You would think the ongoing reports of Melbourne’s alarming coronavirus second wave would see us Aussies become even more cautious when it comes to social distancing and all the other steps that have proven to be helpful in the fight against community transmission. But… no.
Instead of rallying together and kicking COVID-19 in the ass as our mates in Melbs go back to a six week lockdown, we’re doing the opposite.
People are queuing all squished together outside Sydney pubs. They’re packed in the stands at local footy games. Police had to shut down 100+ people parties over the weekend. Holiday-makers are trying to sneak across borders.
I’ve seen first hand how lax we’ve become with social distancing and adequate hygiene lately. I’m sure many people reading this have seen it, too. People don’t skirt around you on pathways anymore. While many shops, restaurants and cafes are adhering to social distancing measures put in place by the government, I still routinely see overcrowding as businesses bend the rules.
It’s a tough time, don’t get me wrong. We’ve gone through tight lockdown. Businesses that were struggling are finally making money again, and likely trying to claw back some revenue to avoid going under. It’s understandable that we got excited and were thinking that things had gotten back to normal, finally.
But we’re not back to normal. I can’t imagine what it must be like for Melbourne folks who are now facing another six weeks of restrictions. The businesses who had just gotten back on their feet, now having to struggle through another month-and-a-half of limited revenue. Victoria has proven how easy it is for a second wave to spiral out of control.
So why the fuck are so many of us just not giving a shit about what’s happening down in VIC?
I’m sure part of it is because it’s happening THERE, not HERE. But the scary fact is, it takes just one person to push that second wave into another state. This second wave isn’t the result of Victorians being morons. Sure, SOME people did moronic stuff to lead to this second wave, but for many people infected it was simply a case of wrong place, wrong time.
Look at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula. What started as one guy with COVID-19 going for dinner with some mates, and one staff member doing their job, has now led to thousands of patrons over several days self-isolating as the number of community transmissions grows. This is a very, very infectious virus. And with symptoms that are mild to begin with, all it takes is someone not realising they’re sick.
So many of us are incredibly lucky to be able to socialise, to travel domestically, to re-open businesses. Other countries are still in lockdown as the virus powers through the population. Many AUSSIES are still in lockdown. We need to stop being selfish and start realising that our actions could easily lead to a second wave in our state.
And it’s not like we don’t have heaps of freedom compared to lockdown. In many states right now you can have a bunch of mates over for beers. You can go to the pub for a schnitty. You can play sport again. Get away for a weekender. We should be cherishing these freedoms as we see daily how many people globally – and locally – are still in lockdown.
It’s wild to me that we see what’s happening in Victoria and don’t think “well, shit, I should be careful at the moment”. Right now, it’s highly likely that people in your state who at some point came into contact with a person from the Victorian hotspots have COVID-19 and just don’t know it yet. As NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said, it could take weeks for us to see the effect the VIC outbreak has on NSW.
This is not the time to pretend things are back to normal, because doing that will raise the chances of other states having second wave outbreaks exponentially. That’s when we’ll see a return to lockdown and all those little freedoms we’ve been enjoying get removed again.
It’s been so good seeing so many Aussie businesses getting punters back in. To be able to plan holidays in other states. To see friends and family IRL again, not online.
Let’s not fuck it up.
