Tag: Dr Jeannette Young

COVID-19 DIARY – INTERLOPERS

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

Goondiwindi Chamber of Commerce

June 08

Tuesday there was some good news in my household – my wife got the Pfizer vaccine. She had made a booking and went to a vaccine site at the Prince Charles Hospital for people in her age group.

This was a welcome development.

As I lamented the failure to vaccinate our more vulnerable I was happy my wife now had received a dose and of Pfizer.

Having gotten the AstraZeneca I had expected my wife to have to wait many more months until the end of the year to get her first dose.

As a husband you prefer your wife to be more protected than yourself and now she was.

In not so good news she was advised she wouldn’t automatically get a follow-up dose in three weeks time.

She had to make the booking herself and she was advised the efficacy would still be there if it took up to nine weeks. She made a booking for as soon as she could.

First Look at Sunshine Coast's New $430m CBD

June 09

Wednesday and news in Australia must seem comical to overseas readers but here we go.

A couple left Melbourne on the 1st of June when it was in lockdown. They travelled through rural New South Wales and arrived in Queensland and Goondiwindi June 5th. After three days out in the community of the Sunshine Coast and one of them tested positive to COVID.

Questions were raised given their route away from the coast and the fact that when they left Melbourne it was in lockdown but it could be that the couple were re-locating for work which would have granted them exemption as well other approved reasons.

That would have to be established.

Also being established was more testing hours at the Sunshine Coast and more vaccine doses being delivered to the area too.

Speaking of locked down Melbourne restrictions were being lifted in the southern capital come Friday.

Now the limit you could travel was 25 kilometres – up from 10. There were no home gatherings allowed but students were going back to learning at school.

From Friday will be required indoors only and many businesses can re-open but with limited capacities.

One new local case reported overnight, over 1,200 remained isolating from the rest of Melbournians.

June 10

Thursday and the male partner of the couple from Melbourne had tested positive. The parents they had stayed with had tested negative as residents came out in droves to get tested across the Sunshine Coast.

Another 400 people are self-isolating and getting tested after potentially coming into contact with the couple at exposure sites in Goondiwindi, Toowoomba and the southern Sunshine Coast.

Nine thousand and eight hundred tests had been carried out the day before.

Authorities were hopeful the pair had been near the end of their transmissible cycle. Hospitals and aged care facilities did not go into lockdown.

The couple had relocated to Queensland for the man’s work and a requirement from his new employer was for him and his wife to get tested so he would have COVID clearance to start work. That is when the positive tests for her came back.

While the Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath would not point the finger at the couple while the matter was under investigation she did confirm, “If people do get an exemption to travel they are requried to quarantine.”

Moree's much-loved Mayor Katrina Humphries calls time on 13-year tenure ahead of September election - ABC News

Mayor Katrina Humphries of the small New South Wales town of Moree with a population 7,383 was ready to point the finger.

“Bitterly disappointed. Actually quite disgusted – I think its an incredibly un-Australian thing to do. We’ve looked after ourselves, we’ve managed so well and then people can just ruin it for everyone. We’ve just got over a flood, we’ve had three years of drought, we’ve kept our community safe and now this rubbish.,” she said.

The town of Moree was running out of COVID testing kits.

Sunshine Coast cafe owner Pierre Mortensen felt for four of his staff who were now isolating.

“What a shame, they were doing nothing wrong – just doing their jobs and now they’re in a 14 day lockdown,” he said.

As some restrictions were due to be lifted in Melbourne the next day, authorities changed their minds about mask wearing only indoors. Now masks would remain mandatory both outside and inside.

A 52 year old woman died from blood clotting in the brain after receiving a AstraZeneca. Two deaths having resulted from 3.6 million vaccines.

That actually meant in Australia there was so far a one in a 1.8 million chance of dying from blood clotting after having AstraZeneca.

But it also led to another unlikely statistic.

Two Australians had now died in 2021 from blood clotting following getting an AstraZeneca jab.

Only on Australian had died from COVID in 2021 so far.

However 909 had died in 2020 and I wondered of those 909 how many would take the AstraZeneca vaccine if they were still alive to have that opporunity?

June 11

Dr Sanjaya Senanayake was on the Channel Nine Australia’s morning show Today to discuss the COVID variants and their new names and how they compared to each other.

I was resistant to the renaming since it when someone mentioned Brazilian, UK and Indian strains I had a fairly good understanding of what that meant.

Alpha strain? Which one is that?

Of course in recent weeks all the talk is about the Delta strain so it’s easier to remember which one that is.

Still Dr Senanayake broke it down, Alpha, Beta, Delta, Kappa,

Both Delta and Kappa strains had originated in India but it was the Delta strain that was now most dominant in the UK and 50 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha strain.

The Alpha strain was the UK strain or in the UK what was known as the Kent strain.

The Infectious Disease Expert advised in the program the original Wuhan strain infected at a rate of 2.5 people, the Alpha or UK strain at 3.75 and now the Delta or Indian strain 5.5 people.

He advised UK data showed out of 12,000 Brits who got infected with the Delta variant only 1 per cent went to hospital but even more interestingly only 2 per cent of those 12,000 had been fully vaccinated He didn’t mention how many had received one jab but those kind of statistics suggested while the Delta variant or Indian strain was able to spread more quickly it was not necessarily more deadly than previous strains.

He advised research in the UK suggested risk of symptamatic disease was reduced by 60 per cent from two doses of AstraZeneca and 88 per cent from two doses Pfizer and that was before you looked at hospitalisations and deaths.

June 12

Saturday and a mass vaccination hub in Sunshine Coast aimed to 1,000 vaccine doses dispensed in a day given the recent scare from the relocating Melbourne couple.

No community cases were recorded in Queensland that day.

June 13

It was reported by Channel Nine News that from mid-July over 300 GPs across Australia would be able to dispense PFizer vaccines. That was expected to increase to 600 by the end of the month.

The Therapeutic Goods Administrator advised Pfizer doses could now be stored in a normal fridge for 31 days which would help a great deal in terms of logistics.

On the 13th of June 2021 the World Health Organisation reported there had been 175,349,190 confirmed cases globally with a daily increase of 398,721.

There had been 3,795,727 deaths worldwide with a daily increase of 10,250.

As of the 4th of July, 2021 there had been 2,988,941,529 vaccine doses dispensed across the globe.

In Papua New Guinea there had been 16,727 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 45. There had been 165 deaths reported.

It appeared the recent wave of cases that started to rise in early March, 2021 was coming down in the country.

By the 24th of June, 2021 there will have been a measly 51,170 vaccine doses dispensed in the country. 

In Australia there had been 30,237 confirmed cases with a daily increase of eight. There had been 910 deaths.

By the 27th of June there would have been 7,500,700 vaccine doses dispensed in the country.

Malawi sacks heads of Covid-19 taskforce amid audit of use of funds | Governance | The Guardian

In Malawi there had been 34,485 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 15. There had been 1,159 deaths with a daily increase of one.

As of the 4th of July, 2021 there had been 492,390 vaccine doses dispensed in the small landlocked Africa nation of 18.63 million people.

In Nepal there had been 608,472 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 1,694. There had been 8,412 deahts with a daily increase of 46.

There had been 3,232,604 vaccine doses dispensed in the country with 28.61 million people.

In Malaysia there had been 652,204 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 5,793. There had been 3,844 deaths with a daily increase of 76.

By the 24th of June there will have been 6,823,104 vaccine doses dispensed in the country.

In Canada there had been 1,399,716 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 1,442. There had been 25,886 deaths with a daily increase of 13.

By the 1st of July, 2021 38,068,118 vaccine doses will have been dispensed in the country of 37.59 million people.

Peru revises pandemic death toll, now worst in the world per capita | Otago Daily Times Online News

In Peru there had been 1,998,056 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 2,799.

The next day the country would reach the milestone of two million cases with 2,001,059.

There had been 188,100 deaths with a daily increase of 253.

Per capita Peru had the worst COVID death toll in the world.

As of the 1st of July there will have been 7,569,763 vaccine doses dispensed in the country of 32.51 million people.

In the United Kingdom there had been 4,558,498 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 7,550. There had been 127,896 deaths with a daily increase of twelve.

Cases of COVID were on the rise in the country.

By the 27th of June there will have been 77,038,257 vaccine doses dispensed in the island nation.

In India there had been 29,439,989 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 80,834. There had been 370,384 deaths with a daily increase of 3,303.

6,148 deaths had been reported on the 10th of June, 2021. A new daily record.

By the 27th of June, 2021 there will have been 323,663,297 vaccine doses dispensed in the country.

NYNG helps vaccinate 10,000 people a day at Javits vaccinations site | Article | The United States Army

In the United States of America there had been 33,120,623 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 12,354. There had been 594,272 deaths with a daily increase of 394.

By the 1st of July there will have been 330,160,573 vaccine doses dispensed in the country of 328.2 million people.

394 daily deaths in America. Remember when that was shocking and now we think what an improvement such numbers it’s not even news.

But each of one of those 3,795,727 deaths matters and my heart goes out to the people who know those who are no longer with us.

Hopefully we’re getting there. I know it doesn’t feel like it sometimes but hopefully it is true and I choose to hope.

-Lloyd Marken

COVID-19 DIARY – ONE PFIZER VACCINATION NOT A GREAT LOOK BUT FIVE MILLION NATIONAL VACCINATIONS LOOKS GOOD

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

Annastacia Palaszczuk et al. posing for the camera: (

June 07

Monday and Victoria recorded 11 new cases in the community bringing the total to 81 from this latest outbreak.

Three people were in hospital.

Three of the new cases wre linked to the Arcare aged care facility which took that cluster to nine cases.

A cluster in West Melbourne had grown to 14 cases with four new ones from the same household including three children.

“Children do not need to be worried … kids overwhelmingly get mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. [It] doesn’t mean they can’t transmit, doesn’t mean that we don’t need to isolate them and quarantine them, but they overwhelmingly get mild illness,” Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said.

Three of the new cases are linked to the City of Whittlesea outbreak, which now stands at 32 cases.

The day before 24,265 tests had been conducted in Victoria and in state-run sites there had been 17,719 vaccine doses administered.

That added to a total of 550,000 tests conducted in the state since the current outbreak had started two weeks earlier.

Two of the cases at Arcare were a 79 year old resident and an agency nurse who last worked a shift on Saturday. Everybody who worked a shift at Arcare on Saturday were being required to get tested and quarantine for 14 days.

“It is critical for us that all these primary close contacts isolate effectively and safely and that the new staff coming in to do the vital work of looking after those residents do so in a very safe and controlled environment,” Victoria’s COVID Response Commander Jeroen Weimar.

Will Victoria's coronavirus lockdown be only seven days? - ABC News

Three of the new from the Whittlesea cluster had tested postive of day 13 of their quarantine.

In fact nine of the eleven new cases were already identified as close contacts and had isolated which was good news according to Professor Sutton.

“A number of those won’t have had any symptoms during that entire period [in isolation] so they’ll be picked up on that day 13 test. If they were tested on day seven they might actually have tested positive earlier, but the fact that every single one of them needs to have a confirmed day 13 test before they’re released from quarantine is a standard precaution to be absolutely sure,” he said.

One of the new cases was a cleaner at a construction site which had been listed as a contact stie, he along with 200 others had gotten tested as a result with him the testing positive.

For the lockdown the Victorian government announced a $30 million pakcage. 4.5 million for emergency food relief, grants for food hubs, income support of $800 per person to be administered through the Red Cross and $12 million for culturally and linguistically diverse communities.

