Australian state to impose hefty fines to compel COVID-19 isolation

By Colin Packham

 

FILE PHOTO: A man wearing a protective face mask walks in a street in Melbourne after it became the first city in Australia to enforce mask-wearing in public as part of efforts to curb a resurgence of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), July 23, 2020. REUTERS/Sandra Sanders

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australia's second-most populous state Victoria said on Tuesday that anyone breaking COVID-19 isolation orders will face hefty fines, as high as A$20,000 (10,899 pounds), and that more military personnel will be deployed to fight the spread of the virus.

 

Australia, once heralded as a global leader in containing COVID-19, is desperately trying to slow the spread of the virus in Victoria to prevent a national second wave of infections.

 

Victoria earlier this week imposed a night curfew, tightened restrictions on people's daily movements and ordered large parts of the local economy to close to slow the spread of coronavirus.

 

But nearly a third of those who contracted COVID-19 were not home isolating when checked on by officials, requiring tough new penalties, Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday.

 

Fines of nearly A$5,000 will be issued to anyone breaching stay at home orders. Repeat offenders face a fine of up to A$20,000.

 

"There is literally no reason for you to leave your home and if you were to leave your home and not be found there, you will have a very difficult time convincing Victoria police that you have a lawful reason," Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.

 

The only exemption will be for urgent medical care, said Andrews, adding anyone under a self-isolation order will no longer be allowed to leave their homes for outdoor exercise.

 

"Fresh air at the front door. Fresh air in your front yard or backyard or opening a window," he said.

 

Andrews said an additional 500 unarmed military personnel will this week deploy to Victoria to assist police in ensuring self-isolation orders are being complied with.

 

The latest military deployment will join about 1,500 troops already in Victoria and engaged in contact tracing, testing and assisting police at check points. Australia has deployed almost 3,000 troops to help in virus logistical operations.

 

Australia has recorded nearly 19,000 COVID-19 cases and 232 fatalities, far few than many other developed nations after closing its international borders early, imposing social distancing restrictions and mass virus testing.

 

But as the country began to reopen, community transmissions rose significantly in Victoria which has recorded triple digit new cases for weeks. It now has the bulk of infections in the country, with nearly 12,000 reported cases. On Tuesday, Victoria reported 439 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours.

 

Andrews said 11 people had died from the virus since Monday, bringing the state's death toll to 136. The virus has spread significantly throughout Victoria's aged care facilities, with many of the deaths among the elderly.

 

Victoria state officials said the latest wave of COVID-19 infections has been driven by residents refusing to adhere to restrictions on their movements.

 

"There are a number of people who have knowingly breached the curfew -- so somebody who decided they were bored and they were going to go out for a drive, somebody who decided that they needed to buy a car after 8:00pm last night," Victoria Minister for Police Lisa Neville told reporters in Melbourne.

 

With concerns that many people feel they have no choice but to continue working after a COVID-19 diagnosis, Australia said on Monday it would pay people in the state A$1,500 to stay home if they were ordered to and they do not have leave entitlements.

 

Many internal state borders have been closed which has so far seen the new wave of infections predominately limited to Victoria, with neighbouring New South Wales (NSW) state reporting the next highest number of cases.

 

NSW on Tuesday reported 12 new cases, though all the cases can be traced back to known outbreaks, some of which were started by infected people travelling from Victoria.

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2020-08-04

 

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unfortunately in this selfish age we're living in, removing money form peoples pockets seems to be the only motivation to do the right thing in a health emergency..

It is a worldwide conspiracy to rid the world of the unproductive elderly. ????

5 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

It is a worldwide conspiracy to rid the world of the unproductive elderly. ????

How did you miss out?

Given the economy is stuffed and the coffers are bare, they must have decided, IMO, that they can to get some cash in by fining people ridiculous amounts.

1 minute ago, Olmate said:

How did you miss out?

Because it wasn't as widespread or as deadly as we have been told.

Wasn't any at all where I live, and I definitely fall into the "at risk" category.

13 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

"There is literally no reason for you to leave your home

Buying food isn't a reason?

If people can't leave house for exercise more will die from medical problems caused by inactivity than the virus.

13 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

It is a worldwide conspiracy to rid the world of the unproductive elderly. ????

