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Am I the Only One Who’s Confused..?

Okay, so some of the restrictions around COVID are being relaxed a little, but the general gist is that we still need to continue with social distancing, even if we have relaxed a little on some things. People can now gather in homes so long as the keep the number to no more than ten people, and everyone still observes the social distancing rule.

Okay, well that’s fair enough. There has also been a relaxing of the rule regarding masks, which are no longer mandatory in public at present but again, people are being asked to continue keeping their distance from each other. Probably a good thing seeing as the more virulent strain of the virus is making its way around the planet now and will probably get here sooner rather than later.

Which is why I am completely flummoxed over the thousands of fans permitted to attend the tennis! I only saw this because I flicked over to another channel on the telly to watch something advertised in the program guide, only to be met with the tennis about to start instead! Hoping it was just a short news update, I watched for a few moments, waiting for the other program, when it dawned on me that no, the station was televising the tennis instead and while they waited for the tennis starlets (who had no trouble entering Australia, while stranded Aussies trying to get home are still stranded) to make their entry, the cameras were panning around the stands while the commentators waffled on about how great it was to see so many spectators there for the match. Thousands of them actually.

Thousands? Now hang on a minute…we are still being asked to social distance and avoid gathering in large numbers anywhere, yet the stands at the tennis were crammed with spectators about as socially-distanced as sardines in a tin, and that was okay. Why was that okay? But it was the same with the football. Once they got past the initial cardboard cutouts phase, the real crowds were able to fill the stands in great numbers to watch the players getting all over each other. But heaven help you if you were one of fifty or more people on a beach or in a park, and only within a few centimetres from each other!

This is classic double standards if you ask me. Sports teams/people, and the fans who watch them, should not be exempt here. The social distancing rules are in place for a very good reason and if they are applicable to every other aspect of our lives then they should be applicable to sporting events as well. Better yet, don’t hold the event, because I don’t believe for a minute these clubs and organisations are all going to go under if they have to cancel their games. I was stunned when I saw the number of people in the stands, not a mask in sight and all sitting close together.  How is this different from congregating in a large crowd in a park, or on a beach, or in someone’s back yard or living room? It isn’t. It’s no different at all.

Avoiding crowds  and maintaining social distancing still applies at the moment, doesn’t it? So what’s with the thousands of spectators at the tennis? Or a football match?

No wonder people are confused.

 

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Thank Goodness for Books

Lucky I’m an avid reader. I will go through a novel a week, sometimes two, and it’s just as well because with all the social distancing and restrictions on travel, my games of Memory, Scrabble and Monopoly are spending a lot of time on the shelf under the telly.

Not gathering dust though. One of the things I’ve been doing a lot of is cleaning. Not that I don’t normally clean, because I do, I don’t like a messy space, but when a lot of other activities are off the agenda and I’m not into daytime TV, doing an almost daily whiz around with the cloth and the vacuum  etc has become my newest normal. But at night I like to read.

And it’s just as well because my fellow players (my kids) and I can’t get together to play those games nearly often enough because of the restrictions in place to keep us safe from The Bug. And it’s killing us! Like, we’ve been known to sit up until the wee small hours with a family game, or six, and we did it regularly, when family visits could be a lot more regular. And we had the best time ever going hammer and tongs on each other in a close match.

We are mad keen Scrabblers  and get the kind of close scores that lead to “revenge” matches, one after the other after the other, then a cuppa break, and then another game, it’s great! It’s the same with Memory and as for Monopoly, it’s just open slather when we all get together over the Monopoly board.  Everyone wants Mayfair and Park Lane and once we set everything up…it’s on!

But as I mentioned, playing regularly is not happening at the moment, and attempting to play on my own, well take it from me, it doesn’t quite work. Hence books.

The beauty of a good book is that it will grab your attention from the first page and keep you happily occupied until the last. You can read a book on your own. The joy you get from a book is as good as landing on Mayfair when you already have Park Lane, and have enough money left over to put a house on each and the other players just keep landing on them…

Books even take precedence over social media with me. I love crime fiction, mystery and a good creepy story and right now I have a hot selection in several piles sitting on the coffee table (thank goodness for the local op shop) so I am one happy woman! So I am very thankful that I’m a big reader or I’d be going crackers about now because one can only take so many walks, read so many newspapers and make so many batches of biscuits and meringues. The plants have been repotted, the wisteria trimmed and, well, the house got dusted to within an inch of it’s life. Again.  I didn’t vacuum though. I showed a bit of restraint there because it was only done yesterday.

