Reasons to take heart, despite the latest COVID-19 news
The resurgence of significant local COVID-19 transmission has anxiety levels elevated. Just as our community celebrated the Winter solstice welcoming back the return of the sun... there's an uptick in confirmed local cases.
We reached out to our local Green's Party MP, Dr Tim Read, to get his thoughts on some of the reassuring aspects of the current situation. We feel it's important to share some of the points we discussed that made us feel dramatically more positive about where we are now, as opposed to 3 months ago when we were facing the unknown and locking down.
1. Improved Contact Tracing
The contact tracing teams focused on investigating and isolating any identified cases are now far more tried and tested than in the early days. This means more rapid isolation of all cases and contacts and limiting the spread of infections from a confirmed case. This is one of the most crucial factors in terms of the ongoing long-term management of the virus and one that we can be confident is operating efficiently and effectively.
2. We Know How To Lockdown
Everyone is looking out for everyone else. Who would have thought that social distancing could be introduced so quickly into our psyche? This means we can protect ourselves and others and continue to enjoy our amazing community ( minus the hugs and handshakes).
3. Hospital Capacity & Readiness
The hospital ramp up into attack readiness hasn't been needed, yet the capacity is there now if required to take care of significantly unwell cases. The curve was flattened and now we're well-positioned for any spikes.
4. The Children Really Seem To Be Best Off
As speculated early, the rate of significant infections in children continues to be low, they don't generally get as sick and they don't seem to spread the virus as broadly as adults. Which is fantastic.
5. COVIDSafe App
We see it as an important tool. Everyone should get it. Download it. Run it. Charge your phone cause it eats your battery. But that's manageable.