Copyright Lloyd Marken. The view of Oakey airfield.
At the gym on Friday night I saw on the TV that India became the second country to pass 9 million COVID-19 cases. The only one since the U.S.
Per chance I was about to catch up with my brother from another mother the next day who had family in India.
It was a scary time but we intended to have a nice day out in each other’s company.
November 21
We were driving out west to the small town of Oakey.
Famous for the race horse Bernborough and where I had recently been reminded my grandmother had been born.
As a result I wore a hat that my grandfather had worn in travels when I was a boy. The hat fitted his head better but I wanted to wear it and pose at the statue of Bernborough like he had in a photograph many years ago.
I’ve never met a man who didn’t work harder. As we drove along he passed along information of everywhere we went. A ride share worker who had previously driven cabs and worked his way up in trucking to drive semis interstate. He knew when we were coming up to the well known Fernvale Bakery in Ipswich, he told us of businesses off the main track he’d gone to as we started to get out in the country. He quietly advised and offered stories of so many places.
We did stop at the bakery in Fernvale although I went for the sweets rather than their famous and beloved pies. We will have to return and partake properly.
Around people I truly love I relaxed a little and even started to sing songs like Don McLean’s American Pie and Cold Chisel’s Flame Trees. I am not a singer so spare a thought for the poor people in that car who had to conjure their best poker faces as they realised, “Oh man Lloyd’s really going for it!”.
It was a beautiful sunny day, something else when we got out to the Army base. Unlike the museum at the RAAF Amberley base, the Museum is housed in a hangar that is located on the perimeter of the fencing. You do not need to enter the base to enter the museum as a result. Well located.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Tivomagic parked outside the Australian Army Flying Museum. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Me in cargo/passenger compartment. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Sopwith Camel. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
The Bougainville Finger. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
If I see anti-aircraft weaponry, I take a picture of it. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
CH-47 Chinook. Most recently used by the Australian Army during the horrendous bushfires last summer. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
SR-70 Blackhawk. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
“Get out of that Fokker you Fokker.” Copyright Lloyd Marken.
CH-47 Chinook. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Sioux helicopters made famous in the film and TV series MASH that was set during the Korean War. This is indicative of the ones that served Australian forces in Vietnam. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
If I was mugging for the camera, certainly Karen was not. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
HUEY! Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Kiowa faces off with Huey. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
The AS350 Squirrel which served in the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Maintained by local volunteers it is a wonderful display of aircraft and stories from Australian Military Aviation.
A tale from a pandemic past. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Oakey ANZAC Memorial. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Bernborugh. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Having driven north from Ipswich through Fernvale, past Wivenhoe Dam and through Esk I decided on the way back we would drive through Toowoomba.
I was hoping we would find the University of Southern Queensland campus where there is a beautiful Japanese peace garden but we actually googled just a public garden in Toowoomba and ended up there. A callback to simpler times when sometimes you just turned down a road and found you were where you wanted to be.
The Japanese Garden are well known and are quite beautiful and peaceful in these troubled times.
At one point we went over a bridge and looked down at ducks in a pond. In the late afternoon I exclaimed with excitement when I saw a creature underneath the water and realised it was not a fish. I grabbed everybody’s attention and the words escaped me on instinct “Look a platypus!”
A platypus sighting at that time of day with those amount of people would have been very special indeed but alas what became abundantly clear in the next couple of seconds was we were looking at turtle.
Oh well, still pretty special.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Flame Trees on the Toowoomba campus. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
LOOK IT’S A PLATYPUS! Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
As we drove out of Toowoomba my sister-in-law spoke of working as a speech pathologist in the town years ago making long commutes for the job. My wife had also worked around as a speechie.
In the late spring of Australia, the jacarandas were in full bloom in Toowoomba and so much more beautiful there.
It was only a 2 hour drive out of Brisbane but it had been years since I had come to Toowoomba and I had no memories of Oakey. Seeing this part of the world buoyed my spirits in the way only getting out and about can. I understood I was becoming older and now came to understand weekend trips as a child where we were packed out and driven out to dams and beaches that held no interest for me then.
