Has the new Omicron variant delay the restart of cruising?

[Peacefulness]

Today's numbers so far...

NSW: 45,098 cases and nine deaths; 1,795 people in hospital, including 145 in ICUs

Victoria: 51,356 cases and nine deaths; 644 people in hospital, including 106 in ICUs 😬

 

Where do we go from here?

Given the initial topic heading, I say our politicians are going to allow cruising to begin again in NSW and Victoria very soon. 

It seems that the politicians have no desire to stop the spread of the virus in NSW and Victoria. They'll discuss the vaccination rates and booster-shot rates and ignore the crisis that has been passed-on to the individual to manage. I feel sad for those who cannot work from home. I feel sad for those who have children that have to attend school very shortly, and they are too young to get vaccinations. I feel sad for those who are and will suffer from long-covid and cannot go back to work or engage in everyday life. 

Clearly, what we classify as 'normal life' has to drastically change or... this is going to be our (humans) existential event. 

What really is 'normal life' if not what is happening right now? 

How can we assume that 'normal life' is what happened in the past?

In my humble opinion (IMHO), we all need to stop pretending that life can go back to a point in time, sometime in the past.

Perhaps, this is the natural environment pushing us humans to consider and discard the superfluous activities that we were engaged in before the pandemic.

IMHO, I think we in Australia have been so lucky since the pandemic began. We've been isolated from the worst of it so far. Now we're starting to see what it must have been like for the rest of the world in 2020 and 2021.

Tania

[Russell21]

In rough figures NSW has 6 million people over 15, and about 93% are supposed to be double vaccinated, so that leaves 420,000 unvaccinated free to get the virus, with an unknown number getting it even double vacced. So what is the panic? Any reasonable person should have expected this amount of infection to happen when the restrictions were eased, not that some obeyed them anyway.

Edited January 8, 2022 by Russell21

[gogo65]

The restrictions were eased just before Omicron let loose, I think modelling was done on delta that was much less infective.

I dont believe Dom would have changed his mind, but I think that other states may have had second thoughts.

The panic is the hospital situation, the loss of staff across all industries, business closing due to lack of staff.

 

Please dont forget about the under 12’s but particularly the under 5’s having no option to protect themselves, the babies are doing it tough…..

[Cruisegroover]

Interesting article here - COVID-19 Spreads to 89 Cruise Ships, Prompting a U.S. CDC Investigation  - (numerous publications carrying the same story) and I now believe CDC saying every single ship operating from the US now have Covid onboard.

 

https://time.com/6131901/covid-19-cruise-ships/

 

 

And from RCL website 

Cancelled Sailings

Last updated January 7th, 2022

As a result of the ongoing COVID-related circumstances around the world, and in an abundance of caution, Royal Caribbean International is pausing operations for the following ships:

• Vision of the Seas’ return to cruising is postponed until March 7, 2022

• Serenade of the Seas sailings from January 8 – March 5, returning after dry dock on April 26, 2022

• Jewel of the Seas sailings from January 9 – February 12, returning on February 20, 2022

• Symphony of the Seas sailings from January 8 – January 22, returning on January 29, 2022

We regret having to cancel our guests’ long-awaited vacations and appreciate their loyalty and understanding. Our top priority is always the well-being of our guests, our crew and the communities we visit.

[Russell21]

17 minutes ago, gogo65 said:

The restrictions were eased just before Omicron let loose, I think modelling was done on delta that was much less infective.

I dont believe Dom would have changed his mind, but I think that other states may have had second thoughts.

The panic is the hospital situation, the loss of staff across all industries, business closing due to lack of staff.

 

Please dont forget about the under 12’s but particularly the under 5’s having no option to protect themselves, the babies are doing it tough…..

I totally agree with what you are saying, and I certainly have not forgotten the defenceless ones. The point I wanted to make, after 2 years and lockdown 12345 etc, it has shown that the virus had to be taken on face to face, lockdowns were only delaying the face to face which has had to eventually happen. Either the chemists will, or the human body will, find the appropriate resistance to this virus or we will have an involuntary thinning of the excessive population that exists now. Sounds brutal but it is a fact.

[Aus Traveller]

25 minutes ago, Russell21 said:

I totally agree with what you are saying, and I certainly have not forgotten the defenceless ones. The point I wanted to make, after 2 years and lockdown 12345 etc, it has shown that the virus had to be taken on face to face, lockdowns were only delaying the face to face which has had to eventually happen. Either the chemists will, or the human body will, find the appropriate resistance to this virus or we will have an involuntary thinning of the excessive population that exists now. Sounds brutal but it is a fact.

I believe that if Australia had let the virus rip through the community in the early stages, we would have han enormous death toll and also tens of thousands of people with long-COVID. They may never be able to work in the future because of ill-health. With the delay, we have had time for vaccines to be developed and administered and the Omicron variant that has now become dominant, isn't as deadly as the original version and particularly, not as bad as Delta.

