had a month national lockdown during November, so it’s been pretty much continual here for over two months now. The first one last year was from late March through to late June, about three months, and this will be at least the same. All our hope is with the vaccines and the rollout has started, with over 1.5 M people done already. The aim is 13 M most vulnerable by mid February.

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  20. Ah yes! Toilet paper. I seem to recall that Melania went she went to Paris required 3-fold toilet paper… (they brought their own, I think, can’t trust Frogs on TP.)
    Thinking in advance? Where were you raised, dear girl? Politicians don’t think. Period. Neither before nor after… 😡🤣

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    1. Why would Melania need three fold TP? Unless her bowel contents are different from anyone else? Lol.
      Oh to have a politician with long term thinking. Then again, when there has been someone like that in our part of the world, any reforms or progress they make, has been deliberately erased by the incoming opposition at the next election. It is a shame.

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      2. Of course. Democracy is different from that when the constitution of many countries were formulated, yet it is upheld without change in that historical context as relevant today. I think it could be more fluid and change with the times. That seems to be an obstacle that perhaps is necessary at times.

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      3. Systems need to be updated all the time. It is actually the purpose of amendments. But the bureaucracy and politicians are a serious factor of resistance to change. Particularly when they fear it will reduce their power…

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    1. Happy New Year to you too, Yvette. The behaviours seen this year has been illuminating to say the least. Once this is over, though we can say we lived through a turbulent time in history and perhaps we can take some lessons forward?

      Liked by 2 people

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