This one didn't work very well, so expect version 2 virus eventually, IMO.

 

I've been saying for ages that the world is overpopulated and needs to reduce the number to 1950 level.

39 minutes ago, Olmate said:

How did you miss out?

I am in hiding.

12 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

I am in hiding.

Me too! In Soi Bukao.

Qld has just announced border closures to NSW and ACT from Friday night.

9 minutes ago, DoctorG said:

Qld has just announced border closures to NSW and ACT from Friday night.

Too late.

Anyway, the more people catch it the sooner herd immunity is reached. Most will not suffer unduly and few will die, IMO.

Realty is there is a pandemic, the majority of countries are in lockdown, if people don't want to respect the laws put in place by the people we elect, then those people should be fined heavily or jailed, the choice is theirs.

 

Being from Australia, I have trust in the government to try to do the right thing for the people, regardless of what other individuals thinks, conspiracy theories and the like, some say it's a flu, others say let it go and create herd immunity, don't they think the governments top "qualified" advisors know what is best on infectious diseases, the sooner people shut up and are adhere to this inconvenience so that they can get it under control the better it will be for the masses, simple.

 

Businesses affected, people affected, that's what happens in a pandemic situation, and this is a good learning curve for what needs to be done when the next wave of viruses come knocking on our doorsteps, people need to chill and accept the facts for what they are, oh I forgot, government around the world are taking over our freedoms, wake up, that happened a long time ago. This is a virus, we are in a pandemic, cough cough, can we now get on with it, stay in doors unless you need to go out, were a mask, use hand sanitizer, oh did I mention I'm glad I am in Thailand under the current situation.

 

Edited August 5, 20205 yr by 4MyEgo

1 hour ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Buying food isn't a reason?

If people can't leave house for exercise more will die from medical problems caused by inactivity than the virus.

Are you not the same person who said "I'd rather be fat than have to exercise " in other post?  I started putting on some weight during lockdown inThailand so turned on Youtube and FB and started doing online exercises at home . Very easy to do with bodyweigh programs or some  weights/elasic exercise bands.

47 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Too late.

Anyway, the more people catch it the sooner herd immunity is reached. Most will not suffer unduly and few will die, IMO.

What's too late for QLD?

 

It has not been proven 'herd immunity' can be achieved with Covid 19, there will be different mutations of Covid over time as has already been identified, just as there is with the flu. The flu requires annual vaccinations to keep the death rate under relative control i.e. 500k p.a. worldwide as opposed to millions of deaths p.a. without a vaccine, same will apply to Covid if vaccine/s development is successful.

34 minutes ago, Tony125 said:

Are you not the same person who said "I'd rather be fat than have to exercise " in other post?  I started putting on some weight during lockdown inThailand so turned on Youtube and FB and started doing online exercises at home . Very easy to do with bodyweigh programs or some  weights/elasic exercise bands.

Personally yes, but most don't want to die, so my post was about them.

I've had a good life and now I don't care if I die- beats ending up in a horrid rest home, which is all that the future holds for me.

16 hours ago, snoop1130 said:

military personnel will be deployed to fight the spread of the virus.

ahahaha

 

how, shoot at it ...

 

these fines solve NOTHING

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

Businesses affected, people affected, that's what happens in a pandemic situation,

This type and level of response to the flu hasn't happened before and as can be seen from history the flu can be much worse,even in 2017 1100 died and 2019 900 died from the flu and there wasn't this kind of response and Australia is currently around 247 deaths 7 months into the year.

1 hour ago, 4MyEgo said:

don't they think the governments top "qualified" advisors know what is best on infectious diseases,

I believe them as much as I believe the governments top "qualified" advisors about man made climate change.

1 minute ago, FarFlungFalang said:

This type and level of response to the flu hasn't happened before and as can be seen from history the flu can be much worse,even in 2017 1100 died and 2019 900 died from the flu and there wasn't this kind of response and Australia is currently around 247 deaths 7 months into the year.

Good point.

 

Do you think the figures would increase dramatically if they didn't have the restrictions in place, remember, the only reason they are so low is because they kept people in lockdown, look at the USA and other places for example.