As much as I appreciated my freedom which earlier in the year had not been possible and was not currently for so many around the world.
What I appreciated more was the company I kept.
It was a good day out.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
November 22
On the 22nd of November the World Health Organisation reported there had been 57,939,958 confirmed cases globally with a daily increase of 625,981.
There had been 1,380,494 deaths globally with a daily increase of 9,831.
In Australia there had been 27,807 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 18. There had been 907 Australian deaths.
In Canada there had been 320,719 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 4,968. There had been 11,334 deaths with a daily increase of 69.
In the United Kingdom there had been 1,493,387 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 19,875. There had been 54,626 deaths with a daily increase of 340.
In India there had been 9,095,806 with a daily increase of 45,209. There had been 133,227 deaths with a daily increase of 501.
In the United States of America there had been 11,789,012 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 191,033.
America surpassed a quarter of million deaths due to COVID-19 on the 21st of November, 2020.
250,607 with a daily increase of 2,036.
On the 22nd of November there had been 252,460 deaths with a daily increase of 1,853.
From government websites, “Hotspots are places in Australia where health officials have found a lot of people with COVID-19, or places that are at risk of a lot of COVID-19 infections. Hotspots are legally listed so that people travelling from those high-risk areas into Queensland can be identified.”
In November Australian states were focussing on Hotspots for how to define travel between them and the scope of their border closures.
Western Australians who had just travelled to South Australia and wanted to get home could also apply on compassionate grounds.
In Queensland, 32 NSW LGAs were considered hotspots but residents coming from anywhere else could cross the border since the 3rd of November.
We remained shut to Victoria as a whole and on the 16th of November we closed off travel to Queensland from 20 South Australian LGAs.
Tasmania, WA and the Northern Territory citizens faced no restrictions to enter Queensland.
So why?
They called it the Parafield cluster in Adelaide’s north stemming from a medi-hotel worker testing positive. Seventeen cases were linked to the cluster as on Monday and the South Australian government went into action.
All international flights into Adelaide were cancelled.
Gyms were closed and all sporting activities cancelled, funerals were capped at 50 people, churches at 100, weddings every guests had to be registered, private gatherings at venues that served alcohol were to have 50 maximum.
Public gatherings at pubs, clubs and restaurants was 100 per venue – no more than 4 square metres, cinemas and theatres had the four metre rule too.
No more than 10 people over to your home.
Masks were mandatory in tattoo parlours, nail salons and hairdressers and masks were also mandatory in aged care with only two visitors per day.
If you’d set a COVID management plan for an activity and had it approved it was now off the table for the next two weeks.
All up there were 34 actives in South Australia as authorities raced to get on top of an outbreak.
“We are facing our biggest test to-date. We are working around the clock to stay ahead of this cluster, no effort will be spared. We must act swiftly and decisively to stay ahead of the game,” said Premier Steven Marshall.
There were two positive cases at a SA Anglicare aged care facility.
Holy Family Catholic Primary School shut down because one student had been a close contact of a known case.
The school described the decision being made out of an abundance of caution.
A whole school locked down because of one close contact.
Imagine that?!
I hope you’re listening Boris!
The World Health Organisation reported on the 16th of November in Australia there had been 27,725 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 14. There had been 907 deaths.
The health professional warned 10 people at family gatherings over the Christmas season would most likely be too many and a spread of the disease could result in a very dark January.
It was reported that hospital admissions had soared 70% in the past two weeks in California. ICU availability was at 10% or less across the state with Governor Gavin Newsom issuing stay at home orders in regions with low ICU capacities.
The United States had set a record for COVID-19 hospitilsations with more than 109,000 patients – 21,200 of them in ICU.
The New York Times calculated that most American hospitals were at a similar ICU capacity as the ones in California.
The World Health Organisation reported on the 16th of November in the United States of America there had been 10,796,432 confirmed cases with a daily increase of with a daily increase of 155,001. There had been 243,758 deaths with a daily increase of 1,216.
South Australia Closed Wonder Woman to be released 250000 Americans died leading up to 20NOV2020
November 18
On Wednesday it was announced that South Australia was going to go into a six day lockdown from midnight on Thursday following the Parafield Cluster.
