In some pretty crazy coronavirus news, a professor is claiming that Victoria could be cut off from the rest of the country for a lot longer than what we expected.
Speaking to the ABC, epidemiologist Professor Tony Blakely reckons that Victoria may be forced into iso for up to two years if the virus isn’t brought under control.
Eerily quiet streets in the neighbourhood. Despite what people outside of Melbourne think (who really have no idea, so pls STFU), most people are doing the right thing. A little bit of positivity wouldn’t hurt right now #victorialockdown pic.twitter.com/z38PTyq5V5
— Erin Oliver (@ez_oliver) July 18, 2020
Given the fact that most other states have got the virus under control “accidentally”, Blakely reckons that there’s no way those states will want to open themselves up to so much risk all over again.
“Why would they let anybody in if there’s enough of a risk that they are going to bring the virus?” Prof Blakely said.
“So let’s assume that Victoria doesn’t get rid of the virus … It essentially means Victoria is going to have to function in isolation from the rest of Australia until such time as we get a vaccine, assuming the other states don’t want the virus back in. If I was in the (other) states, I wouldn’t want the virus back in.”
Obviously, it’s making a big jump to assume Victoria won’t get rid of the virus. Victoria is testing its population rigorously as part of its strategy to get coronavirus under control, so that’s partially why the stats are so dire.
No. Because the failings of the government – the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT – are by far the most important issue here … https://t.co/OZjMCEDFWW
— Mad Fucking Witches (@MadFckingWitch) July 22, 2020
Blakely is pushing for the ‘elimination’ strategy, supporting a hard lock down that he says may be one of the only ways to actually control the virus until we get a vaccine, which he said could be years away.
A hard New Zealand style lockdown has been suggested, and while pretty much anything is on the table at this stage, Chief health officer Brett Sutton said that Victoria and New Zealand’s community transmission are totally different, so it’s probably not ideal to just use one country’s model on a totally different community and expect it to work.
There’s definitely been a panic-inducing and accusatory tone shift in regards to how the rest of Australia is discussing Victoria and its coronavirus cases.
God I’m hating the discourse around the surge of covid-19 cases. So many people in NSW saying “Victorians this and Victorians that”. This isn’t a Victorian problem, this is an AUSTRALIAN problem. Thinking of everyone in Vic and hoping this is over soon. #victorialockdown
— Girded Loins 🏳️🌈 (@evangelitssa) July 18, 2020
Not long ago, it was NSW that had the highest amount of recorded coronavirus cases per day. When we went into lockdown, we definitely didn’t experience the othering and accusatory tone from the rest of Australia’s states that Victoria is dealing with now.
Basically, let’s try to be more supportive than accusatory.
What an amazing effort by Belvedere Community Centre in Seaford!
Many neighbourhood houses are coordinating the creation of face masks to ensure everyone in the community is safe and complying with the new guidelines 😷#facemasks #springst #victorialockdown pic.twitter.com/EeVu66Rt4H
— Neighbourhood Houses Victoria (@nhousesvic) July 20, 2020
Don’t panic though – a lot of these endless lockdown claims are speculation, and it’s very unlikely that Victoria will actually be cut off from the rest of Aus for one year, let alone two. So far in Australia lockdowns haven’t really gone on for longer than a couple of months – just stay safe, follow health guidelines and sit tight.
Image Sources: Twitter