[Peacefulness]

Here's an article from ABC News published yesterday. Not sure how true this is -

WHO says Delta COVID-19 strain is still dominant globally and Omicron is not mild - ABC News

Tania

[OzKiwiJJ]

2 hours ago, gogo65 said:

The restrictions were eased just before Omicron let loose, I think modelling was done on delta that was much less infective.

I dont believe Dom would have changed his mind, but I think that other states may have had second thoughts.

The panic is the hospital situation, the loss of staff across all industries, business closing due to lack of staff.

 

Please dont forget about the under 12’s but particularly the under 5’s having no option to protect themselves, the babies are doing it tough…..

The numbers had been increasing for about a week, from the fairly steady average over the previous couple of months, before the restrictions were eased. In fact on the day they were eased the number of cases jumped to 1347, a significant hike from the previous day of 795. 

 

I agree, it was fairly obvious Dom wasn't going to change his mind, and it was also obvious that he really had no clue about what would happen to the health system as cases ramped up. He was so sure the health system would cope. From what I read elsewhere him, or possibly Hazzard, were ignoring advice from Dr Kerry Chant and other health experts. He was following the Coalition party line of economy before health without any thought as to what would really happen, even though economic experts were predicting exactly what is happening now. Go figure! 

 

It must be very scary for those with young families. It's bad enough for us oldies but at least we have some protection from the vaccine, especially after having the booster, but kids are so much at risk despite most having naturally good immune systems. 

[OzKiwiJJ]

1 hour ago, Aus Traveller said:

I believe that if Australia had let the virus rip through the community in the early stages, we would have han enormous death toll and also tens of thousands of people with long-COVID. They may never be able to work in the future because of ill-health. With the delay, we have had time for vaccines to be developed and administered and the Omicron variant that has now become dominant, isn't as deadly as the original version and particularly, not as bad as Delta.

Exactly. We have had time to prepare for the onslaught of the virus but it will still take some toll in other areas such as the economy as businesses are affected by staff shortages etc.

 

Hopefully the reports of Omicron peaking swiftly then easing quickly are correct. If so, with a bit of luck we could be over this outbreak by the end of February (please?). 

[MicCanberra]

Keeping the grandkids out of harm is our priority, we are laying low and our kids are doing the same, that way we can stay relatively safe in our own family bubble.

[NSWP]

Personally I believe the lockdowns should have continued with restrictions on regional travel. The movement of so many people from the big cities to regional areas for holidays etc has caused a huge problem.  NSW Govt has let this get away from them, now it is a disaster, likewise Victoria, Qld and ACT to a lesser degree.

[OzKiwiJJ]

10 minutes ago, NSWP said:

Personally I believe the lockdowns should have continued with restrictions on regional travel. The movement of so many people from the big cities to regional areas for holidays etc has caused a huge problem.  NSW Govt has let this get away from them, now it is a disaster, likewise Victoria, Qld and ACT to a lesser degree.

I don't think the hard lockdowns should have continued but there still should have been restrictions - masks, venue numbers, essential shopping only for the unvaccinated etc. And there definitely should have been travel restrictions despite Christmas.

 

But I'm happy to be able to get regular hair cuts again.

[MicCanberra]

The lessons to learn were all there from overseas experiences and yet they were ignored. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is stupidity.

[NSWP]

2 hours ago, MicCanberra said:

The lessons to learn were all there from overseas experiences and yet they were ignored. Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome is stupidity.

Spot on Mic, now we are in the same  boat as USA and UK, in deep trouble.

[ollyoeno]

9 hours ago, NSWP said:

Spot on Mic, now we are in the same  boat as USA and UK, in deep trouble.

 

Those economies are circulating and trading. Australia is isolating.

 

Who's in more trouble?

[MicCanberra]

2 hours ago, ollyoeno said:

 

Those economies are circulating and trading. Australia is isolating.

 

Who's in more trouble?

I don't know as the dead can't  talk

[Peacefulness]

A good article to read  Australia has gone from COVID control to chaos. So what now? Two paths lie before us (sbs.com.au) on our situation right now.

Another article on 'long COVID' which I don't think anyone is really considering much right now 'From Wonder Woman to nothing': The reality of having long COVID (sbs.com.au)

 

[By The Bay]

1 hour ago, Peacefulness said:

A good article to read  Australia has gone from COVID control to chaos. So what now? Two paths lie before us (sbs.com.au) on our situation right now.

Another article on 'long COVID' which I don't think anyone is really considering much right now 'From Wonder Woman to nothing': The reality of having long COVID (sbs.com.au)

 

Thanks for the link. No leadership, it is: "look after yourself".

[ilikeanswers]

6 hours ago, Peacefulness said:

A good article to read  Australia has gone from COVID control to chaos. So what now? Two paths lie before us (sbs.com.au) on our situation right now

 

"But COVID will never be endemic. It will always be an epidemic infection, with recurrent epidemic waves." 

 

That is a very good point the author makes. There is such an assumption in the media that Covid will become endemic just because it is a cousin to the cold virus. But it is still its own disease so it could also go the way of small pox where it comes back again in waves of outbreaks. 

