The state government school had no hand sanitiser, but some teachers had set up washing stations if their classroom had a sink, using liquid soap and paper towel. The students were encouraged to wash after coming in from play, but not before eating food oddly. This wasn't a uniform approach; if the classroom didn't have washing facilities it was left up to the students to scrub up at an external sink. Few did.
The private school had big bottles of hand sanitiser in every room, and students lined up to use it before entering the room. However, neither school practiced social distancing. The kids, especially the younger grades, engaged in plenty of physical contact. Hand washing isn't as effective if you don't keep away from others.
At both schools, the teachers in the staffroom were sharing tables as usual, talking all their bla-bla about bla-bla. By the way, teachers rarely talk about kids in the staffroom. Only newbies do that because they haven't learnt the protocol yet. We need a break from the little darlings.
I caught public transport home on the Friday, a bus followed a tram. The passengers weren't the recommended 1.5m from each other. God knows how many covids live on the button that opens the doors.
I've been watching the trains come and go across the way from my house; while they're less crowded they're still running with plenty of passengers. High school students were milling around the station, and hanging out in the cafes and shops.
At the weekend I went down to Preston Market and found plenty of shoppers pushing through crowds to pick up fruit and veg bargains at the end of the day. I shot this video:
Over the weekend the state government here in Victoria shifted their position. Schools, restaurants, bars and gyms have closed from midday on Monday 23rd March. Or at least they were supposed to; it's 6pm and many businesses including a massage shop & a cafe remained open an hour ago when I went for a (self isolating) stroll.
There were still many shoppers within bumping distance in our major supermarkets. It feels like normal social distancing rules don't apply if you're shopping. Again, none of the checkout staff were using sanitiser between transactions.
Despite our PM asking for a halt for all but essential travel, there are many cars on the roads. Many many cars.
Construction sites are still open. Work has slowed down in the last year, but there atill major projects happening in my suburb and beyond employing thousands of staff.
The rates within Australia are now doubling every three to four days, according to the national broadcaster ABC.
1640 x 2 = 3280. - 3 days
3280 x 2 = 6560 - 6 days
6560 x 2 = 13120 - 9 days
13120 x 2 = 26240. - 12 days
Given the behaviour I see on the streets, I can't see Australia beating the projected trend. These are only the confirmed cases; a lack of testing kits may mean the actual infection figures are much higher.
Schools have been closed to students, but the remainder of the week has been declared 'pupil free,' meaning that teachers should still front up to work. There are around 45,000 teachers in the state system alone. I haven't seen evidence of effective social distancing practiced by the profession. This decision may prove costly.
My daughter was very ill when first born & spent six weeks in the intensive care unit in 2017. That was a year with a bad flu, and the medical staff were stretched thin on bad days. I'll never forget the day a few urgent cases came in at once, and then they airlifted this poor kid in from Frankston and desperately tried to save his life in the corridor as his mum looked on. It takes quite a few doctors and nurses to save a life in ICU like that.
When you hear a stat like 'only 0.1 cases of the flu are fatal,' it's because we've got doctors and nurses who can treat the condition quickly and effectively . Mortality rates for any kind of illness are higher in less wealthy countries; they don't have our standard of healthcare.
If you get advanced sepsis, have a heart attack or a car accident, who is going to treat you when all the beds are swamped with Co-vid19 cases?
I already feel terribly sorry for all the doctors and nurses out there. You need a clear mind and steady hand to work in ICU. It involves delicate, complex procedures and the staff will be forced to perform them while exhausted and ill. Every doctor and nurse may become an ICU specialist at the height of the outbreak. This is happening in northern Italy as I write.
Of course, this doomsday scenario may not happen thanks to the intervention of our government and our adherence to rules. But with people travelling on public transport, browsing in shops and bumping up in supermarket queues, it may be too late.
My prediction is that large parts of Melbourne will be in strictly enforced isolation in ten days time.
I just made curried fried rice with peas and eggs for dinner and it was bloody great.
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