I’ll just do it tomorrow.

 

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How bendy are these Rules…?

No wonder people are confused.

Right now we are not allowed to congregate in large groups, which means things like school formals, house parties, protest marches, and other large gatherings are out. Even not so large gatherings. People can have visitors but they all have to adhere to the one point five rule. Ditto at weddings, funerals and christenings and the like. The numbers allowed to attend are still fairly low and any shows of closeness or affection are down to air hugs/kisses from that designated distance. Even non-cohabiting couples have to restrict themselves to the no-close-contact rule.

Masks, while not mandatory in NSW at this point, are a condition of entry in some places and I’m okay with that, which is why I carry a mask in my bag and don it on request. It’s not difficult and I don’t feel “victimised” by the wear-a-mask request, or even by any of the other restrictions because I can see why they are in place.

It’s all being policed fairly diligently, which brings us to the football season and here is where some confusion sets in for me.

Having dutifully sat through a few televised games with The Bloke, I have noticed the rise in spectator numbers and how closely they are sitting together in the stands. Not a lot of social distancing going on there, but that seems to be okay because no one appears to be monitoring it, let alone doing anything about it. Now, why is that? The numbers are definitely exceeding the allowable limit of people gathering together. High schoolers can’t hold their end of year formals, uni students can’t do their graduation thingy, but all and sundry can congregate  in high numbers in the stands at a football match. Strange.

And then there’s the players. What you have here is a bunch of guys sweating, spitting (so disgusting!) all over the field and literally tumbling all over each other and hugging each other for a full eighty minutes…keeping about as socially distanced as sardines in a tin…but that’s also okay.  Like, don’t hug your family, friends or partner when you are able to catch up with each other, but if you’re a professional football team, you can all get extremely up close and waaaay too personal (from where I’m standing anyway) out there on the field and the authorities won’t raise so much as an eyebrow.

Thing is, if a family or group of friends set up an informal footy game in the local park they’d probably all get fined for breaking the social distancing rules. Okay, so the professional players are allegedly adhering to an isolation bubble while the season is in progress but with the number of them who have been caught out flouting that “don’t go out socialising” rule, you have to wonder. I know the football clubs started crying poor when it looked like the season wouldn’t happen, but I didn’t believe them for a moment. I still don’t. These clubs have sufficient funds to see them through a cancelled season. Deciding to go ahead with it after all was just plain greed, and I don’t think I’m alone in that feeling. Meanwhile, the players caught out socialising when they shouldn’t have been are still playing. There doesn’t seem to be any penalty for them. Can someone please explain to me why they get a free pass? The rest of us would be penalised to within an inch of our lives!

And this is where a lot of the confusion comes in. Professional sports, even those with a lot of close physical contact between participants is acceptable. Congregating closely in large groups to watch them is acceptable. Doing the same with your friends, school friends, or getting the whole family together in one place, is not. We do this and we’re in trouble. Like I said, I fully understand the need to remain socially distanced for the time being and I have no issues with complying with the various directives, but if it’s okay for a bunch of blokes to be all over each other on a football field and a whole bunch of fans to sit closely together and watch them, then the rest of us should be able to catch up with our families and hug each other.

But it’s not.

No wonder people are confused.

 

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Spreading the Dread

So tell me, how does allowing a protest to go ahead, while social distancing is still in place, help with containing a global virus? Don’t get me wrong, I understand the desire to protest, especially to be a voice where there is injustice, but right now  is really not the time.

But I have seen the smug grins on the faces of the lawyers who have managed to get judgements banning the various protests from happening overruled and to be honest, I just want to slap them. What is it they are not getting here?

I mean, the claims that the protests will be safe and those joining it will practice social distancing has my eyes popping in disbelief because when have you ever seen a large gathering of people keeping a metre or so distant from each other while marching en mass through the streets? Seriously, show me a crowd of protesters practising social distancing while getting all het up and spitting spleen, and I’ll show you a herd of vegans grazing at McDonalds.

Exactly. Never going to happen.

But organisers and protesters are trying to convince the rest of us that an angry mob is capable of being responsible about social distancing because the very last thing they would want to do is fast-track the COVID-19 infection rate by gathering too closely together in a large group. Well please excuse me while I fall down laughing. Actually, I’m not laughing. We really are in the grip of a pandemic right now and people really are dying from it, yet authorities are being prevented from acting against entitled self-centred idiots who appear to be of the opinion the restrictions just don’t apply to them.