Pubs, cafes, takeaway food outlets, universities, outdoor sports, elective surgery, weddings and funerals were all gone for now and the construction industry would close.
Only one person per household could leave the house and only for specific reasons.
Exercise was not one of them.
Children of essential workers would be the only ones able to attend school
Medical services would remain and public transport would still run.
Court houses would be closed and only urgent matters like bail applications would continue.
Aged care and disability residencies were in full lockdown.
Fly-in – fly-out work and regional travel was also banned.
South Australia Premier Steven Marshall referred to the measure, significantly shorter than previous ones as a “Circuit Breaker”.
“We continue to face our biggest test to date. We are going hard and we are going early. Time is of the essence,” he said.
There were two new cases in South Australian, 23 cases were now linked to the Parafield cluster and a further seven were suspected.
A staff member of Woodville Pizza Bar had been linked to the cluster and had been on food delivery apps which could lead to significant spread in a short period.
“This is my very significant concern. This is one of the reasons we’re putting in place the restrictions,” Professor Spurrier advised.
On the 18th of November the World Health Organisation reported there had been 27,756 confirmed cases in Australia with a daily increase of six. There had been 907 deaths.
The six day lockdown was to be followed by a strict 8 day period with certain concessions all things going well.
At the same time South Australia was going through this crisis Queensland set a world record for the largest attended sporting event post COVID-19 spreading globally.
49,155 people attended the deciding third match at the 52,500 capacity stadium Lang Park. State of Origin is regularly the biggest sporting event in Australia every year.
A grudge match between Queensland and New South Wales the two dominant states of the Australian rugby league competition.
Pre professional sports, rugby league clubs down south were able to make money out of pokie machines and poach the best Queensland players to come play down south. Regularly these players would return in blue jerseys and thump their home state in inter-state competitions.
Including the great Arthur Beetson who played for the Sydney Easts for many years. Artie was past his prime was he was picked to Captain the first State of Origin Qld side. The Sydney crowd talked it down, said the competition was a non-starter. Beetson came out belted his Easts teammate on the NSW team and had a blinder of a game.
Origin had arrived even New South Wales don’t talk about it too much until 1985 when their passionate Steve Mortimer from Canterbury lived and breathed getting his side to their first Origin victory.
My father played Rugby League, he never forced his interests on me but for brief periods I came to enjoy watching League and Rugby. There were even a couple of years where the men in my family would sit around a TV set and watch it.
I hadn’t watched it since 2016 but spurred on by a picking contest at work and the return of the greatest coach of all time Wayne Bennett returning to coach Queensland I sat down and watched this decider. The game has changed a lot since I watched it at the turn of the century but it was a great game.
Abroad a massive decision was made in regards to streaming wars and cinema business. With other 50 per cent of cinemas closed in the United States and growing COVID-19 numbers Warners Bros announced it would release it’s oft-delayed blockbuster Wonder Woman 1984 on the streaming service HBO Max on Christmas Day as well as in U.S. cinemas that were open. Internationally it would strictly a release in cinemas including in territories that were seeing a rise in COVID numbers as well as places like here in Australia where the disease had receded for the moment. This was a huge decision given Mulan had not done well on Disney Plus and also came in the wake of Warner Bros. own Tenet failing to draw big cash with a cinematic release.
Most blockbusters were moving to 2021 like Universal’s Fast 9, Disney’s Black Widow and Sony’s No Time To Die and Paramount’s Top Gun: Maverick to name just a few and it was originally expected Wonder Woman: 1984 would do the same. It was suspected that the potential, and given what happened with Tenet the word potential could not be underlined enough, earnings of the blockbuster sequel was being foregone in the hope to give the conglomerates late arrival to the streaming wars with HBO Max some momentum in that venture.
On the 19th of November the World Health Organisation reported there had been in Australia 27,777 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 21. There had been 907 deaths.
Planet America had it’s final episode for 2020 to cover what was occurring post U.S. election including false accusations of fraudulent voting. By the way I don’t advocate violence but doesn’t Tucker Carlson remind you of those 80s teen comedies which had smart arse bullies pulling faces that made you just want to punch them in the face?