 

This is a highly contagious disease, if they don't control it, many will perish, ok, mostly the elderly, people with morbities, people weak immune systems, obedsy, and pre-existing conditions, should we just allow it to take place and wipe those above out or should we give it our best shot to try and keep it under control until the holy grail comes forward.

 

I'm not an expert on the matter, but would like to think that everybody can be looked after in a pandemic, otherwise it would just be irresponsible to allow it to spread and watch people die in my opinion, we have to pull through this together, anyone thinking outside of that in my opinion is just plain selfish and inpatient, everyone has a right to live and be protected, regardless of age and other factors that increase the risk of them dying. Otherwise we might as well stop treating people who fit in the above categories and save the health system a lot of money. 

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

I believe them as much as I believe the governments top "qualified" advisors about man made climate change.

Each to their own, that's what makes the world different, one size doesn't fit all.

Now this article speaks volumes...

17 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

Good point.

 

Do you think the figures would increase dramatically if they didn't have the restrictions in place, remember, the only reason they are so low is because they kept people in lockdown, look at the USA and other places for example.

 

This is a highly contagious disease, if they don't control it, many will perish, ok, mostly the elderly, people with morbities, people weak immune systems, obedsy, and pre-existing conditions, should we just allow it to take place and wipe those above out or should we give it our best shot to try and keep it under control until the holy grail comes forward.

 

I'm not an expert on the matter, but would like to think that everybody can be looked after in a pandemic, otherwise it would just be irresponsible to allow it to spread and watch people die in my opinion, we have to pull through this together, anyone thinking outside of that in my opinion is just plain selfish and inpatient, everyone has a right to live and be protected, regardless of age and other factors that increase the risk of them dying. Otherwise we might as well stop treating people who fit in the above categories and save the health system a lot of money. 

I do think the figures would increase dramatically without restrictions which would (or should) reduce the amount of time of the outbreak.I don't doubt the severity or contagiousness of the virus I do question what I see as an obsession to defeat or somehow eradicate the virus especially with such draconian measures as smashing car windows and dragging people from cars stopped by police for not adhering to health guidelines which some refer to as laws which they are not.I much prefer the Swedish approach of respect for human dignity than what I see as an obsession to defeat at any cost.I also worried where it will lead if the lives saved from covid-19 are so important and the lives of flu victims are somehow not important as I've yet to see the demented Dan Andrews show any outpouring of grief to those that tragically lost their lives to the flu each and every year.Are we to introduce these measures every year for our own protection which we've never had before?

Edited August 5, 20205 yr by FarFlungFalang

9 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

This is a highly contagious disease, if they don't control it, many will perish, ok, mostly the elderly, people with morbities, people weak immune systems, obedsy, and pre-existing conditions, should we just allow it to take place and wipe those above out or should we give it our best shot to try and keep it under control until the holy grail comes forward.

Many will not perish. Some will, but most won't. Those at risk are the ones to isolate, not everyone, IMO.

 

What happens if the "holy grail" never comes forward? Even if a vaccine is developed ( and that isn't guaranteed ) it isn't going to be available for everyone- 8 billion people in the world. What happens if it's like flu and keeps mutating?

 

15 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

the only reason they are so low is because they kept people in lockdown,

Exactly, and how long can they realistically keep locking down everytime the disease strikes again, as it will? Years and years?

 

I'm a fan of the Swedish solution.

19 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

everyone has a right to live and be protected, regardless of age and other factors that increase the risk of them dying.

Sorry, but that isn't so. Many were conscripted and sent to die in 2 world wars last century, abortion is legal etc.

BTW, doctors make decisions that allow people to die all the time. Theoretically everyone could be put on life support to prevent death, but they are not as it would bankrupt the health service.

 

PS homeless people are not "protected", loads of old people are not "protected". Unfortunately we don't live in Utopia.

6 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

I do question what I see as an obsession to defeat or somehow eradicate the virus especially with such draconian measures as smashing car windows and dragging people from cars stopped by police for not adhering to health guidelines which some refer to as laws which they are not.

2 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Sorry, but that isn't so. Many were conscripted and sent to die in 2 world wars last century, abortion is legal etc.

BTW, doctors make decisions that allow people to die all the time. Theoretically everyone could be put on life support to prevent death, but they are not as it would bankrupt the health service.

 

PS homeless people are not "protected", loads of old people are not "protected". