A friend asked: “Why blame Gladys?”
Because she should have locked down hard and early.
Unfortunately, she said on May 6 during a Sydney outbreak: "If this was Queensland or WA or anywhere else, they would have shut down the whole city, they would have shut down businesses...."
And on May 25 she doubled down by saying on Sky News: “I fear for Victoria and I worry about what their government may do. I hope we have demonstrated to other states that it is possible to manage an outbreak and not shut down a city and not stop businesses and not stop people from being employed and not stop people having a relatively normal existence.
“I hope it’s an example to other states that it is possible to manage an outbreak without causing grift the vast majority of people.”
It was obvious to many people that Berejiklian should have locked down early in the current outbreak.
On June 24 I posted: “Has Berejiklian's jibe from May 6 influenced her decision not to institute an early lockdown? ‘In other states, they would have locked down the whole city, they would have closed businesses, they would have stopped events, they would have said you can't dance at weddings,’ Ms Berejiklian said. ‘We're not doing any of that, this is a proportionate response to the risk.’ An inability to eat humble pie may lead to the outbreak being far worse than it would have been with early, decisive action.”
On June 26 the Bondi outbreak of 70 cases resulted in the start of a lockdown - but only in four local government areas instead of the whole of Sydney and the surrounding area.
Nearly a month later, on July 18, Channel 9 reported: “As the list of exposure sites grows, so too do the calls for all of Greater Sydney to be placed into lockdown. However, Ms Berejiklian remains defiant the current measure will be enough to control the outbreak…”
On July 18 Berejiklian relaxed south-west Sydney rules on workers despite 105 new cases, 27 of which had been out and about while infectious.
She just couldn’t bear to institute tough, widespread lockdowns after her earlier boasting - until it was way too late and she had no option.
And she had failed in her prime duty of safeguarding people’s lives and health by placing the economy as the prime objective of her strategy.
The NSW crisis is entirely of her own making.
I hope I’m wrong but I cannot see how the virus can be stopped from spreading across the country from NSW, leading to tough, long-lasting restrictions for all of us until most of us are vaccinated.
The federal government talks about the need to overcome vaccine hesitancy but it’s not hesitancy that is the main problem - it’s downright opposition. The Royal Australian College of GPs reported in April that a survey had found one in six people saying they will never get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Because she should have locked down hard and early.
Unfortunately, she said on May 6 during a Sydney outbreak: "If this was Queensland or WA or anywhere else, they would have shut down the whole city, they would have shut down businesses...."
And on May 25 she doubled down by saying on Sky News: “I fear for Victoria and I worry about what their government may do. I hope we have demonstrated to other states that it is possible to manage an outbreak and not shut down a city and not stop businesses and not stop people from being employed and not stop people having a relatively normal existence.
“I hope it’s an example to other states that it is possible to manage an outbreak without causing grift the vast majority of people.”
It was obvious to many people that Berejiklian should have locked down early in the current outbreak.
On June 24 I posted: “Has Berejiklian's jibe from May 6 influenced her decision not to institute an early lockdown? ‘In other states, they would have locked down the whole city, they would have closed businesses, they would have stopped events, they would have said you can't dance at weddings,’ Ms Berejiklian said. ‘We're not doing any of that, this is a proportionate response to the risk.’ An inability to eat humble pie may lead to the outbreak being far worse than it would have been with early, decisive action.”
On June 26 the Bondi outbreak of 70 cases resulted in the start of a lockdown - but only in four local government areas instead of the whole of Sydney and the surrounding area.
Nearly a month later, on July 18, Channel 9 reported: “As the list of exposure sites grows, so too do the calls for all of Greater Sydney to be placed into lockdown. However, Ms Berejiklian remains defiant the current measure will be enough to control the outbreak…”
On July 18 Berejiklian relaxed south-west Sydney rules on workers despite 105 new cases, 27 of which had been out and about while infectious.
She just couldn’t bear to institute tough, widespread lockdowns after her earlier boasting - until it was way too late and she had no option.
And she had failed in her prime duty of safeguarding people’s lives and health by placing the economy as the prime objective of her strategy.
The NSW crisis is entirely of her own making.
I hope I’m wrong but I cannot see how the virus can be stopped from spreading across the country from NSW, leading to tough, long-lasting restrictions for all of us until most of us are vaccinated.
The federal government talks about the need to overcome vaccine hesitancy but it’s not hesitancy that is the main problem - it’s downright opposition. The Royal Australian College of GPs reported in April that a survey had found one in six people saying they will never get vaccinated against COVID-19.