All of this stuff was crazy, a waste of money duped out of Ballbag supporters, a waste of court time and a despite its incompetence a threat to American democracy. Having worked on election nights the idea of votes being stolen, thrown out or miscounted are just crazy. Even more so given the machines and processes carried out in America. At the same time the logistic of transition from one administration to another was being held up. As Dr Fauci put it, the baton was about to be passed in the race against COVID-19 and the idea wasn’t to stop and then pass it.
They also covered lack of ICU beds, the sharp rise of daily cases, the high number of positive test results.
November 20
On Friday South Australia announced it would come out of it’s short six day lockdown after only three days on Saturday night.
The decision was made when it was established that a medi-hotel worker who had tested positive had initially said he got the virus after ordering pizza from the Woodville Pizza Bar. Then he had come forward to advise that he actually worked at the pizza bar too.
The South Australian Premier Steven Marshall was not pleased.
On the 20th of November the World Health Organisation reported in Australia there had been 27,784 confirmed cases with a daily increase of seven. There had been 907 deaths.
On the Australian Broadcasting Corporation program The 7:30 Report Leigh Sales interviewed Dr Anthony Fauci. A point of interest for me during the interview was when Dr Fauci advised lockdowns should be used as a last result and that due to COVID-19 fatigue such measures would not be well received by the public.
Essentially he was pointing out a great deal of luck that Australia had by acting fact and being isolated to begin with. That maybe now trying to change the situation in America in a similar manner may not be possible and even if it was selling it to the public was as much a necessity as simply having the political will or wisdom to take such action. Not for the first time did I feel very fortunate for what has occurred in Australia and sad at what other countries were going through.
November 12
Planet America covered Ballbag’s rhetoric about illegal votes and lawsuits and Rudy Guiliani who led New York through the harrowing days of September 11 and stood outside landscaping businesses and mocked networks calling elections and shat all over his legacy as a politician, a lawyer and a leader during one of the worst days in American history.
We’re not even at the farting and My Cousin Vinny references or the absurd fucking witnesses he let sit beside him in a court of law.
I don’t give two shits if hair dye was running past the poor man’s face, I do care why the hell he was hopelessly trying to undermine the democratic process when so clearly they didn’t have a leg to stand on!
I don’t know if I really have it in my heart to go over this again but I have never been so heartbroken to see how fragile democracy is in America. This country celebrates and exports the idea of it across the world.
I remember once watching TV with a group of people, I think it was the Olympics.
The Americans stood up, placed their hands on their chests and bowed their heads. Us Aussies thought my God they really do love their country. They believe in it. They believe it is the greatest. So its kind of heartbreaking to see so many Americans complacent or downright in conflict with the things that were once celebrated about it by all.
Co-host and journalist John Barron spoke of Joe Biden’s who when he joined the Senate was the second youngest ever elected to the U.S. Senate became the oldest man ever elected President of the United States of America. It’s powerful stuff.
I know that Joe Biden may not be all of these things. He certainly is not the man he once was.
But the storyteller in me likes the story, a young hotshot who a lifetime later rallied the last of his gifts to take one last turn at destiny and not out of personal ambition but to serve his country. To take back the people’s house from a self-serving lying bullying fool who had blood on his hands due to his own interests and incompetence and belligerence.
President-Elect Joe Biden faces a pandemic, a recession, a house divided and a populace much the same. There will be no magic wand waved here.
Maybe the story of Biden doesn’t ring true for you.
It probably isn’t true.
But maybe just maybe we’re about to have a President in the White House who cares when Americans die every day and will do everything he can to prevent as much death as he can.
Wouldn’t that be nice?
As Ballbag refused to concede he’d lost the election Americans continued to die.
Planet America reported hospitalisations were as high as they had been across the country and that once the hospitals were overrun beyond capacity, the death rate would rise.
November 13
On Friday Western Australia took down its hard border with the rest of Australia. Travellers from Victoria and New South Wales could enter if they were prepared to self quarantine for 14 days.