And so they’re out in force, probably aiding the spread of the virus and getting all bent out of shape over anyone attempting to quell their stupidity. What is it that they just do not get about this pandemic? It is highly contagious and spreads rapidly, hence the social distancing rules. Kind of rules out protest marches, doesn’t it?

Yes it does.

So what happens when they all start getting sick? When they pick it up on the march, take it home with them and spread it to their families and friends and throughout their communities? Which they will do because these people just don’t stay home. They go out for coffee, visit people and shopping centres and wherever they go they will spread the virus they picked up while taking part in a protest that should never have been allowed to go ahead in the first place, and they will do that because they seem to be incapable of getting their empty heads around the fact that COVID-19 can infect anyone, including them.

It is unfair on the rest of us, who are trying to do all the right things no matter how difficult, that there are some out there who cannot, or more likely will not, accept that doing what they like, when they like, is not a good idea right now.  I’m not only fed up with them, I am fed up with the smug lawyers who believe it is right to challenge the courts and have right decisions overruled to support wrong ones. Like large groups of people getting together, too closely together, in the middle of a global pandemic where distancing from each other is vital in slowing the infection rate, thumbing their noses at the rest of us as they go their merry way. Stupid, stupid people, and right now, the world seems to be full of stupid people. And stupid lawyers. Talk about a total disregard for the wellbeing of others.

Just plain stupid.

 

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What Police State..?

I have to wonder about the groups of people out there protesting over the lockdown and isolation directives designed to stem the spread of COVID-19.

Mainly they are up in arms about their “rights” being trampled on and the emergence of a “police state” which is preventing them from living their lives the way they wish and doing whatever they want to do whenever they want to do it. They are demanding the lockdown and restrictions be lifted immediately because the whole situation has been either a set-up, or a conspiracy, depending on who you listen to.

Okay, so let’s look at rights. Here in Australia we have been asked to stay home, where possible, to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Many have been able to work from home, but those who haven’t are receiving government financial assistance to help them through. Yes, it’s tough right now. People have been asked not to congregate in groups. However, they can grab takeaway food and coffee. They can watch whatever they like on television, download movies, socialise on social media, go to the supermarket whenever they need to and to go outdoors to exercise via going for a walk, a jog or a bicycle ride if they wish. No hard or fast rules here, so even though we have been in a lockdown/social distancing situation, we have still had it pretty good because we have had a lot of options available to keep fit and stay healthy. As a result, I’m not seeing any trampled rights here. If our rights were being seriously compromised, we would not have all of those options.

Regarding those fined by the police, they were the ones who refused to abide by the directives to not travel to holiday destinations, not congregate and mingle in groups or attend/organise functions in large numbers. That was it. They refused to do as they had been asked and so naturally, the consequences they had been warned about repeatedly, followed.

Which brings us to the claims we are now living in a “police state”. My feeling here is that those claiming we are living in one, would not know a police state if they fell over it. As mentioned above, we have not had our lives locked up altogether. We still have the freedom to access the Internet, socialise online, talk on the phone, and go out on essential errands like doing a food shop etc. These activities are not restricted to certain days or times and the only restrictions we do have to abide by is keeping to that social distance thingy marked out on the floor. In a genuine police state, these options are just not there and people live in fear of reprisals every day, even when they are innocent of any wrongdoing. This is not happening here. The police in Australia have been enforcing the social distancing directive only, and only with those who have deliberately flouted it due to a misplaced sense of entitlement. No one is exempt from social distancing at the moment. But no one has been fined for being out for a walk or a jog either, or for a trip to the supermarket or takeaway food outlet, when they have adhered to the directive and kept apart from others they might meet along the way.

In a genuine police state we’d all be pounced on the minute we walked outside our doors, so those claiming we are living in one now have absolutely no idea. Being free to use the Internet, perhaps they should have Googled “Police State” before  congregating with their placards, then perhaps they would have realised just how un-policed we are in comparison to the citizens of countries where a police state is very real and the people have no rights or freedom at all, and any form of protest is out of the question because the fear of reprisals is severe and very, very real. Australian citizens are so not living in a police state. The only thing we have been specifically asked to do is to stay home where possible and avoid close physical contact with each other. That’s it.  Our rights have not been taken away and the police are leaving us alone, so long as we follow that simple directive.

But there’s a lot of misinformation out there and too many people tend to take it as gospel. Do the research! COVID-19 is very real and is killing people world wide. Even those who survive it will be dealing with the after affects for a long time, some even for the rest of their lives, because the disease causes all manner of health complications. It is not a nice thing to contract and plays merry hell with the immune system, lungs, heart and a host of other things.

