COVID update

The COVID Delta outbreak in Aotearoa New Zealand continues, with Auckland (where I live) and Northland being remaining in level 4 and the rest of the country moving to level 3 from Wednesday 1st September.

With level 4, everybody is meant to be staying in their homes to avoid exposure to others, but, in my observation of things, there are plenty of people out and about “exercising”. Apparently, exercising also extends to sitting down and taking a break, or stopping to talk to others, often maskless. Sigh! As we're advised, we should all be acting as if we have COVID - only leaving our homes for essential shopping and some exercise.

As I write this today (Sunday), there are 83 new cases in the community. These appear to be a combination of transmission within bubbles - so people who are already identified as cases infecting others within their bubbles - and infection of essential workers at their shared workplaces. While the transmission within bubbles seem unavoidable, the transmission between essential workers is worrying, and likely to prolong the lockdown.

John Hart (@farmgeek on Twitter) has been keeping track and graphing the daily numbers. It's nice to see that we appear to be “flattening the curve” though not as fast as some would have hoped. Though, perhaps the flat part will run for longer than hoped because of ongoing transmissions as mentioned above.

Unfortunately, the situation in Australia is getting worse, with 1,218 cases reported in NSW today. They have reported another 6 people dead, but over 800,000 people received a vaccine dose. Over the ditch they're aiming for 70% of the adult population being vaccinated then they'll lift restrictions.

A 70% vaccination rate is still woefully low on a population basis. I hope that we're aiming higher.

The reality is that with the Delta variant being so infectious, once we open up again it's likely that everybody will be exposed to it (or yet another variant!) at some point. When this happens it's going to be painfully clear the difference between those who have been vaccinated, and those who decided to take the risk and remain unvaccinated.

I know I'm generally preaching to the converted, but the vaccine is safe and effective, with serious side effects being very rare. And the rare side effects and also those of COVID itself, so it's far less risky to be vaccinated than to take your chances with COVID.

Mask exemptions

The anti-vaxxers and general “freedoms” bunch think they're being clever. It's now mandated that you must wear a mask when visiting a supermarket, unless you have an exemption.

Well this week, a woman in her 20s refused to wear one when visiting a supermarket. She produced a mask exemption document, which happened to be forged. The police turned up and arrested her. Charges are being considered under the Crimes Act.

An unfortunate death

You might remember back in May a high-profile BBC presenter - Lisa Shaw - died of a brain haemorrhage caused by a blood clot.

It's now been investigated by a coroner in the UK and confirmed that Shaw's death was likely a result of complications from the AstraZeneca COVID vaccine she'd received 3 weeks prior.

This really is a sad case, but will likely be used by anti-vaxxers, as a high profile case, to try to scare others away from taking vaccines.

Speaking of which...

Endless anti-vax "freedoms" promotion by VfF

As I've previously written, I keep an eye on the Voices for Freedom email channel. Over the past week they've been running "Freedom TV" everyday, trying to draw in new viewers, and even providing an email "template" with which to invite your unsuspecting friends down the rabbit hole with you.

Westland Mayor

In the past I've resisted poking fun (really, I have!) at some prominent individuals who come out with nonsensical, ridiculous pronouncements. But sometimes, it just gets to be too much.

This week, Bruce Smith, the mayor of Westland told us that he was sick of hearing from health experts about COVID -19, and thought business leaders should have more say!

He also has claimed that we should learn to live with COVID, just like our grandparents lived with Polio.

Luckily, Twitter user Richard Hills did a little research and uncovered the reality of NZ's past Polio outbreaks...

And, to top it all off, it seems that Bruce denies climate change, claiming that “The climate's been changing ever since I've been a kid”.

Image: Sketchplanations