[Blackduck59]

43 minutes ago, ilikeanswers said:

 

"But COVID will never be endemic. It will always be an epidemic infection, with recurrent epidemic waves." 

 

That is a very good point the author makes. There is such an assumption in the media that Covid will become endemic just because it is a cousin to the cold virus. But it is still its own disease so it could also go the way of small pox where it comes back again in waves of outbreaks. 

 

Oops you probably chose the wrong infection, WHO declared that particular one eradicated in 1980 and there have been no naturally occurring cases since 1977. Perhaps try Bubonic plague.

[MMDown Under]

On 12/8/2021 at 10:54 AM, NSWP said:

But one has to get tested for covid before entering that hallowed ground up north, the Queen said.

 

Can you imagine the traffic delays at the checkpoints which are still going to operate? 

Just the RAT test now.  Both daughters recently drove back from NSW - 1 waited ten minutes at NSW Tweed border on Friday, the other waited 25 mins on Sunday (during school holidays).

[ccsclean21]

On 1/8/2022 at 12:07 PM, Peacefulness said:

Today's numbers so far...

NSW: 45,098 cases and nine deaths; 1,795 people in hospital, including 145 in ICUs

Victoria: 51,356 cases and nine deaths; 644 people in hospital, including 106 in ICUs 😬

 

Where do we go from here?

Given the initial topic heading, I say our politicians are going to allow cruising to begin again in NSW and Victoria very soon. 

It seems that the politicians have no desire to stop the spread of the virus in NSW and Victoria. They'll discuss the vaccination rates and booster-shot rates and ignore the crisis that has been passed-on to the individual to manage. I feel sad for those who cannot work from home. I feel sad for those who have children that have to attend school very shortly, and they are too young to get vaccinations. I feel sad for those who are and will suffer from long-covid and cannot go back to work or engage in everyday life. 

Clearly, what we classify as 'normal life' has to drastically change or... this is going to be our (humans) existential event. 

What really is 'normal life' if not what is happening right now? 

How can we assume that 'normal life' is what happened in the past?

In my humble opinion (IMHO), we all need to stop pretending that life can go back to a point in time, sometime in the past.

Perhaps, this is the natural environment pushing us humans to consider and discard the superfluous activities that we were engaged in before the pandemic.

IMHO, I think we in Australia have been so lucky since the pandemic began. We've been isolated from the worst of it so far. Now we're starting to see what it must have been like for the rest of the world in 2020 and 2021.

Tania

My business has gone to crap because this nsw government decided we needed a 3 month lock down then this new premier decided we need to open the international borders to get businesses running, look at nsw now, everyone is too sick to run the businesses.  We nearly had the Delta strain under control after the 3 month lockdown, now we have hundreds of thousands sick. That 3 month lockdown was a waste of time. If the Premier wants to get international businesses in then he should open the borders for cruise ships as they bring in business. I can't see the difference between people coming in by plane and people coming by ship they all bring in business which is what this government wants. 

[ilikeanswers]

33 minutes ago, Blackduck59 said:

Oops you probably chose the wrong infection, WHO declared that particular one eradicated in 1980 and there have been no naturally occurring cases since 1977. Perhaps try Bubonic plague.

 

No I meant Small Pox. Though I suppose Bubonic Plague could also fit. Small Pox was around for about 3000 years before it was eradicated. In all that time it never became endemic. You would just have these waves of outbreaks that would travel across communities and once it went through all the immune naive there would be a lull until more babies were born and there was a whole set of immune naive for the virus to restart another outbreak.

 

Unfortunately our immunity to Covid does wane which means we can end up in a similar situation where enough immunity wanes or varients stronger than our immunity evolves and it would just be constant waves of outbreak rather than what we are hoping for that it just becomes mildly irritating like the cold. It feels like governments are crossing their fingers and placing all their bets on it going the way of the 1918 Influenza and just disappear and no one is considering what if it becomes the new Small Pox with different waves of outbreaks? 

Edited January 10, 2022 by ilikeanswers

[Porky55]

Just for interest - have been following the Viking Star WC - left FL on 24 Dec to LA, have had up to 19 cases of Covid on board so far, but the ships protocols of isolation have managed the outbreak superbly. As of yesterday only 6 cases remain in isolation.

 

They expect an up tick on these numbers when the next group of passengers board in LA today, they have separated these pax from the passengers who have been on board. This separation will continue until all the new pax RAT test results return. 
 

Every morning they all have to leave a completed RAT test in their room for the room steward to collect (Vikings are saliva tests) and they get their results each evening. ‘IF’ a positive, the pax and close contacts are all hustled off to the isolation deck. I think they only quarantine them for 5 days and a negative test. There are temperature screens at the entrance to all dining venues and hand sanitisers all over the ship.

 

I have been watching with great interest how they manage Covid, because there is so much bad press again about cruises being cancelled because they can’t manage. At least ONE cruise line needs to show that it’s possible!!

There are Aussies on board as well 🤠

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by Porky55

[MicCanberra]

Interesting, especially with the use of RAT tests each morning and how they are using them. I would have thought a positive result would  have them isolate immediately rather than that evening.