Personally, I doubt there is a link between it and the 5G network either, because I have yet to find any reliable information which proves that there is, but I remain openminded for the moment and if I ever find a link, I’ll get into it here. But right now, I think we can dismiss that one. The disease it real though, so I’m not dismissing that by any means, nor an I ignoring the practical ways of hopefully avoiding coming down with it.

The be honest, I think those protesting in large, close-contact groups need to take a step back and and a good look at how much they still have. Sure, we are dealing with sudden economical hardships, some more than others, but the nature of COVID-19 currently dictates that life is going to be very different for a while, but we have not been deprived of our rights or our freedom. We are just dealing with temporary parameters designed to slow the spread of a dangerous disease. So shelve the entitled perspective.

And drop the attitude.

 

 

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Remember That Rainy Day…?

One of the pitfalls of the isolation thingy is the “What day is it?” thingy. Just realised yesterday was Friday (sorry…)

 

Remember that proverbial rainy day? The one which people used to put aside for, just in case? Okay, well it’s here now, and a lot of people have been caught short because not only did they not think to put something aside, or just didn’t bother, but may have even been lulled into the false assumption that a rainy day just wasn’t on their horizon.

But it so is. That is the nature of rainy days and right now it’s bucketing down and a lot of people have been caught without an umbrella.

Sure, no one saw COVID-19 coming, but some have been caught so short it will take years for them to recover, assuming they ever do, and I am beginning to hear the word “victim” popping up more and more in news reports and talkback programs, and I am not necessarily talking about those who contracted coronavirus.  Mostly it financial victims but the word is being bandied around all over the place and I am beginning to suspect there will be “victims” popping up who really aren’t, except maybe in their own minds. Only some of them will be genuine.

The financial victims will be those small business owners who have had to shut down their only source of income indefinitely, the people who lost their jobs because their workplace had to either cut staff and hours, or close their doors altogether, those low income earners/welfare recipients who live hand to mouth because they just don’t have enough left over after paying for food and other necessities to put anything aside, and those who, for some reason, don’t qualify for government support. Most people have rent or mortgages, and the stress levels among them trying to meet those obligations is rising.

My sympathies are with those now having to deal with being in that position, but tends to peter out a bit regarding those who have over-extended themselves to live in an upwardly-mobile bubble. They took on a mortgage for a nice house with a sought-after address they couldn’t really afford but would sort of scrape by so long as nothing went wrong. Went further into debt for brand new cars and other accessories, and life has revolved around their credit cards for so long they have forgotten what making do with what they have actually means. Others opted for a pricy rental  in an expensive area that realistically was beyond their means but fed their aspirations. They could also scrape by (just) on a wing and prayer so long as nothing went wrong. Well yes, they lived precariously on credit card debt too and perhaps stuck their fingers in their ears while going “lalalalala” whenever the inkling of a rainy day entered their heads (mustn’t think about that). But then something did go wrong. Very badly horribly wrong, and it all came crashing down. I don’t deny for a moment these people are dealing with genuine through-the-ceiling stress levels right now, but I’m not sure they are victims of the current situation because I think financial catastrophe was on the cards for them anyway, coronavirus or no.

Genuine victims here though, are  those in countries where the poorest of their populations have had to leave their villages and go out into fields or hills and in some cases, even up into the trees, in order to self isolate because staying at home in a one-room abode shared with a lot of other people was not really an option. They are existing without facilities, with minimal food, water and shelter and near to no medical assistance should they become ill. These people have had their entire lives made much worse by this pandemic. Those I am less inclined to see as victims however, are people who are safely ensconced in spacious homes with all the comforts, oodles of money in the bank, swimming pools, gadgetry, televisions, plenty of food and clean water, supermarkets and basically everything they could possibly need to keep themselves entertained. Yet oddly (well, maybe not) these are the ones bemoaning their current stay-at-home situation. They can’t go out for coffee, they can’t go to the beach, they can’t pop around to friends’ places for drinks etc. These are the ones feeling “victimised” by coronavirus. Barely a peep from those people experiencing genuine hardship and/or social isolation and loneliness, just a lot of noise from Instagrammers, celebrities, wannabes and those so accustomed to having the lifestyle they want handed to them on a platter that they cannot deal with the sudden restrictions to their vacuous existence. Unsurprisingly, they are often the ones found flouting the social distancing directives as well.

But are they victims? No. There are a lot of victims out there but it’s not these guys.

Anyway, this is the rainy day that was always on the cards and with luck, we have all learned something from it. Hopefully the lesson has been to make preparations for the next one in case it comes down in cats and dogs like it has this time, and to get a handle on who classifies as a victim and who just doesn’t fit the bill, because I’m starting to see a lot of “victims” emerging who aren’t. Perhaps we might learn that we don’t have to have the best of everything like, right now. Previous generations worked and saved for those things and were prepared to wait until they could afford them. Start a mortgage on a starter house and move up from there. A reliable secondhand car will do you just fine until you can afford that shiny new wiz-bang model. If you’re any kind of celebrity, you should have at least a couple of million still sitting in your bank account so shut up, you are not in financial dire straits and if you have a home, a supermarket, a phone and social media, you are not really doing it hard at all, hence you are not a victim.

But as for the rest of us? Just organise that umbrella, okay?

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When Stay Means Stay!

With COVID-19 busy doing the rounds across the globe, most countries have sensibly gone into total lockdown in an effort to slow the spread of the disease, and their inhabitants are sensibly following the directives. That’s good. Smart people.

What’s not good (and just plain stupid) is what’s happening here in Australia. The word has been out for weeks now; stay home, stay indoors and if you do have to go anywhere, make sure it is only a quick trip to pick up food and other essential supplies and maintain a safe distance from others. Pretty simple really, so why are so many Australians indifferent to what is happening right in front of them? The footage on the nightly news  of vacuous people, wandering around in groups and generally enjoying a day out on the town has me spouting profanity that I didn’t even know I knew. I’m talking a lot of people here (and a lot of profanity!)

Staying home means exactly that. It does not mean meeting up with your friends for coffee and huddling up for a get-together. It does not mean going off for a day at the beach or the park or to go wandering around whatever shops are open and generally socialising and having a good time. It does not mean that at all. It also does not mean holding a barbecue in the backyard and inviting all your friends and neighbours to drop in. It actually means Stay Home! Just you and your family, in your own home with no visitors, no matter who they are. Now how hard can that be? But there are still hordes of people out there thinking the directive does not apply to them, hence the vast numbers blatantly ignoring what they have been told. In the cities, scores of people are out having a stroll and doing it in total disregard of the “social distancing” we have all been asked to adopt.

Seriously? What is wrong with people? Why is Stay Home, Stay In, and Stay Away From Each Other not clicking?

To be fair, many of us are doing the right thing, but the number who are completely ignoring the steps that have been put in place to try and stem the spread of this disease is just deplorable!

Ditto with the hoarding. This began with the bushfire crisis here and has now flowed into the Coronavirus crisis. Time and time again people have been told that buying up more than they need is not necessary. Doing so is just creating shortages that don’t have to happen, which makes it incredibly hard for the rest of the population to buy what they need. But this is another directive that is not getting through some thick skulls out there and so shortages in food, toilet paper and other essentials continue to plague us. When will that message get through that there really is enough for everyone if the selfish and greedy few would just back off and let the rest of us buy what we need.

I think the problem here is that up until now, current generations of Australians have not had to contend with something like this. Yes, there were shortages and food coupons around the time of the  First and Second World Wars, and there was the Spanish Flu epidemic, but the current generations were not alive when these events happened and so they aren’t really taking this seriously. I was not alive then either but I can at least see the logic behind the steps being implemented to try and slow the spread of COVID-19.

Surely people must be able to see the logic in following the plan? Well no, many here still appear to be ignorant of the threat, despite all the warnings. They are still hanging out at beaches, shopping centres, parks and each other’s homes. So what does it take to make the danger we are in hit home to these people? Have they convinced themselves that it won’t happen to them? I’m guessing it will take contracting the disease and ending up in hospital, as sick as, staring mortality in the face!

It has also come to light that those who have managed to return from overseas and tested positive, along with those who have just contracted it anyway, are ignoring the self isolation conditions. Police checking up on them, following information that they are going out into the community, are finding that yes, they are not at home. Self isolation would have been very precisely explained to them, so they cannot claim ignorance about the conditions, yet they are going out. Hefty fines are in place now, so we may see a bit less of that. But how many have they infected?

No one’s exaggerating here. COVID-19 is a very dangerous disease. It has shut down countries world wide. If infected, you are a danger to your community. You, and those you infect when you ignore the rules, could end up dying from it. It is a global pandemic.

And it can so easily happen to you.