“It is very much about saying, there is a whole lot of people in our community whose voice is not particularly loud sometimes, but we need to make sure that we provide that support,” Minister for Disability, Ageing and Carers Luke Donnellan said.

He said there were new people presenting at emergency food relief agencies who had never before accessed that service.

“It’s not just about case numbers, if cases are already in quarantine then they’re not adding to any level of population risk but also they’re not creating more work for the health department by identifying additional exposure sites where we have to then try and screen people who have also been there. When you’ve got low numbers [of cases in an outbreak], it can look very bumpy, but the reality is that might be exactly what you’d expect if you’ve got so many people in quarantine who we know have been exposed directly to a case,” advised Deakin University epidemiologist Catherine Bennett.

Queensland to extend coronavirus restrictions in wake of Victoria cluster, more vaccine hubs to open - ABC News

In Queensland 63,272 vaccine doses had been dispensed in the past week with 17,032 of those over the weekend.

The state’s Health Minister Yvette D’Ath advised Queensland was getting 50,000 Pfizer doses now per week from the federal government allowing certainty with supply and distribution amongst community vaccine hubs.

“To get [a delivery], and sometimes it would arrive early and we’d be told ‘that’s all you’re getting for three weeks’ … now we’re getting consistency,” she said.

AstraZeneca was left to be delivered by GPs to those 50 and over.

After the media beat-up from the previous week Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk aged 50 years and over advised she had received the Pfizer vaccine.

She advised she would have gotten the AstraZeneca jab but they were recommended to be taken twelve weeks apart and the Pfizer jab three weeks.

Premier Palaszczuk advised with a possible trip to meet the Olympic committee in Tokyo along iwth the Lord Mayor of Brisbane and the Australian Prime Minister for a Brisbane bid to host the games in 2032.

“There may be a requirement for the state to present to the whole Olympic committee about the Olympics, and I would have been unvaccinated and that’s why I had the Pfizer,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“The Chief Health Officer got AstraZeneca, the Health Minister got AstraZeneca, so the Cabinet is following the guidelines,” she added.

COVID-19 vaccine rollout begins in Queensland, as nurses, police inspector receive first jabs on the Gold Coast - ABC News

Dr Jeanette Young who was in late 50s but technically a health care worker had received AstraZeneca following health care workers getting Pfizer jabs as part of the 1A roll out.

So not only was Premier Palaszczuk getting the vaccine at a time that the popularity of the AstraZeneca vaccine was waning but she was doing it in order to be able to take an overseas trip as thousands of Australians struggled to travel internationally for work or seeing dying loved ones for example. It certainly was not a good look but a lot of that came down to timing.

Australian PM is vaccinated as rollout begins - BBC News

On February 21st, the 52 year old Prime Minister Scott Morrison got a Pfizer jab along with 84 year old Jane Malysiak and others as the first Australians to get vaccinated.

The Prime Minister taking the only vaccine available in the country at the time and as a leader showing a confidence in taking the vaccine.

Not long after the 50 year old New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian received her first AstraZeneca jab. 

Over-50s rebellion threatens to derail vaccination program

No biggie, other Premiers weren’t rushing out, perhaps to not be seen to be using the privilege of their position but Premier Berejiklian was again showing confidence in a vaccine and as a leader taking care of her health so she could do her job.

On the 9th of April the Australian goverment made the Pfizer the preferred vaccine for those under 50 heightening concerns in the community of the safety of AstraZeneca.

Premier Mark McGowan rolls up his sleeve for first dose of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine | PerthNow

53 year old Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan rolled up his sleeve for the AstraZeneca jab on the 3rd of May. As a leader over 50 Premier McGowan struck the right tone getting AstraZeneca and the 2A rollout having opened up to allow anyone over 50 to get vaccinated he seemed to not be jumping the queue but just taking up the opportunity that everyone in his age group could now take up.

Now a mere month later Premier Palaszczuk getting a Pfizer jab got some people’s knickers in a twist. I wasn’t one of them but once again timing is a delicate thing and simply put it wasn’t a good look.

As part of the 1B cohort the Premier and Chief Health Officer could have received their first dose in late March reported The Daily Mail.

In mid-April she got the flu jab and had to delay two weeks then got a tetanus shot after her dog bit her during a playfight.

Where she had previously selflessly wanted to wait her turn, whether her trip to Tokyo would ensure million of dollars in work and economic prosperity for the people of her state, if she did end up going. It didn’t matter. It just wasn’t a good look. Maybe two weeks earlier wouldn’t have mattered. But in politics timing is everything.

As one person commented on social media, “It took me over six months, seven cancelled flights and $10,000+ to fly back to Australia to hug my terminally ill mum one last time and you are talking about ‘needing’ to go to the Olympics? Absolute joke and a kick in the guts to stranded Aussies. Assuming home isolation on return too.”

Some smart people over the weekend noted a lack of queues at a vaccine hub and got vaccinated as walk ins but the advice was still to make bookings.

More than 936,000 doses have been delivered in Queensland with about 92,500 people fully vaccinated.

The state was also the first to approve 50 pharmacies to dispense vaccinations in remote and regional areas.

“It’s just beyond belief we are not using the thousands of pharmacies at our disposal to get millions of vaccines out of fridges and into people’s arms,” The Pharmacy Guild of Australia President Trent Twomey told The Australian.

They estimated the roll out would take another 408 days to complete and with pharmacies that could be slashed to 241 days.

“It’s not an issue of training, infrastructure, supply or consumer confidence – all this is, is bureaucratic red tape which is slowing down the process towards herd immunity.”

The battle of a purpose built quarantine facility continued after the federal government issued a set of criteria to be met.

The Premier’s response.

“If the Commonwealth wants to set the criteria they can design the facility, they can construct the facility, they can pay for the facility, and they can run the facility. After all quarantine is a federal government responsibility,” she said.

The Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese was all for purpose built quarantine facilities in the country having included funding for it in last month’s budget reply speech.

There had been no breakouts from the Howard Springs Facility so far, there had been 21 or 22 from hotel quarantine in the past year.

Deputy opposition leader Richard Marles says there is just one purpose-built facility in Australia, Howard Springs in the Northern Territory, which unsurprisingly has no COVID-19 breakouts, while there has been 21 or 22 from hotels over the past year.

“Fit-for-purpose facilities should be doing the bulk of the work,” Deputy Opposition Leader Richard Marles told the ABC’s Insiders program.

In good news Australia hit five million vaccine doses administered.

It had taken us 47 days to reach our first one million jabs, now 1 million had been dispensed in just the past nine days.

National Vaccine Operational Coordinator Commordore Eric Young advised 811,980 Pfizer doses would arrive onshore in the next couple of days and 230,000 AstraZeneca doses produced locally by CSL Limited would be batch released too.

Commodore Eric Young says extra 50,000 Pfizer doses distributed to NSW hubs - ABC News

The Royal Australian Navy officer advised the biggest week yet of the vaccine rollout would take place with 1.1 million doses distributed across two and a half thousand locations in Australia including an additional 100,000 vaccine doses for Victoria where Melbourne remained in lockdown.

-Lloyd Marken

COVID-19 DIARY – VICTORIAN LOCKDOWN SPURS ON VACCINATIONS

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

Barricades block the entrance to Flinders St station on the first day of a five-day lockdown implemented in the state of Victoria in response to a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Melbourne, Australia, February 13, 2021. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders

May 27

Still Thursday.

There were 11 new cases overnight in Victoria prompted the state to go into a seven day lockdown.

A cluster linked to the Wollett man who had quaratined in South Australia and then tested postive now stood at 26 cases out of 34 active ones in Victoria.

There were five reasons why people could leave home during the lockdown.

Shopping for food, travel to work, medical care and caregiving, exercise around your local area for two hours AND… getting vaccinated.

At the same time the state government announced from tomorrow anyone over 40 would be elligble to get vaccinated leading the VIctorian vaccine hotline to crash due to the flurry of calls. 77,000 calls were received in a 15 minute window.

With 40-49s able to apply to get vaccinated, half the population of Victoria could arrange to get vaccinted.

Meanwhile those with disabilities and some in aged care remained unvaccinated.

Our most vulnerable people.

“We also know that our nation’s vaccine rollout has been slower than we’d hoped. And if more people were vaccinated, we might be facing a different set of circumstances. Sadly, we’re not,” Acting Premier James Merlino said.

Maybe a cheap shot at the federal government as he as state leader carried out what would be an unpopular action.

People lined up at the Convention Centre.

On Tuesday the Victorian government at state facilities had dispensed 16,000 vaccinations and on Wednesday they had carried out 12,677. Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton advised Victoria could do 30,000 a day and with proper supply they could reach 100,000 a day.

“We have delivered 666.000 doses to the Victorian government and over 853,000 doses to primary care in Victoria,” Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said.

Channel 9 News reported that 9 aged care facilities in the state had yet to receive one single dose in the fourth month of the vaccine roll-out in Australia. Dr Norman Swan speaking on the ABC’s 7:30 program said it was 29 aged care facilities.

Schools would switch to remote learning while childcare and kindergartens remained open.

Restaurants and cafes were back to only take-away.

Public gatherings were out as were private gatherings but intimate partners could see each other and singles could have one visitor. Shopping and exercise should be within a five kilometre radius of home.

Only 10 people were permitted at funerals and weddings were only allowed under exception circumstances.

Masks were mandatory.

The lockdwon was scheduled to end 11:59pm June 3.

Melbourne COVID-19 exposure site list grows as authorities scramble to contain cluster - ABC News

“If we make the wrong choice now, if we wait too long, if we hesitate too much, this thing will get away from us. And lives will be at risk,” Merlino explained in making the decision to go into lockdown. The fifth carried out in Victoria.

“We know where transmission occurred. There’s the workplace that’s been identified and all of the others are the related households and casual links for the City of Whittlesea outbreak. So that’s very reassuring, that’s great work again of contact tracing, but it’s also about people giving very detailed information about where they’ve been so that we can make those links appropriately,” said Professor Sutton.

One of the cases was an elderley man who had come out of ICU but was on a ventilator.

“We send our best wishes to that family and we send our prayers for a quick recovery,” Health Minister Martin Foley said.

“My understanding is that just in recent days we’ve passed over 50 per cent of over-70-year-olds being vaccinated. Sadly this was not one of those 50 per cent.”

40,411 tests had been carried out in the past 24 hours and there were 21 new testing sites set up with over 200 operating across the state as queues backed up into the night and people had to be turned away.

Victoria enters COVID-19 lockdown as cases from Melbourne outbreak grow - ABC News

The Acting Premier advised there were 150 exposure sites to be listed and there had been 10,000 close contacts following contract tracing.

From 1am tomorrow Queensland would be shut to Victorians.

Only Queensland residents returning to the state will be allowed entry and they must enter 14-days of hotel quarantine.

Those who had entered before the borders closed and been in Victoria in the past 14 days needed to observe Victoria’s lockdown rules.

“If you’ve filled out a declaration pass, you’ve been in Victoria in the last 14 days, you will need to follow exactly the same process as if you were still in Victoria. That means you must stay wherever you are for the next seven days, when it will be reviewed by Victoria and you can only leave for those essential reasons,” advised Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young.

Stay at home order lifted for Victorian travellers in NSW

From 4pm today anybody entering New South Wales from Victoria had to observe the same lockdown rules while staying in New South Wales.

South Australia had closed the border to their Eastern neighbour at 6pm Wednesday night.

The only people allowed into SA from the affected area from that point on are essential travellers and returning South Australians, who will need to quarantine for 14 days.

