Tasmania’s approach to the impact of the Covid-19 Virus
Recently I wrote to cancel asking that they increase their presence in protecting our community from the covid-19 virus. Here is what I wrote:
This is an open letter to Break O’Day Councillors and the General Manager
In the last couple of days I have become concerned as to our policies to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the Break O’Day municipality.
I have found it difficult to find out the level of preparedness or other measures as to how we are going to handle this epidemic as it enters our community.
I have come to assume that we do not have the ability to test for Covid-19 by swab tests not do we have ventilators or trained personnel in either the St. Mary’s Hospital, the St. Helens Hospital or the Medical Centre.
I believe the Health Department envisages that all new cases will be treated from here will be treated at Launceston General Hospital.
As there has been no communication to the public as to what does exist let us assume that what I am saying is true.
As present we have a limited lockdown in this community. At present anyone can travel on our roads. In the event one becomes infected it will probably be recommended that those persons go to Launceston to be assessed. Communication with Launceston escalates the risk of infection coming back into our community.
The talk now from the corona virus panel and others urges our communities to ‘go hard go now ‘ on lockdown.
If we are to do that then we need to not only self –isolate on a family basis but to self-isolate as a community. This would mean that we should close access to our municipality. Only essential items should be able to enter our community. If people choose to leave our community then they should go into self isolation until checked for the virus before returning. It does sound draconian but the alternative is the epidemic coming and potentially killing a lot of people.
These are the things I recommended :
In regard to closing our community all tourist accommodation should be closed. All tourists that are already here should go into self –isolation. An area should be set aside for those that have there own mobile accommodation such as a football oval or the free camping setups. We also need to get testing kits and training so that those needing an evaluation can be tested.
Travellers and other persons who have no reason wishing to enter our community should not be allowed. Again I stress entry should only be for those partaking in essential services. The roads should be monitored and temperature checking carried out.
In my opinion there needs to be a spokesperson who explains to the members of this community what measures have been taken and other issues in relation to constraining the spread of this virus. Regular updates reduce the fear and allow us the public to better understand what our role is in reducing the spread of this epidemic.
I attach a very informative document for your perusal. No one wants this epidemic and it’s effect are being repeated around the world. Hitting it hard might seem harsh in the short term but it has been shown that it can lead to recovery much quicker. I attach the conclusion of this article but please read the whole article.
Some countries, especially those that haven’t been hit heavily yet by the corona virus, might be wondering: Is this going to happen to me? The answer is: It probably already has. You just haven’t noticed. When it really hits, your healthcare system will be in even worse shape than in wealthy countries where the healthcare systems are strong. Better safe than sorry, you should consider taking action now.
‘For the countries where the coronavirus is already here, the options are clear.
On one side, countries can go the mitigation route: create a massive epidemic, overwhelm the healthcare system, drive the death of millions of people, and release new mutations of this virus in the wild.
On the other, countries can fight. They can lock down for a few weeks to buy us time, create an educated action plan, and control this virus until we have a vaccine.’
Yours sincerely Denis Buchanan Eureka Farm Scamander telephone 63725500
That was submitted to council on the 26th March . It was written after a discussion with the General Manager whose reply more or less said we are bound by the edicts prescribed by our Premier and hence the State Government. Well we have already seen many mistakes brushed over afterwards by the slow response of all the States to respond to this rapidly increasing peril. It is not reasonable that we wait until disaster strikes us. It is not reasonable that we just blindly accept the machinations of our government.
We have the right to air our opinions. We can’t stop this invasion. We know it is going to happen as it is already happening elsewhere in the world. We can however delay and put in procedures that best suit us. The economy is already buggered and nothing will revive it until we get a handle on this virus and its effect on our community.
What I said was my opinion. It could be all bullshit but everyone should have a say.