Since April for 222 days Premier Mark McGowan had kept the border closed with even WA residents kept out except in extreme cases and polling showed the Premier and his policy was hugely popular.
Months earlier the Premier had promised, “It won’t be forever,” and now he made good on his promise.
Western Australia had been a hold out from the National Cabinet’s decision to open state borders before Christmas. This gave many families hope they would see loved ones during the holidays.
There were concerns and quite a ramp up to make sure that Western Australians were ready for the new arrivals and to not be complacent about COVID-19.
On Friday night Planet America also covered the continuing fall-out from the U.S. election and all the legal efforts to contest the outcome as Biden’s national popular vote continued to grow. Also discussion about how polling went in the 2020 U.S. Presidential election.
It was at around about this time as well that I donated to not only the Salvation Army again here in Australia but also to Meals On Wheels in America. Food security for many Americans is an issue particularly following the pandemic and mass unemployment and I wanted to help some of the most vulnerable in society. Meals on Wheels America doesn’t just feed older Americans it shows them that people still give a shit about them.
Since Philadelphia citizens in 1954 started delivering to senior neighbours the organisation has grown to help nearly 2.4 million Americans annually.
Thanks to so many donors, Meals on Wheels America were able to deliver over 19 million more meals in 2020 serving more than one million additional seniors.
In Australia my grandfather lived down the road from us, he babysat us growing up. He kept his drivers licence and independence until very near the end. Often my parents cooking would be enjoyed by him following a quick walk up the hill. Yet even under those circumstances he benefitted from some Meals on Wheels delivered to his house in his last few years.
November 14
On Saturday the 14th of November the World Health Organisation reported globally there had been 53,219,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 globally with a daily increase of 668,057.
There had been 1,303,062 deaths globally with a daily increase of 10,005.
Over fifty million cases worldwide had been reached the previous Monday with 50,348,362 and a daily increase of 532,475.
In Australia there had been 27,703 confirmed cases with a daily increase of five. There had been 907 deaths.
In Canada there had been 282,577 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 5,516. There had been 10,768 deaths with a daily increase of 83.
In India there had been 8,773,479 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 44,684. There had been 129,188 deaths with a daily increase of 520.
In the United Kingdom on the 24th of September there had been a new record of daily new cases reported – 6,178.
The next day a new record – 6,634.
The two days later a new record – 6,873.
Six days later, 30th of September a new daily record again – 7,143.
Ten days later on the 4th of October a new record – 12,871.
Eleven days later on the 5th of October there were 22,961 confirmed new cases reported.
Twenty eight days later on the 22nd of October a new record of daily cases again – 26,687.
That record was broken again on the 13th of November – 33,470.
In fifty days the record of daily new cases in the country has gone from 6,178 to 33,470.
One million cases had been reported in the United Kingdom at the beginning of November – 1,011,664 to be exact.
The day after Remembrance Day Great Britain surpassed 50,000 deaths from COVID-19. 50,365.
On the 14th of November in the United Kingdom there had been 1,317,500 confirmed cases of COVID-19 with a daily increase of 27,301. There had been 51,304 deaths with a daily increase of 376.
The World Health Organisation had reported on the 8th of November a record number of new daily cases in America of 131,821.
On the 12th of November they reported a new daily record of 133,935. America also reached more than 10 million cases with 10,124,555.
On the 13th of November a new daily record of 142,076.
On the 14th of November in the United States of America there had been 10,460,365 confirmed cases with a new record of daily new cases reported of 193,734. There had been 241,186 deaths with a daily increase of 1,142.
I donated to Legacy Australia which helps 52,000 Australians currently, families of soldiers who have passed on.
In 1923 Legacy made a promise to help families carry on with their lives after the loss or injury of a loved one due to military service. Their work continues today.
Mr Lax understood there might have been a belief once that as the generations of World War II and Vietnam veterans grew old and passed on that there may be a belief in the community that Legacy would become a smaller operation.
Like other charities COVID affected collecting for donations this year particularly around the time of Remembrance Day where the biggest fund raising occurs.
One example is a young boy named Javas who needed a new laptop when the switch was made to online schooling during COVID.