People are unable to enter Tasmania if they have been in Victoria in the past 14 days.

Western Australia had closed the border to Victoria too.

From midnight Thursday travellers from Victoria will be banned from entering the Australian Capital Territory unless they have an exemption.

ACT residents who leave Victoria to come home after that time can enter but must follow stay at home requirements until the 3rd of June when the lockdown was scheduled to end in Victoria.

The Northern Territory has declared Greater Melbourne and Bendigo COVID-19 hospots, meaning anyone arriving from those areas will undergo mandatory quarantine. 

Anybody who had been in those areas since May 12, needed to get a COVID test and isolate until they returned a negative test.

New Zealand hit pause on the travel bubble between them and Victoria.

“This outbreak is inevitable, we will see more until hotel quarantine is tightened up so its a weakness in our system that needn’t be and let’s hope this is the wake-up call to fix it.” Professor Brendan Crabb from the Burnett Institute said.

“WIth a bit of luck and good management this Melbourne outbreak will be the warning shot we need to get vaccinated.”

-Lloyd Marken

COVID-19 DIARY – NEWS JUNKIE

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

May 21

In the wake of my sister and her husband finally getting the jab it was timely to think of where vaccinations were in the UK.

More than 37 million Britons had received at least one vaccine dose.

The initial roll-out targeted 32 million people who were either aged over 50, or residents and workers in aged care, or frontline health care workers, or those with underlying health problems and unpaid carers.

People who fell under those categories had accounted for 99% of all COVID deaths in the UK and the government had aimed to have offered anyone in that group at least their first jab by the 15th of April.

Now the rollout had expanded to get 21 million Britons aged 20 to 49 years old to receive their first jab by mid-July.

The thirty seven million equated to 70% of the adult population.

More than 21 million had their second dose.

There was a move to crank up second doses to over 50s in the wake of the new Indian variant.

In mid-march 500,000 first doses were administered per day.

Now first doses averaged 190,000 per day and 340,000 second doses were being administered on average.

Chart showing the total number of vaccine doses per 100 people by country

Public Health England has estimated that 11,700 deaths have been averted in people aged 60 years or older in England up to 25 April 2021, as a direct effect of being vaccinated.

Scotland has vaccinated 92% of those aged 40 and over with at least one dose, while Northern Ireland and Wales have reached 89%.

England, on average, has vaccinated 91% of the same age group, with the South West reaching 94% and London 83%.

Well over half of the adult population of Great Britain has received their first done and roughly a third have received their second dose.

There have been disparities between ethnic groups and poorer and wealthier areas.

The Pfizer-BioNTech jab – the first to be given the green light in December – is being imported from Puurs, Belgium.

A second vaccine, from Oxford University and AstraZeneca, is being made at a number of sites in Britain. Further doses are expected to come from the Serum Institute of India and the Halix plant in the Dutch city of Leiden.

The third, from Moderna, is coming from sites in Switzerland and Spain, via Belgium.

The UK is also lined up to receive at least three further vaccines if they are approved for use.

A jab manufactured by US firm Novavax will be made in Stockton-on-Tees in north-east England, while another by French company Valneva will be made in Livingston, West Lothian, Scotland.

The third, produced in the Netherlands by Belgian firm Janssen, owned by Johnson & Johnson, should also be available later this year.

On the horizon were vaccines from Valneva, GlaxoSmithKline, Novavax and Janssen.

Ministers have also announced an eighth deal with biopharmaceutical company CureVac to develop vaccines against future variants.

On Friday here in Australia there was plenty of COVID news to cover.

Some continued coverage in the need to get more people with disabilities vaccinated.

There was talk of putting blood clot cases into perspective from COVID restrictions.

There was talk of the need to get overseas students able to study at Universities in Australia.

Gauri Gupta, sister of Govind Kant’s who passed away in India, spoke to 7:30 about her loss.

There was talk of getting MRNA production up in Australia in the next two years with the federal government putting a callout for companies to make applications.

“In the past, whenever we have needed boosters because a pathogen has mutated, it has generally taken about six months to get that up and running in a laboratory setting. With the mRNA vaccines it only takes six weeks. So that in itself is a big game-changer,” Professor Sanjaya Senanayake told Channel 9’s Today of the benefits of local mRNA production.

12,000 daily vaccination doses in New South Wales took the number of vaccinations in the state past 1 million wtih 1,030,428.

The national total was 3,472,874.

Out of that roughly two thirds were AstraZeneca doses and the other third was Pfizer.

Channel 9 reported 24 cases of of thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome (TTS) linked to AstraZeneca vaccinations in Australia with 21 confirmed by the Therapeutic Goods Administration. 

Recently a 53 year old South Australian man received a jab on the 4th of May and ended up in hospital May 18 with severe abdominal pain.

There was also the 18 year old nurse in Queensland, a 57 year old woman in and a 79 year old man both from Victoria.

Over 230 volunteers were allowed back into the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne including ‘The Splint Ladies‘ who have each been volunteering at the hosptial for three decades.

It was also reported that earlier in the week the Chinese made COVID vaccine Sinopharm was dispensed in the Solomon Islands making it the first Pacific Islander nation to receive the vaccine. Australia had also pledged to deliver 60,000 doses of AstraZeneca to the islands.

“No one is safe unless everyone is safe. That means having access to vaccine is very critical and for countries like Solomon Islands that are extremely vulnerable because of our isolation and also because of our limited resources, accesss to vaccine for us is almost likened to life. And we are so grateful to the COVAX facility for the AstraZeneca vaccine as well as the People’s Republic of China for the Sinopharm vaccine,” Solomon Islands Health Minister Dr Culwick Togamana said.

India appeared to be coming off the peak of its largest and most devasting wave. The virus was spreading more rurally sadly in the country which would have consequences since there were less resources in those places.

In neighbouring Nepal it was reported 50 per cent of COVID tests returned positive on a daily basis, sometimes higher. The number of hospitalisations had increased and beds and oxygen were in short supply.

Following a petition that I coincidentally signed urging the Australian government to help, they announced seven million dollars of support would be sent.

The World Health Organisation reported on the 21st of May, 2021 in Nepal there had been 488,645 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 8,227. There had been 5,847 deaths with a daily increase of 190.

But for some none of that was the big news of the day.

Oh no.

The big news for them was that Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk had not yet had her COVID vaccine.

And neither had the Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young.

With so much coverage about blood clots people argued leaders taking the jab could build confidence.

They argued this struck the wrong tone, gave the wrong message.

Dr Young as a health care professional was waiting to get Pfizer and the Premier merely said she was waiting to do it after her flu shot which she had not yet had – halfway through Autumn.

At work we had taken our flu shots in early April but another school of thought was workplaces should hold off giving flu shots so early in the season.

In the past 24 hours in Australia 92,000 doses had been administered in the country.

The next day there was continued back and forth reported between Premier Palaszczuk and Prime Minister Morrison about the potential Wellcamp Airport quarantine facility. No real movement there.

On the ABC their program The Vaccine covered the latest on the vaccine roll-out in Australia and the latest news coming out of India.

Health Minister Greg Hunt’s words at a press conference were covered as unhelpful as the main vaccine on offer in Australia remained the AstraZeneca vaccine which had links to very rare cases of blood clotting.

“Right now we want to encourage everybody over 50 to be vaccinated as early as possible but we’ve been very clear as supply increases later on in the year there will be enough vaccine of mRNA for every Australian,” Greg Hunt said.

You could argue it was simply acknowledge the fact that some people were going to hold out for Pfizer regardless of their age but there was a need to encourage people to get vaccinated as soon as they could.

Also has history had shown, we couldn’t assume that vaccine doses would arrive as we hoped they would at the end of the year in the quantities expected. There was a winter to contend with in between too.

Casey Briggs reported there had been 3.47 million vaccine doses dispensed in the country with over 100,000 doses dispensed.

The seven day average was just under 70,000 a day.

it was also reported cases were back on the rise in Brazil and surging in many South East Asian nations like Thailand and Malaysia.

Thailand hits over 1,300 daily COVID-19 cases after new year travels | Daily Sabah

Physician and journalist Dr Norman Swan on the program spoke about vaccine hesitancy and the roll-out in Australia in general.

He advised waiting for Pfizer a choice someone could make but that given the leaks from hotel quarantine already and the rising number of infectious cases now was not the time to wait to get vaccinated.

The latest 617 Indian variant 617 was almost 40 more infectious than the British variant.

The R number is the number of people that one infected person will pass the virus on to on average.

The original Wuhan variant that swept the world had an R number of of 2.4

The UK strain that originated in Kent had an R number of 4.5.

Indian Covid variant could overwhelm NHS if it proves more transmissible than Kent strain

It was estimated the Indian variant’s R number was at least 6 maybe even as high as 8 and could prove a little vaccine resistant.

He also reminded that risk of death from COVID goes up and the risk of blood clotting from AstraZeneca goes down.

He also spoke of how initial clinical trials presented the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine with an efficacy rate of 62 per cent.

SInce those trials, AstraZeneca was been dispensed twelve weeks apart with better results and both AstraZeneca and Pfizer seemed to give almost 100 per cent chance of avoiding hospitalisation from COVID. The current efficacy rate in the real world from infection was about 85 per cent with AstraZeneca and 95 per cent with Pfizer. A significantly smaller gap.

Infectious disesases expert Associate Professor Sanajaya Senanayake from Australian National University also joined the program.

“You will hear there was a blood clot today, and you don’t hear about the half a million cases people who received vaccines who didn’t get a blood clot,” he noted about media coverage.

Which I understood what I meant but at the same time the number of vaccines being dispensed was being reported and also the reality of the statistical likelihood was also being covered but of course fear doesn’t make you act sensibly.

“Australia at the moment does not have community transmission of COVID which is a wonderful thing in so many ways but combined with the one in a 100,000 risk of a clot with the AstraZeneca vaccine people are hesistant,” said Associate Professor Senanayake.

There was so much talk about the need for more marketing, the fear of blood clots and while I understand all of that is relevant.

I have to say the most important thing was getting our most vulnerable and our most keen vaccinated. That came down to logistics and that came down to organising.

COVID vaccine rollout delays frustrate vulnerable Australians in priority group - ABC News

My older sister in disability care had still not been vaccinated.

Our aged care residents and staff had still not all been vaccinated.

Plenty of young people were keen do the smart thing and get vaccinated.

Worry about them.

They don’t need an ad to convince them and they know what’s at stake.

“Now we’ve seen in Taiwan a country who like Australia has controlled COVID really well what can happen. They’ve got a very low vaccination rate and COVID has been introduced into the community, they’re having about 300 cases a day now and they’re going into a lockdown. That’s the danger here. We can go from having no COVID to having widespread community transmission in the blink of an eye. And then trying to mass vaccinate everyone when there is a lot of COVID around that becomes complicated,“warned Senanayake and his words would only been proven more true in the weeks ahead.

May 23

Sunday and on the 23rd of May, 2021 the World Health Organisation reported there had been 166054891 confirmed cases globally with a daily increase of 590064.

There had been 3564623 deaths worldwide with a daily increase of 11865.

In the Solomons Islands there had been 23 cases recorded and zero deaths. As of the 13th of May it was reported 11,536 vaccine doses had been administered.

In Papua New Guinea there had been 15,187 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 54.

There had been 156 deaths with a daily increase of two.

More had to be done.

There had been 13 new daily deaths recorded on the 20th of May, a record for the country.

More had to be done.

As of the 13th of May there had been 11,537 vaccine doses dispensed in the country.

In Australia there had been 30,004 confirmed cases with a daily increase four. There had been 910 deaths.

As of the 27th of April, there had been 3,089,183 vaccine doses dispensed in the country.

COVID: Nepal reeling from a deadly second coronavirus wave | Asia| An in-depth look at news from across the continent | DW | 07.05.2021

In Nepal there had been 505,643 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 8,591. There had been 6,153 deaths with a daily increase of 129.

By the 29th of May there would have been 2,802,596 vaccine doses administered in the country with a population of 28.61 million people.

In Malaysia there had been 505,115 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 6,320. There had been 2,199 deaths with a daily increase of 50.

As of the 16th of May, there had been 1,914,554 vaccine doses administered in the country with a 31.95 million people.

In Canada there had been 1,352,121 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 4,676. There had been 25162 deaths with a daily increase of 51.

The country had reached the milestone of 25,000 dead from COVID on the 20th of May with 25,018 and a daily increase of 35. 

The country was coming off its most recent and largest wave of COVID with the percentage of its population much higher than it had been only a few weeks earlier.

By the 27th of May there would be 22,622,529 vaccine doses dispensed in Canada which had a population of 37.59 million people.

In the United Kingdom there had been 4,460,450 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 2,523. There had been 127,716 deaths with a daily increase of six.

By the 31st of May the UK had dispensed 64,923,228 vaccine doses amongst a population of 66.65 million people. 

France's sidewalk cafes and restaurants reopen after 6-month shutdown - MarketWatch

In France there had been 5,497,073 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 11,821. There had been 107,732 deaths with a daily increase of 75.

By the 29th of May there would have been 36,487,886 vaccine doses dispensed in a country with 67.06 million people.

In India there had been 26,530,132 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 240,842. There had been 209,266 deaths with a daily increase of 3,741.

The next day India would reach the milestone of over 300,000 COVID deaths with 303,720 and a daily increase of 4,454.

While the country was coming down from its most devastating wave with reported case numbers there had been 4,529 deaths reported four days earlier on the 19th of May. The highest number of daily deaths from COVID in the country ever.

By the end of the month on the 31st of May, there would have been 218,358,591 vaccine doses dispensed in India.

Brazil's Covid Crisis Is a Warning to the Whole World, Scientists Say - The New York Times

In Brazil there had been 15,970,949 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 76,855. There had been 446,309 deaths with a daily increase of 2,215.

In Brazil the highest number of daily deaths had been 4,249 reported on the 10th of April, 2021.

By the 27th of May there would have been 60,017,445 vaccine doses dispensed in a country with 211 million people.

In the United States of America there had been 32,762,914 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 27,921. There had been 583,696 deaths with a daily increase of 743.

By the 27th of May there would been 294,270,594 vaccine doses dispensed in a country with 328.2 million people.

ONE YEAR EARLIER: May 21, 2020 

The United Kingdom came to be listed as the country with the fourth most number of cases in the world. There were 248,297 confirmed cases with a daily decrease of 525. The number of dead 35,704 with a daily increase of 363.

In Brazil there were 271,628 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 17,408! The number of dead were 17,971 with a daily increase of 1,179.

May 22, 2020

There was talk of opening up state borders in Australia. In response Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan said, “New South Wales had the Ruby Princess — I mean, seriously? And they are trying to give us advice on our borders, seriously?“.

COVID-19 DIARY – EASTER IS GOOD TO GO IN QUEENSLAND BUT NOT FOR ME

Posted on by Lloyd Marken
20210401_171437
                             The entrance to the new COVID Fever Clinic. Copyright Lloyd Marken.

April 01

The first of April was the third day of a three day snap lockdown in the Greater Brisbane region.

It was Thursday and the next day was Good Friday.

The populace waited to have it confirmed that the lockdown would end today.

The number of venues listed from contract tracing had grown significantly.

There was an arguement to be made that had a lockdown be called in the wake of the first case with the PA doctor on the 12th of March that the Byron Bay Bluesfest would have been able to go ahead. That less cases would’ve ended out in the community and travelled as far as Gladstone and Toowoomba.

But case numbers were low as testing numbers had jumped, contract tracing had been ongoing during the lockdown, previous snap lockdowns had seen similar dispersal of the virus far and wide and but ultimately succeeded in their outcome of being a circuit breaker for the disease. There was some anxiety that the lockdown would not end today but if numbers were low this mornign precedent suggested it was likely the Premier would announce it would end.

As you would expect I was working from home.

Queensland Premier Annastacia Pallaszczuk announced in the morning that there were nine new cases in hotel quarantine and only one new case of community transmission and therefore the lockdown would end early at midday today.

“I understand a lot of families in Greater Brisbane have made plans and the last thing we want to see are accidents on our roads at 5:00pm this afternoon and into the evening,” advised Premier Pallaszcuk.

“Easter is good to go,” she said.

As before following the snap lockdown there would be a period of continued restrictions to remain in place until April 15 like mask wearing when indoors and unable to socially distant.

Cafes and restaurants could have patrons dine in but they had to be seated and there was no dancing to be had.

There was a person per 2 square metre rule for businesses and churches to adhere to.

Household gatherings were limited to 30 people.

There would be no visitors allowed at prisons, hospitals, aged care and disability services for the next two weeks.

“We are not out of the woods yet. I’m asking Queenslanders, all Queenslanders, for the next two weeks if we all do the right thing, we can get through this together,” the Premier said.

Thirty four thousand, seven hundred and eleven tests had been carried out in the past 24 hours also giving confidence to authorities.

“The amount of testing … has been astronomical,” Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young said.

The two PA clusters now had a total of 20 cases linked to them including the new community case that morning who had been at the Byron Bay Hen’s party.

The Queensland Premier had requested an extension to the end of April in reducing the number of returned travellers returning through the state.

There were 82 active cases in hospital and 68 were returned travellers.

“That’s a real risk for us. I think we are the highest rate in the country at the moment with the most number of active cases in hospital,” said the Queensland Premier.

In Queensland there had been 1,386 cases of COVID, six deaths, 2,042714 tests conducted and currently 38 active cases.

As it got near to the end of my working day an e-mail was sent out at work.

Near where I work is the Toowong village shopping centre where I get my morning coffee from Stellarossa Toowong. Sometimes I pass through the newsagency on my way there.

Nextra in Toowong, Brisbane, QLD, Newsagents - TrueLocal

That newsagent had been listed on the Queensland Health website as a “casual contact” venue for Tuesday the 16th of March between 9:30 to 10am.

I backtracked through my notes.

Had I been working from home in the office on that day?

No I had been in the office.

I usually get a coffee around 9am to 10am.

There had been a meeting that morning.

Was it unlikely that I had been there before 10am.

Yes.

Was it unlikely that I had passed through the newsagency that day given I did not regularly do it on a daily basis.

Yes.

But was it possible….

Yes it was possible and therefore what I did next was a no brainer for me.

Copyright Lloyd Marken.

I finished work at 4:30pm and headed to the Prince Charles Hospital Fever Clinic to get tested having just read the e-mail maybe fifteen minutes prior to logging off.

Queensland Health broke venues from contract tracing into two types, one was close contacts and the second was casual contacts.

If you had been to a Close Contact site at the specified time then you needed to get tested immediately and quarantine until you get a negative result.

For those people even once you received a negative test you were to “complete the contact tracing self-assessment” and “stay quarantined even if you get a negative test until 14 days have passed since you were last there. It can take 14 days before you may show symptoms or test positive.”

There were over 1,700 people who would remain in quarantine as a result of this in Queensland over Easter.

For casual contacts.

“If you have been to any of the below locations at the relevant times you should:

Longtime readers will recall this is not the first time I sought out a COVID test or my first visit to the COVID-19 Fever Clinic at the Prince Charles Hospital.

On the 25th of February I was at The Prince Charles for something else and a nurse had been suspicous of the fact that we were wearing masks.

When I went and got tested for COVID for the first time on the 25th of May, 2020 I strolled throught the hospital to find myself out the back of an education centre.

We queued outside the building, there was a waiting room with chairs with masks to put on if you don’t already have one.

Then another room to go over paperwork.

Then another room to wait and then another room where the test was done.

I asked how deep the swab went and the nurse was very gentle. Perhaps coincidentally.

I returned twice to the place and followed a similar process in June 2020. That time one of the tests was distinctly uncomfortable.

On the 16th of December, 2020 with symptoms I returned to the Prince Charles Hospital to get tested and found the Fever Clinic had been moved. I had to walk through the Emergency Department to enter a long corridor where I found the clinic and got tested.

Now on the 1st of April I drove far from the main hospital to the other end of the campus grounds.

Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.

I saw a line of people on chairs in an undercover area outside a building. At the front of it I was checked in by a nurse, I was of course wearing a mask but was instructed to put on a surgical mask and wash my hands. The surgical mask had a blue plastic brim at the top of it where it would be positioned near the nose. It was as flimsy as masks you could buy in pharmacies.

I sat on a chair and waited for my test. I was told I would be called on my mobile. This practice I believe was in place to maybe allow waiting testees to leave and come back so as to keep numbers low at the site during peak testing. There were a few of us seated and waiting but perhaps not as many as there would be during the day or in particular in recent days.

I was there for close to ninety minutes.

Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.

A little over an hour before I got called and answered, a little later I was ushered in and got tested.

In December the nose swab was out but was told this time it was back. I felt they were thorugh but it was not painful. I wandered off into the night.

Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.

I was due to see my parents that Sunday for Easter and there was a good chance I would return a negative test by then and be free to attend to them.

But I though about my parents on a hospital bed, maybe a ventilator, fighting for their lives.

I had just seem them two weeks earlier.

There had been plenty of cases of people who became ill with COVID past the incubation period of 14 days while in isolation.

I was not prepared to take that risk.

I called them and advised I would not be seeing them and then I called work to arrange working from home.

I had a scheduled medical appointment the following Friday and people would be getting their flu shots at work on Thursday.

I rationalised a subsequent test the following tuesday and isolating before then would bring us up to three weeks since the possibility of having been to the newsagency on the 16th of March so that is what I would do.

Below was taken from the Queensland Health website from the 2nd of April just to give you an idea of how easily a potential spread can occur even if a place where there are so few initial cases out in the community.

-Lloyd Marken

CLOSE CONTACTS

Date Place Suburb Arrival time Departure time
Saturday 20 March Shinobi Ramen Noodle shop
Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre		 Carindale 12pm 2.16pm
Saturday 20 March Black Hops Brewery East Brisbane 12pm 2pm
Sunday 21 March Mamma’s Italian Restaurant
69 Redcliffe Parade		 Redcliffe 12.30pm 3.10pm
Saturday 20 March Green Beacon brewing Co. Teneriffe 2pm 3.12pm
Saturday 20 March Eatons Hill Hotel Eatons Hill 3.44pm 5.30pm
Monday 22 March PCYC Pine Rivers Bray Park 7.16am 8.10am
Monday 22 March KCF Training (gym) New Birtinya 9.15am 11.30am
Monday 22 March Plus Fitness New Minyama 2.30pm 3.30pm
Tuesday 23 March Plus Fitness New Minyama 7.30am 8.30am
Tuesday 23 March Hamilton Hotel Updated Hamilton 2.20pm 5.23pm
Wednesday 24 March Oliver’s Real food – Dine in Patrons New Maryborough West 11.50am 12.09pm
Friday 26 March FitStop Gym
6/338 Lytton Road		 Morningside 6.50am 8am
Friday 26 March Spinnaker Park Café
222 Alf O’Rourke Drive		 Callemondah 10.22am 11.23am
Friday 26 March Auckland House
60 Flinders Parade		 Gladstone Central 7.23pm 9.30pm
Saturday 27 March Auckland House
60 Flinders Parade		 Gladstone Central 7.33am 8.20am
Saturday 27 March Savour Café
Merthyr Village Shopping Centre		 New Farm 10.30am 12.10pm
Monday 29 March Premium Pilates & Fitness Coorparoo 9.25am 10.30am

CLOSE CONTACTS INTERSTATE LOCATIONS TO BE REFERRED TO ON THE NSW HEALTH WEBSITE

  • Byron Bay – Friday 26 March to Sunday 28 March
  • Suffolk Park – Friday 26 March to Sunday 28 March
  • Ewingsdale – Sunday 28 March
  • Ballina – Sunday 28 March
  • East Ballina – Sunday 28 March
  • Lennox Head – Sunday 28 March

HISTORICAL CASUAL CONTACTS – OLDER THAN 14 DAYS 

Date Place Suburb Arrival time Departure time
Tuesday 9 – Tuesday 23 March Princess Alexandra Hospital
5D Outpatients Department (Sexual Health Clinic, Infectious Disease Clinic, Immunology A Clinic)New		 Woolloongabba 8.00pm
Tuesday 9 March		 11.59pm
Tuesday 23 March
Tuesday 9 – Tuesday 23 March Princess Alexandra Hospital Ward 5D New Woolloongabba 8.00pm
Tuesday 9 March		 11.59pm
Tuesday 23 March
Wednesday 10 March Plus Fitness Everton Park 1.15pm 2.15pm
Wednesday 10 March Woolworths Everton Park 2.30pm 2.40pm
Thursday 11 March Plus Fitness Everton Park 3.30pm 5.00pm
Friday 12 March Plus Fitness Everton Park 3.30pm 5.00pm
Saturday 13 March Woolworths and Specsavers
Brookside Shopping Centre		 Mitchelton 4.00pm 5.00pm
Sunday 14 March Plus Fitness Everton Park 8.30am 10.00am
Monday 15 March Plus Fitness Everton Park 9.00am 10.30am
Tuesday 16 March Plus Fitness Everton Park 4.30pm 5.30pm
Wednesday 17 March Woolworths Everton Park 2.30pm 3.00pm
Wednesday 17 March Studio Pilates Grange 4.30pm 5.15pm

CASUAL CONTACTS

Date Place Suburb Arrival time Departure time
Tuesday 16 March Body Plus Physio Caboolture 08.30am 08.50am
Tuesday 16 March Nextra Toowong Village Toowong 9:30am 10:00am
Tuesday 16 March Silky Oakes Strathpine 12pm 12.05pm
Tuesday 16 March Price Line Pharmacy Albany Creek 12.30pm 12.40pm
Tuesday 16 March Grill’d Eatons Hill 1pm 1.30pm
Tuesday 16 March Meat at Billy’s Ashgrove 2:30pm 2:45pm
Wednesday 17 March Tafe Southbank 8am 4.30pm
Wednesday 17 March Woolworths Everton Park Everton Park 1.39pm 2.13pm
Thursday 18 March Plus Fitness New Everton Park 8.00am 9.30am
Thursday 18 March Milton Fruit Bowl Milton 9:00am 9:20am
Thursday 18 March World Gym North Lakes 9.15am 9.45am
Thursday 18 March Basil and Vine Burpengary 10am 10.15am
Thursday 18 March Giant Chemist
Pacific Fair Shopping Centre New		 Broadbeach 1.45pm 2pm
Thursday 18 March Electric Chair Barber Shop Everton Park 3.15pm 4.14pm
Thursday 18 March Studio Pilates New Grange 4.30pm 5.15pm
Friday 19 March Plus Fitness New Everton Park 7.30am 9am
Friday 19 March Lawnton Country Markets Bakery Lawnton 6.11am 6.26am
Friday 19 March Plus Fitness Everton Park 7.30am 9am
Friday 19 March Woolworths Paddington 10am 10:15am
Friday 19 March Bakers Delight Paddington 10:15am 10:30am
Friday 19 March Westfield North Lakes 11.20am 11.50am
Friday 19 March Little Red Dumpling Carseldine 12.10pm 1.16pm
Friday 19 March Studio Pilates New Grange 12.15pm 1pm
Friday 19 March Woolworths Carseldine 1.10pm 1.20pm
Friday 19 March Chemist Warehouse New Windsor 2pm 2.20pm
Friday 19 March TB’s Wine and Beer Rosalie 2:30pm 2:45pm
Friday 19 March Newstead Brewing Co. Newstead 3.54pm 5.29pm
Friday 19 March Aldi Bald Hills 5.10pm 5.18pm
Friday 19 March Super Cheap Auto Bald Hills 5.30pm 5.33pm
Friday 19 March Reef Seafood & Sushi Brisbane Newstead 5.37pm 6.35pm
Friday 19 March The Standard Market Company, Gasworks Plaza
76 Skyring Tce		 Newstead 6.35pm 6.45pm
Friday 19 March Public Toilet, Gasworks Plaza
(located to the right of the escalator from the car park)		 Newstead 6.46pm 6.47pm
Saturday 20 March Plus Fitness 24/7 Gym Everton Park Everton Park 7.40am 8.34am
Saturday 20 March Coles Everton Park
Everton Plaza Shopping Centre		 Everton Park 8.39am 8.44am
Saturday 20 March Neighbourhood Market Co. Everton Park 8.45am 8.55am
Saturday 20 March Westfield Carindale Shopping Centre – any part of the shopping centre Carindale 12pm 2.16pm
Saturday 20 March Black Hops Brewery East Brisbane 2pm 3pm
Saturday 20 March The Bavarian Eagle Street Pier Brisbane City 2.15pm 4pm
Saturday 20 March Market Organics (store only)
190 Enoggera Road		 Newmarket 2.45pm 3pm
Saturday 20 March Riverland Brisbane Brisbane City 4.10pm 6.32pm
Saturday 20 March Viscosity Fortitude Valley 6.42pm 7.31pm
Saturday 20 March XCargo Fortitude Valley 7.35pm 9.32pm
Saturday 20 March Baskins-Robbins
2/489 South Pine Road		 Everton Park 9.20pm 9.25pm
Sunday 21 March The Standard Market Company, Gasworks Plaza
76 Skyring Tce		 Newstead 9.50am 10.20am
Sunday 21 March Presents of Mind Paddington 10:15am 10:30am
Sunday 21 March Genki Mart
3/24 South Pine Road		 Alderley 10.30am 10.46am
Sunday 21 March Subway
Strathpine Plaza Shopping Centre		 Strathpine 12.50pm 1pm
Sunday 21 March Burrito Bar Everton Park Everton Park 3.24pm 3.33pm
Sunday 21 March Liquorland, Dolphins Central Shopping Centre
Ashmole Road and Klingner Road		 Kippa-Ring 4 .40pm 4.50pm
Monday 22 March Bunnings Rothwell
Cnr Anzac Avenue and Bremner Road		 Rothwell 7 .14am 7.27am
Monday 22 March Café L’avenue Carseldine 8.51am 8.58am
Monday 22 March Ashgrove Fresh Fruit Shop Ashgrove 9:20am 9:30am
Monday 22 March Zambrero Aspley 12.05pm 12.34pm
Monday 22 March Jacobs Bakery Aspley 12.40pm 12.48pm
Monday 22 March Bunnings Stafford
450 Stafford Road		 Stafford 12.40pm 12.50pm
Monday 22 March Bunnings Lawnton 3.15pm 3.30pm
Monday 22 March Strathpine Plaza Shopping Centre Strathpine 3.43pm 3.49pm
Monday 22 March Woolworths Mountain Creek New Mountain Creek 4.15pm 4.40pm
Tuesday 23 March Redcliffe Train Line – Kippa-Ring to Lawnton Kippa Ring to Lawnton 7.00am 8.00am
Tuesday 23 March Café L’avenue Carseldine 8am 8.29am
Tuesday 23 March Woolworths Paddington 9:10am 9:25am
Tuesday 23 March Westfield
(Dymocks and Woolworths)		 North Lakes 11am 12pm
Tuesday 23 March Nutrition Warehouse New Maroochydore 11.15am 11.30am
Tuesday 23 March Brightwater Medical Centre at
Brightwater Shopping Centre New		 Mountain Creek 12pm 12.45pm
Tuesday 23 March Sushi Train Carseldine 12pm 12.45pm
Tuesday 23 March Zambrero Lawnton 12.51pm 12.55pm
Tuesday 23 March QML Pathology at
Brightwater Shopping Centre New		 Mountain Creek 1pm 1.15pm
Tuesday 23 March Lawnton Fruit Market Lawnton 1.57pm 2.05pm
Tuesday 23 March Redcliffe Train Line – Lawnton to Kippa-Ring Lawnton to Kippa Ring 2.00pm 3.00pm
Tuesday 23 March Rosalie Gourmet Market Deli Rosalie 2:30pm 2:45pm
Tuesday 23 March Poolwerx Strathpine Strathpine 3.15pm 3.27pm
Tuesday 23 March Nellas Gourmet Tucker Lawnton 3.37pm 3.47pm
Tuesday 23 March Woolworths Strathpine 4pm 4.30pm
Tuesday 23 March Dan Murphy’s Strathpine 7.26pm 7.36pm
Wednesday 24 March Tafe Southbank 8am 4.30pm
Wednesday 24 March IGA Milton 9:05am 9:15am
Wednesday 24 March Milton Fruit Bowl Milton 9:20am 9:30am
Wednesday 24 March Redcliffe Train Line – Lawnton to Kippa-Ring Lawnton to Kippa Ring 2.30pm 3.30pm
Wednesday 24 March Lawnton Country Markets Lawnton 2.36pm 2.43pm
Wednesday 24 March Coles Everton Park
Everton Plaza Shopping Centre		 Everton Park 3.24pm 3.33pm
Wednesday 24 March Uroko Sushi on Train Everton Park 7.19pm 7.33pm
Thursday 25 March Café L’avenue Carseldine 8am 8.29am
Thursday 25 March Aldi Stafford, Stafford City Shopping Centre
400 Stafford Road		 Stafford 8.30am 8.45am
Thursday 25 March World Gym North Lakes 8.45am 9.45am
Thursday 25 March Meats at Billy’s Ashgrove 9:10am 9:20am
Thursday 25 March Officeworks Rothwell 12pm 12.30pm
Thursday 25 March Café L’avenue Carseldine 12.34pm 1.34pm
Thursday 25 March Gin Gin Public Toilet (male) opposite Gin Gin Bakery Gin Gin 1.25pm 1.26pm
Thursday 25 March Gin Gin Bakery
41 Mulgrave St		 Gin Gin 1.26pm 1.33pm
Thursday 25 March Westfield North Lakes 2pm 3pm
Thursday 25 March Miriam Vale Road Star Roadhouse – male toilet Miriam Vale 2.35pm 2.45pm
Thursday 25 March Nundah Respiratory Clinic
1270 Sandgate Road		 Nundah 11.15am 11.40am
Thursday 25 March Oliver’s Real Food – Take away patrons Updated Maryborough West 11.50am 12.09pm
Thursday 25 March Cold Rock Ice Creamery Raby Bay 3.50pm 4pm
Thursday 25 March Woolworths Cleveland Cleveland 4.00pm 4.40pm
Thursday 25 March Redcliffe Train Line – Lawnton to Kippa-Ring Lawnton to Kippa Ring 5.45pm 6.45pm
Thursday 25 March BWS – Lawnton Drive
820 Gympie Road		 Lawnton 6.15pm 6.30pm
Thursday 25 March Hanwoori Korean BBQ Restaurant Brisbane City 6.30pm 7.30pm
Thursday 25 March Wintergarden carpark Brisbane City 6.19pm 7.50pm
Thursday 25 March Ceres Pizza Café Strathpine 7.00pm 7.58pm
Friday 26 March World Gym North Lakes 10am 10.30am
Friday 26 March Nurse Station café (Patrons) South Brisbane 10.15am 10.30am
Friday 26 March SPAR Carina Megafresh Carina 11.30am 11.45am
Friday 26 March Coles, Stockland Gladstone Gladstone Central 12.09pm 12.33pm
Friday 26 March Woolworths Coorparoo Coorparoo 12.55pm 1.30pm
Friday 26 March Niche & Co Café Tugun 1.40pm 1.55pm
Friday 26 March Chempro Chemist Tugun 1.55pm 2.10pm
Friday 26 March Redcliffe Train Line – Lawnton to Kippa-Ring Lawnton to Kippa Ring 2.30pm 3.30pm
Friday 26 March Woolworths Kippa-Ring
272 Anzac Avenue		 Kippa-Ring 3pm 3.20pm
Friday 26 March Stockland Gladstone (including BWS) Gladstone 4.46pm 5.00pm
Saturday 27 March IGA Redcliffe Redcliffe 12.50pm 12.55pm
Saturday 27 March Sunlit Asian Supermarket
Westfield Garden City		 Upper Mount Gravatt 2.30pm 2.45pm
Saturday 27 March Domino’s Pizza Greenslopes 3.30pm 3.40pm
Sunday 28 March 7-Eleven Mackenzie 1.30am 1.40am
Sunday 28 March 52 Espresso Nobby Beach 6.15am 6.45am
Sunday 28 March LeanChef Kitchn Surfers Paradise (Chevron Island) 10am 10.30am
Sunday 28 March Stable Coffee Kitchen Tugun 10.27am 10.48am
Sunday 28 March HOTA Markets Bundall 10.45am 11.30am
Sunday 28 March Surf Life Saving Competition Tugun Beach 12.30pm 2pm
Sunday 28 March Epic Escape Room Southport 1.45pm 5.20pm
Sunday 28 March Kirra Surf Shop
6/8 Creek Street		 Coolangatta 2.35pm 3.05pm
Sunday 28 March Southport Park Shopping Centre Southport 3pm 4pm
Sunday 28 March Woolworths Southport Park 3.14pm 3.35pm
Sunday 28 March Tugun Supermarket Tugun 5.20pm 5.30pm
Monday 29 March Rafiki Café Mermaid Beach 6.45am 6.50am

LOW RISK CONTACTS

A low risk contact requires you to monitor for symptoms but not immediately quarantine or even get tested. If a symptom occurs then you get tested and ioslate at home until you receive a negative test.

Place Suburb Arrival time Departure time
Tuesday 23 March Outside Westpac –  Peninsula Fair Shopping Centre
272 Anzac Avenue		 Kippa-Ring 3pm 3.30pm

COVID-19 DIARY – GAME OVER – END OF THE FOURTH QUARTER

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

Byron Bay Area - Accommodation, Maps, Attractions & Events

March 31

Wednesday and there was one new case in hotel quarantine in Queensland and only two new community cases and both were linked to recent cases.

The Blues Festival was cancelled in Bryon Bay for the second year running.

A PA nurse and her housemate but she never had contact to a returned traveller from India that she was linked to. This prompted further questions about how the disease might be spreading in the environment of the hospital.

The nurse had gone to hens party in Byron Bay over the weekend with ten people and an eleventh – a male entertainer. The entertainer and six of the ten guests had now tested positive.

The nurse had not worked directly with a returned traveller with COVID that her infection was linked to after genomic testing.

We just need to work out how she got it on that ward. There is most likely some environmental contamination or some aerosolisation of the virus when the person was admitted. So that’s why that ward has been closed. No-one is going in or out of that ward,” advised Dr Jeanette Young.

The nurse had been given the first dose of the vaccine on March 19.

The Health Minister Yvette D’Ath got a COVID testing following having a sore throat.

A 20 year old man tested positive in Byron Bay.

Music festival to go ahead in NSW town on alert for COVID-19 - NewsFinale

More than 33,000 people get tested including Health Minister Yvette D’Ath after having a sore throat.

The Premier indicated if the numbers were similar tomorrow there was a good chance the lockdown would end on Thursday evening.

“The fact we do not have any unlinked community transmission in the south-east or in our state is absolutely encouraging. Fingers crossed all will be looking good for Easter. If we see very good testing rates across Queensland and we don’t see any unlinked community transmission, the signs for Easter are looking positive.,” the Premier said.

One hundred and fourteen residents and staff at TriCare Mermaid Beach aged care residency on the Gold Coast had been tested and all returned negative results advised federal health minister Greg Hunt. This was following news that a contractor had done work at the facility and later tested positive.

Cases as far travelled as Bryon Bay, Gold Coast, Toowoomba and Gladstone. Two patients with COVID in the Gold Coast University Hospital, one in Toowoomba hospital and one in Bundaberg hospital.

Since the pandemic had started there had been 1,571 cases in Queensland, seven deaths and 2,485,240 tests had been carried out.

There were now 20 active cases in the state.

For the government the indications were if the numbers held the three day lockdown would be enough.

In January Prime Minister Scott Morrison had put forward the goal of having four million vaccinations carried out by the end of March.

On the eve of reaching that timeframe there was bound to be talk of the fact that the target had not been reached – not even close at 670,349 doses admnistered.

There were not even 4 million doses in the country yet which may be the crucial issue. There had been 3.8 million doses ordered to arrive during this timeframe and instead only 700,000 had. We were up to just under 50,000 doses a day.

It was looking highly unlikely an earlier stated goal of everyone receiving their first dose by the end of October would transpire.

Agricultural Minister David Littleproud put some of the problems at the state level when being interviewed on Channel 9 News.

“We have made it very clear to them, have confidence in the supply chain — we have plenty coming through, you cannot leave them in the rack, you’ve got to put them in people’s arms,” he argued.

“They have done three-fifths of bugger all.”

ABC The Drum - @ABCthedrum Twitter Analytics - Trendsmap

This started a war of words between state and federal leaders of all political persuasions.

“Queensland is releasing its vaccine numbers every day. We do not see that from the federal government. If the states are releasing their figures every day I think it’s only fair, fair and reasonable, that the federal government releases their figures every day. We need to have guaranteed supply and we need to have guaranteed times of delivery,” said Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.

Queensland had completed 89% of 1A vaccinations for frontline workers.

Pfizer vaccines were being used there which required a second dose to be given three weeks later.

“We do have to make sure that if we give the first dose that we can give the second dose. Although the Commonwealth has done their best to try and assure us that we would get those second doses, at the same time we’re getting information that supply is not progressing as we had hoped,” advised Dr Young.

For a change New South Wales and Queensland Premier were of a similar opinion.

What is extremely unfair is that when we are given 24 or 48 hours notice about how many new doses we’re getting. As you can appreciate, disseminating that within 24 hours or 48 hours is a difficult task. I want to put the facts on the table because it’s so important for us to not only vaccinate as many people as soon as possible, but also to make the vaccine available through multiple channels,” said New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the report was misleading. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Damian Shaw

“There is no point in delivering something to us a day ago or two day ago and saying you haven’t rolled them out. I am as angry as I have ever been in this 15 months of war against this virus,“ said New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

“Let’s get this really, really clear: The NSW government was asked to roll out 300,000 vaccinations to the groups in 1A and 1B. Of that we have done 100,000,” he said.

“The Federal Government was asked and is responsible for 5.5 million people and they have rolled out 50,000. I think the figures speak for themselves.”

“It’s a big job, we’re all doing it, the states and territories are doing it for their frontline workers, we’re doing it through the GP rollout,” advised Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1z8BdDqsOM

A year on from when the pandemic started to sweep the west. Back then we put into actions and waited to see how the first quarter would play out with our health care systems, our supplies, our economies, our way of live and our loved ones.

There have now been four such quarters. A full game if you and game two in the series had kicked off.

Where will this all end and on many people’s mind is maybe how and when?

How many people will die, lose their jobs and businesses, lose their health and when will this threat be out of our lives completely or at least greatly diminished.

We got the vaccine, this year will reveal if that is a game changer and a temporary or ongoing one. They say doctors live in the future, maybe they know.

I know that I do not.

But I remain grateful for all the good fortune I have been a recipient of, I look to do what little I can to help the less fortunate and to take solace in friends, families, some moments of joy and the idea that deeds however small matter. That if we can help each other and think of each other we will have the means to get through this.

It is not over but the first match in the series is.

As we close it, here is a little update.

On the 31st of March, 2021 the World Health Organisation reported 127,905,155 confirmed cases globally with a daily increase of 526,819.

There had been 2,798,278 deaths worldwide with a daily increase of 9,047.

Region March 2021

WHO Continents end of March

WHO Continents 2 end of March21

Australia end of march 2021.jpg

In Australia there had been 29,296 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 18. There had been 909 deaths.

China end of March21

In the People’s Republic of China where the virus had originated in Wuhan it was reported there had been 102,734 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 19. There had been 4,851 deaths.

Canada end of march 2021.jpg

In Canada there had been 971,715 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 6,311. There had been 22,900 deaths with a daily increase of 20. WIth over four million vaccinations Canada was starting to see an uptick in case numbers.

Iran end of March21

In Iran one of the first countries hit hard by the virus had suffered greatly in subsequent waves over the past year and another wave was coming. There had been 1,875,234 confirmed cases with a daily increase 10,250. There had been 62,569 deaths with a daily increase of 91.

6-12 end of march 2021.jpg

Poland end of March21

In Poland there had been 2,321,717 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 32,891. There had been 53,045 deaths with a daily increase of 653. The next day they reported 35,253 new cases, their highest recorded daily increase of cases. A week later on April 8 956 deaths were reported in one day, the highest daily record of new deaths due to the virus.

Colombia end of March 2021

In Colombia there had been 2,389,779 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 7,049. There had been 63,079 deaths with a daily increase of 124. The population of Colombia was 50 million.

Germany end of March 2021

In Germany there had been 2,808,873 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 17,051. There had been 76,342 deaths with a daily increase of 249.

Spain end of March 2021

In Spain there had been 3,282,047 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 7,202. There had been 76,424 deaths with a daily increase of 76. Spain was one of only nine countries that had reported more than 3 million cases at this point.

Turkey end of March 2021

In Turkey there had been 3,277,880 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 37,303. There had been 31,385 deaths with a daily increase of 155. As you can see above, cases were dramatically on the rise in the country.

Italy end of March 2021

In Italy there had been 3,561,012 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 16,055. There had been 108,879 deaths with a daily increase of 529.

Top 6 end of march 2021.jpg

UK end of march 2021.jpg

In the United Kingdom there had been 4,338,385 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 3,995. Thre had been a dramatic fall in new daily cases but only in the context of the recent devastating wave. In March last year when the virus shook the world, Britain reported 4,262 new daily cases on the 1st of April, 2020 for example. There had been 126,670 deaths with a daily increase of 55. Great Britain was one of only six countries that had reported more than four million cases.

Russia end of March 2021

In Russia there had been 4,545,095 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 8,275. There had been no let up in the daily death rates in the the country. There had been 98,850 deaths with a daily increase of 408.

France end of March 2021

In France there had been 4,510,870 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 29,575. There had been 94,763. deaths with a daily increase of 361. On the 5th of April there would be 66,794 new daily cases. Only one day recorded a higher increase in daily cases in the country and that was 86,794 on the 8th of November 2020.

India end of march 2021.jpg

In India there had been 12,149,335 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 53,480. There had been 162,468 deaths with a daily increase of 354. I am writing this on the 7th of May and the dramatic rise of cases has played out in a tragic way. It had already started here. India, Brazil and the United States of America are the only three countries that have reported more than 10 million cases in the world.

Brazil end of March 2021

In Brazil there had been 12,573,615 with a daily increase of 38,927. There had been 313,866 deaths with a daily increase of 1,660. On March 27th the country had reported their highest number of new daily cases with 100,158. The country recorded its highest daily number of deaths on the 10th of April with 4,249.

US end of march 2021.jpg

In the United States of America they reached more than 30 million cases with 30,033,063 with a daily increase of 64,599. There had been 545,051 deaths with a daily increase of 621. No country had suffered more than America this past year and new that over 135 million vacccine doses had been dispensed was cause for celebration but the daily new case numbers there were still high.

We were about to find out what protection the vaccine would grant against new strains and a new subsequent wave when it came.

I hoped it would be promising news.

I hope the worst of this is behind us.

It would come to be that that was not the case for India and others.

But we play on.

It is all we can do.

-Lloyd Marken

ONE YEAR EARLIER: March 31, 2020

Globally we passed over 750,000 confirmed cases and reached 36,522 dead.

On a more heartening note Karen became the Teddy Bear Lady in our local neighbourhood.

COVID-19 DIARY – SEEING IT THROUGH

Posted on by Lloyd Marken
Copyright Lloyd Marken.

March 29

The lockdown on Monday Night threw a spanner in the works of my plan to reach 100 kilometres by walking on the treadmill at my gym.

So I asked Karen if she would walk with me around our local neighbourhood. I was concerned about recording the distance accurately and covering a lot of distance.

As we walked along I would decide we would go just one more street over, we won’t go here we change direction down there. We won’t stop here, we’ll go up to the petrol station.

I was concerned we were only covering five kilometres the first night but when I went back and went step by step on Google Maps we had covered much more. Karen of course already knew that.

Karen walked with me as I limped along over those two nights. I’m not sure I could have done it without her.

The first night we covered 7.6 kilometres walking for two hours and twenty minutes.

The first night we reached the end of the Kokoda Track.

Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Karen and I. Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.

March 30

Tuesday we did the first proper day of the second snap lockdown. I worked from home.

There were eight new locally acquired cases in Brisbane.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital it was announced would go into lockdown.

“In light of recent cases of COVID-19 that have been linked to the ward 5D at Princess Alexandra (PA) Hospital, a decision has been made for PA hospital to go into lockdown today,” Queensland’s Metro South Hospital and Health Service confirmed in a statement.

“As a precautionary measure, we are continuing to test all staff that have worked in ward 5D at PA Hospital between midday Friday, March 19 and 4:00pm Sunday, March 28.”

Ward 5D is the PA Hospital’s infectious diseases ward. 

Two clusters of cases involved PA staff.

One linking back to the Doctor from the PA from March 12 that led to a landscaper testing positive on on March 25th and now a nurse who possibly got it from a returned traveller from India but had not had direct contact with the patient. The nurse from the PA and her sister had recently been in Bryon Bay for a Hen’s Party.

The Health Minister advised at the time of these cases not enough health workers had received their full vaccinations.

14,589 peole got tested.

For the first time masks were mandatory across the state.

Mater Mother’s hospital sent home staff, one of the new cases had been to the maternity ward recently.

With cases having travelled as far as Bryon Bay and Gladstone and with a few new daily cases it remained to be seen if the snap lockdown would end on Thursday night on the eve of the Easter weekend.

In Toowoomba one school had shut down since many of its teachers had recently been to Brisbane and were in lockdown. There was one case of COVID in Toowoomba hospital.

“This virus has not gone away, it is circulating we know in the Brisbane area, at least, so people should be taking those precautions of the COVID-safe behaviours that we’ve been saying all along — keep your physical distance, remember your cough etiquette, wash your hands often, all of these things remain important,” said Australia’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly.

On Tuesday night Karen and I walked together again to complete my March On Campaign for the charity Soldier On which helps veterans.

I promised the walk would be shorter than the previous night but it was still 4.4 kilometres covered in 1 hour and twenty five minutes.

I got past my intended goal of 100 killometres with 103 kilometres covered during the month of March.

I would now rest up my hammy and wait for the gyms to re-open.

As we closed out the month, I absolutely couldn’t believe it but $270 had been raised by my donors which was very humbling and good news for our veterans who needed and deserved our help.

Defence Annual Report 2003-04 :: Chapter One :: Year in Review :: Operation Anode :: Photograph 4

There were 6,268 participants in the March On campaign.

They raised $1,549,576 dollars for veterans and covered 483,060 kilometres.

Amongst them was Soldier On patron 102 year old World War II veteran Sgt Bert who walked 159 kilometres himself during the March On campaign.

Soldier On, was a not for profit charity founded in 2012 to support veterans by John Bale, Cavin Wilson and Danielle Clout. Bale had been close friends with Lieutenant Michael Fussell who was killed in Afghanistan. Three thousand veterans and their families are supported by the charity with a holistic approach to their physical and mental wounds with employment programs, health and wellbeing services, learning and participation activities.

-Lloyd Marken

Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.
Copyright Lloyd Marken.

ONE YEAR EARLIER: March 30, 2020

Jobkeeper is introduced in Australia and hospital ship UNSN Comfort enters New York City harbour. A field hospital is built in Central Park.

COVID-19 DIARY – YOU BIG STUPID LUG

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

Brisbane, Australia, satellite image - Stock Image - E780/1259 - Science Photo Library

March 27

I spent most of Saturday recovering from my torn hammy but it made me restless.

I watch some shows on Youtube that focus on pop culture. A lot of them covered Godzilla vs Kong which had just come out.

I also needed to get back out to the gym to complete my 100 kilometres for the March On campaign for Soldier On.

So I I left for a late night session by myself at Chermside cinemas.

I expected not many people to be there but much to my shock there were many people. Hardly near full capacity but easily over half. I limped along with my torn hammy and wondered what the hell I had gotten myself into.

I sat there slowly bubbling with shame as the film continually failed to engage me.

What the fuck was I doing there? How could I be so stupid.

On some level I believed we should be in lockdown so I was directly contradicting myself and for no good reason. I was following the health guidelines but not my own reasoning.

I hadn’t thought this through. Still it was just one case for the moment.

Afterwards I went to the gym.

However after I got back home from the gym Karen informed me there was new scare.

One new case had been reported on Saturday following 6,881 tests on Friday.

A friend of the landscaper case from yesterday.

But while that person had been waiting to get test resutls and been told to isolate the man had held a party with 25 people in attendance – apparently!

And I had just gone to the movies with a bunch of people from the local area.

I highly doubted I was at risk but it just felt dumb to have gone. The movie had been far from worth it.

Other Australian states moved to protect themselve from Queensland’s concerns.

Travellers who left with one rules for entering WA landed five hours later to find they needed to go into self quarantine.

At a Australian Football League game the previous night in Geelong supporters of the Brisbane Lions who had travelled to Victoria for the game were told to leave the stadium immediately and get tested and sef isolate by signs around the grounds.

Victorian health alert over Brisbane coronavirus case sees Lions fans told to leave AFL clash with Geelong - ABC News

This applied throughout Victoria to all Queenslanders who had been to contract listed sites on the prescribed dates. You only had to isolate until you returned a negative test.

In the Northern Territory it was a similar situation except you had 72 hours to get tested and isolate.

In South Australia anyone from the affected LGAs had to get tested and self isolate.

New South Wales and Tasmania prohibited Queenslanders who had been to the contract listed locations from entering unless they were essential travellers. If you were already in those states you had to get tested and self isolate until you received results. 

With 71 active cases in Queensland, it was reported that hospitalisations were as high as they had been at the peak of the pandemic last year. The Queensland government wanted hotel quarantine numbers to be halved in the state.

It is also interesting to watch unbroken press conferences with our leaders.

As other state governments ramped up precautions in light of the news coming out of Brisbane, Queesnland itself did not make any changes.

Why?

Interestingly enough Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk called on the federal government to offer aid to north queensland tourism operators as Jobkeeper was coming to an end.

I wondered…

To most of us, it was obvious a lockdown would occur but what would be the trigger?

A new case out in the community for several days had previously done it but… not this time.

Now another new case with a party thrown into the mix and yet still a lockdown was not called.

March 28

On Sunday came news actually that the party well it turned out to just be four housemates. Not twenty five people. This was far from what might have been called in my day a hootenanny.

Questions were asked by journalists but nobody had any clear answers for them and nobody seemed to want to take responsibility except to say that was in the brief and a mistake must have been made.

The Premier, the Chief Health Officer or the Health Minister couldn’t help beyond that.

Mistakes happen I guess, in a way it was nice to see them not just throw some staffer or public servant under the bus but it made me sad to see yet again the narrative of news cycles quickly move on rather than just asking that questions be answered.

With over 11,000 new tests having been carried out the previous day there were three new cases in the state, two from hotel quarantine and one in the community. A brother of one of the new cases.

That night I went back to the gym and walked on the treadmill for the March On campaign for Soldier On. 

Some good news just quickly.

Without going into details, older parents of friends, family and work collegues and fellow bloggers of a certain age in Australia, Canada, United Kingdom and the United States of America had at this point been vaccinated.

Not my parents yet but nonetheless this was wonderful news.

Some of these people had underlying health conditions and it was such a relief to see that they had received vaccinations. It reminded us that maybe progress was getting made.

On the 28th of March, 2021 the World Health Organisation reported there had been 126,404,770 confirmed cases gloabally with a daily increase of 594,210.

There had been 2,771,779 deaths worldwide with a daily increase of 10,358.

In Australia there had been 29,252 confirmed cases with a daily increase of twelve. There had been 909 deaths.

In Canada there had been 956,655 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 5,093. There had been 22,826 deaths with a daily increase of 36.

Today's coronavirus news: Growing list of Canadian politicians in hot water over holiday travel; Death toll reaches 52 at Tendercare; U.S. hits 20 million mark in coronavirus cases | The Star

In the United Kingdom there had been 4,326,036 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 4,399. There had been 126,573 deaths with a daily increase of 58.

In India there had been 11,971,624 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 62,714. The next day India would reach 12 million cases with 12,039,644 and a daily increase of 68,020. There had been 161,552 deaths with a daily increase of 312.

In the United States of America there had been 29,859,706 with a daily increase of 71,187. There had been 543,003 deaths with a daily increase of 1,280.

-Lloyd Marken

ONE YEAR EARLIER: March 27,2020.

Having trialled one day working from home I would finish working in the office on Friday and head home not sure when I would return to the office. I would miss my colleagues.

That night hotel quarantine for Australians from overseas was announced.

The next day Karen worked bravely working a polling station during local council elections carried throughout our state.  

COVID-19 DIARY – PA LINK

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

Brisbane COVID-19 community transmission case puts city on alert after man visits multiple public venues while infectious - ABC News

March 26

Friday.

One new case in the Brisbane community got us thinking around the office we might be in for another lockdown in the next few days.

A young landscaper, the man had developed symptoms on Monday and tested positive yesterday.

He had been out in the community for at least five days.

Based on precdent it was becoming highly likely a lockdown was imminent and the Chief Health Officer did not rule it out at the day’s press conference.

Restrictions already in place since last Friday to have no visitors at aged care and disability facilities, hospitals and prisons were due to continue until at least the following Monday.

“We need to make sure we are socially distancing and where we can’t, to wear a mask. If you are in that vulnerable cohort, maybe stay at home for the next three days until we understand exactly what is happening here,” advised the Queensland Premier.

Queensland's latest COVID-19 case linked to Princess Alexandra Hospital cluster

A list of contract tracing sites were also announced including those at the Carindale Shopping Centre on the southside of twon as well as a host of shops on the northside of town like Newmarket, Everton Park, Alderley, Stafford as far away as Redcliffe.

As what was becoming habit I texted people if I knew any of these places were areas they regularly or semi regularly attended.

“Outdoors we know is really low risk, so let’s go out and really enjoy the outdoors this weekend,” advised Dr Jeanette Young.

What the fuck?

“[But] most importantly of all, everyone, please stay home if you’re sick, as this gentleman did who’s tested positive. Come forward and get tested so we know what’s going on so we can contact trace,” she added.

We were up to 69 active cases in the state including six in hotel quarantine with three of them from Papua New Guinea.

7,584 tests had been carried out in the past twenty four hours.

Genomic testing later revealed that day that the landscaper’s case was linked to the Princess Alexander doctor’s case and of the B117 ‘UK’ strain.

Brisbane hospital locked down after doctor tests positive for COVID-19 - ABC News

“Anyone identified as a close contact will be contacted by the Public Health Unit and required to quarantine. The detail from the genomic testing is getting faster and better — we know that the gentleman who tested positive on late Thursday night was highly contagious. We therefore cannot afford to be complacent — if you have any COVID symptoms at all, please come forward and get tested,” requested Dr Jeanette Young.

Yet we didn’t go into lockdown.

I didn’t dwell on this though as my torn hammy quickly took up my thoughts.

Hamstring GIFs | Tenor

“Can I just make some observations? People are not social distancing, Please, we are still in the midst of a pandemic. Now is not the time to break our social distancing, our good hand hygiene and the handshakes,” advised Premier Palaszczuk.

In the larger context of what has transpired across the world this rings very true.

Case numbers didn’t dip in European countries earlier this year that hadn’t carried out lockdowns.

The UK that didn’t rush out of lockdown and has been more gradual and did.

In the States with a massive vaccine roll out case numbers have still been remarkably high with 50,000 new cases a day regularly.

Texas hits 1 million Covid-19 cases, the most in the nation

In India and Brazil no lockdown and look.

That does not provide all the answers and I don’t claim to be an expert. For example the Indian government moved quickly into a far ranging and significant lockdown when case numbers were still relatively low last year and still sufferred greatly with 10 million cases and thousands of deaths.

No wonder there was a relucatance on the part of some Indians to go into lockdown again.

However a lockdown could hardly supress spread in slums where one bathroom is shared by eighty people.

So no I don’t pretend to have answers but I always go back to the basics. It’s something we can do and if it has a chance of helping its better than looking for ways to not to do it.

Ignoring the risk doesn’t seem to have helped very often – in fact quite the opposite.

Papua New Guinea only has about 500 doctors for 9 million people. Now it's dealing with a Covid outbreak - CNN

In Port Moresby, Papua New Guiea the capital’s hospitals was beyond capacity. Temporary field hospitals were being set up.

Australia and Papua New Guinea have a long history together. For most Australians the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angels came to mind. Natives who acted as porter and guides for the Australians on the Kokoda track during World War II. Now could Australia be the angels who supported PNG in their time of crisis?

The Unnoticed Death of Our last Fuzzy Wuzzy Angel - Tasmanian Times

Australia sent 8,000 vaccines to Port Moresby along with medical equipment that included testing equipment but it was believed this would not be enough.

There were already many Australians there on the ground doing what they could alongside the local Papua New Guinea health care heroes.

The PNG government closed schools and restricted travel but housebound lockdowns were not possible in such a country for all.

“I think it would be too ambitious to say we can stop this plague at this point in time. The tipping point was probably four weeks ago,” advised Matthew Cannon, CEO of St John Ambulance PNG.

As the spread throughout PNG continued, it prompted the Queensland government to fast track vaccinations through the Torres Strait.

Fear PNG spread may spawn new virus mutations

Dr Mangu Kendino, an Emergency Department doctor, advised 10 per cent of hospital staff had caught COVID and that was just in the past month.

“We only have 450 maybe 500 doctors here in Papau New Guinea. That’s one doctor to 17,000 people, you compare that to New South Wales that has a similar population of eight million and that’s 24,500 doctors at least,” explained Matthew Cannon, CEO of St John Ambulance PNG.

Testing capacity was minimal and took up to ten days to get results – far too long.

“These health care workers are now the frontline for COVID 2 and if they’re getting infected and passing it onto their families and other patients and if they get sick there is no one to replace them.” told Dr Alison Brown of Australian Doctors International.

“Would it crash the health care system… I can’t say for certain. But has it stretched us thin – yes. And are we struggling? Yes,” said Dr Kendino.

On the 26th of March 2021, the World Health Organisation reported in Papua New Guinea there had been 4,965 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 305. There had been 39 deaths.

-Lloyd Marken

ONE YEAR EARLIER: March 26, 2020.

In India Prime Minister Narendra Modi ordered the country into a 21 day lockdown forcing everybody to isolate at home. The World Health Organisation reported in India there were 649 cases with a daily increase of 43. The number of dead in the country were 13 with a daily increase of three.

COVID-19 DIARY – ROLL OUT ROLL UP – PART II

Posted on by Lloyd Marken

Timeline for Townsville's first COVID-19 vaccinations revealed | Townsville Bulletin

February 22

The first Queenslander to receive a COVID vaccine in my home state was Gold Coast nurse Zoe Park. The nurse who worked in a COVID ward received a Pfizer jab on monday morning with an estimated 180 receipients following her the same day.

The nurse didn’t mince words about the impact of the disease or the relief the added safety of the vaccine could mean for frontline workers.

“It’s a very serious thing – I’ve seen families being torn apart from it. It’s really, it’s really sad what it has done to the patients affected and their families,” Park said.

“It’s really scary for healthcare workers to be going home and potentially exposing their family to that as well, so (the vaccine is) very exciting,” the nurse added.

It had been over one year since the 28th of January when the first case of COVID-19 had been confirmed in Queensland and the patient put into isolation at the Gold Coast University Hospital. 

On the day of the first vaccine being administered in the state there had been 1,323 cases all up, 1,912,189 tests administered and six deaths.

But now there was hope.

It was amazing to think what a difference a year makes.

Dr Jeannette Young stands smiling as she walks through Gold Coast University Hospital.

“I desperately, desperately hoped this would be where we’d be. I didn’t think we’d reach it, so today is just absolutely fantastic. Just over a year to be vaccinating the first person is … I’m lost for words and I’m not often lost for words — it is just brilliant,“ said Queensland Chief Health Officer Dr Jeanette Young.

“This is the answer: we have five million Queenslanders here and if we want to keep five million Queenslanders safe, we need you to get vaccinated,” Queensland Health Minister Yvette D’Ath said.

“One down, five million minus one to go,” added Dr Young.

Wednesday would see vaccines dispersed in Brisbane and Friday the first ones in Cairns.

The aim was for 1,000 vaccinations to be administered this first week but more like 10,000 the following week which would also include vaccinations occuring at the Townsville University Hospital, the Sunshine Coast University Hospital and my old stomping ground the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

This was the start of the roll out of category 1A to cover 125,000 peopl  which included health care workers, border and hotel quarantine staff.

There were two new cases reported in Queensland bringing the total to 7 active cases in the state.

With a population of 25 million the majority of Australian were scheduled to receive the AztraZeneca vaccine which would be producted locally by CSL Ltd by the middle of March. It was expected 4 million Australian would be vaccinated by the end of March and all by the end of October.

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In Victoria 100 frontline health care workers were vaccinated at Monash Health, the site and staff who had treated Australia’s very first COVID-19 patient.

Nurse Manager Rachel Hogben was one of those vaccinated, the woman who had been tasked with leading the care of 35 COVID patients at the height of the second wave in Victoria.

“We’re now on the offensive you know we’re no longer acting defensively against this. We’re actually on the offensive and it’s an amazing day,” Nurse Hogben said.

An amazing day and an amazing person.

I have been heartened by the sights of initial vaccinations and which have shown so many of the nurses and doctors who put it on the line for their communities now being offered the first real protection we could provide them. They deserve that but they also deserve our thanks. They deserve monuments and medals and tickertape parades but most of all they deserve whatever they need because they have given us everything they have.

The World Health Organisation reported on the 22nd of February, 2021 there had been 28,9626 confirmed cases with a daily increase of six. There had been 909 deaths.

In the United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson set a roap map for coming out of lockdown.

It involved four steps spaced five weeks apart each, the intention was not go back on any of them but Boris allowed that they may to.

Step 1 which obviously caught my attention was on the 8th of March all schools will re-open with outdoor sports allowed. Two people could share a coffee, drink or picnic in a park too.

I obviously not happy about this, teachers I knew in England did not have a snow ball’s chance of receiving their first jab before May and the reactions by schools to COVID cases over the winter made me all too aware of the potential risk those that I cared about were facing.

The BBC reported pupils can access tests and be required to face coverings in classrooms and shared spaces like corridors.

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It was also scheduled for the 29th of March, 2021 and would allow outdoor gatherings of six people and between two households. Tennis and baseketball courts would also re-open.

Step 2 on the 12th of April, it was intended non-essential retail, shops, hairdressers, gyms, swimming pools, public libraries, caravan parks and camp sites and outdoor hospitality like zoos, beer gardens, theme parks and bottleos could re-open.

Funerals could occur with 30 people and weddings with 15.

However there would be no visits between households in doors.

The hospitality curfews woudl end and a revew of international travel restrictions would be announced.

throwing papers up in the air gif | WiffleGif

Step 3 on the 17th of May, two households could visit each other and gatherings of six friends in a pub could take place.

Outdoors gathering could be as large as 30 people.

Thirty was also the number allowed at weddings, funerals and wakes.

Cinemas, musuems, hotels, sporting and performance arts venues would re-open with social distance measures in place. Upt to 10,000 spectators could attend football stadiums.

As mentioned by Beetley Pete at the time there was talk of vaccine passports to help indoor venues to re-open safely. 

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Before Step 4 took place, scheduled for the 21st of June, there would be a review of long term measures like mask wearing and social distancing of one metre plus. Also to be looked at was the working from home guidelines, visitors for aged care residents, remaining restrictions for weddings and funerals and opening up of live music venues and nightclubs.

Rate of vaccinations, new cases and new variants would inform all decisions. 

“No credible route to a zero-Covid Britain nor indeed a zero-Covid world,” Johnson said.

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Certainly not at the rate he was going. Despite this the lockdown had been in effect for qutie some time and had not seen an immediate rush out of it following lower numbers. Some coverage here in Australia showed people living in England fatigured by it and over it. I had been very grateful for it. I believe it had saved lives.

Professor Neil Ferguson of the Imperial College London publicly stated the roadmap struck the right balance but warned re-opening schools increased the risk of further cases.

UK Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance said the five week gap was important and that measures such face coverings, hand washing and self isolation may be needed during the following winter.

The BBC reported there had been over 17 million first jabs administered.

The World Health Organisation reported on the 22nd of February there had been in the UK 4,122,421 confirmed cases with a daily increase of 8,050. There had been 120,580 deaths with a daily increase of 215.

-Lloyd Marken