“That laptop, it is more than a computer for Javas. It’s love. It’s support. Looking at it reminds him of Legacy and that connects him to his father.” – Yulia, Javas’s mother.
Take up our quarrel with the foe: To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high. If ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.
Over the next few days I watched the U.S. election coverage with great interest and a swirl of emotions. You can’t have supporters show up in one state and insist the vote be counted and in another demand the count be stopped. It becomes very clear that your intentions then are not about ensuring the democratic process.
I don’t like to give into the hyperbole of the moment but it was with some concern that we watched the election coverage and were simply stunned by just how fair Ballbag was willing to undermine the election process and also how many people were happy to step in and support him.
I have worked in the past at elections here in Australia. I’ve stood in a warehouse on election night and counted votes and in the days after. People of all ages, backgrounds and beliefs worked with me. There was a lot of supervision, oversight and cross checking. I couldn’t imagine people chanting outside the building and the need for security at such places doing such work.
Democracy is a privilege and something fragile, I certainly thought so even more during these days.
You can hate on Ballbag if you like but he’s a symptom of something much larger and scarier than just his own misbehaviour and hubris.
I turned 40 that Saturday night. I went out and had dinner in the Valley with some friends at a Chinese restaurant. This was the first time I saw some of my closest friends in person all year. Some the second or fourth time. We certainly felt lucky to do this given what was happening around the world.
In fact walking around The Valley that night past lines outside nightclubs you could have been excused for not knowing there a pandemic was on but there was.
The Valley is on the perimeter of the Brisbane CBD, noted for its night life. I walked past the alleyway where a short film was shot by Kelly Chen. I realised there were 20 years of history with me and this part of the world. I could see clearly where a younger man had had adventures but I no longer was the man, I would much prefer to stick to the restaurants even then and I was eager to get home. It was good to see my friends though.
Copyright Lloyd Marken
This is the Chinatown Mall later in the evening after all the restaurants are shutting down so it is emptier than the Valley was. Metres away the nightclubs with queues outside and young drunks wandering around happy and loud. Copyright Lloyd Marken
Copyright Lloyd Marken
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken
On the 7th of November the World Health Organisation reported there had been 49,219,511 confirmed cases globally with a daily increase of 615,945. There had been 1,242,899 deaths globally with a daily increase of 9,134.
In Australia there had been 27,645 confirmed counts with a daily increase of twelve. There had been 907 Australian deaths.
In Canada there had been 251,338 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 3,635. There had been 10,381 deaths with a daily increase of 50.
In India there had been 8,462,080 with a daily increase of 50,356. There had been 125,562 deaths with a daily increase of 577.
In the United Kingdom there had been 1,146,488 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 23,287. There had been 48,475 deaths with a daily increase of 355.
In the United States of America there had been 9,504,758 with a daily increase of 116,780. There had been 233,292 deaths with a daily increase of 1,126.
November 08
The next day I awoke to find that former Vice President Joe Biden had become President-elect Joe Biden.
On the first day of the month there had been 8,952,086 confirmed cases with a new record daily increase of 99,356.
On the 6th of November there was a new record of the daily increase of confirmed cases – 106,050.
On the 7th of November a new daily record again with 116,780 confirmed cases.
On the 8th of November there was a new daily record of 131,821 confirmed cases.
On the 8th of November the United States of America had 9,636,579 confirmed cases with a new record daily increase of 131,821.
There had been 234,500 deaths with a daily increase of November.
Ballbag went out and played golf.
In Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews announced the ring of steel around Melbourne would be gone come midnight along with many more easing of restrictions.
This announcement came following nine days of no new cases or deaths in the state. What was referred to as Double Doughnut days. There were only four active known cases in the entire state.
From Monday restaurants and pubs could have up to 40 people inside and 70 outside depending on density. Gyms could have 20. Religious ceremonies 50. Cinemas and theatres – 20 people. Weddings remained ten plus the couple, celebrant and photographer.
Visitors to care facilities and hospitals were now allowed.
The Premier urged people to not become complacent and to get tested even for mild symptoms.
I have to admit I was concerned at the time that they were opening up way too fast but they did only have four active cases something I did not realise at the time.
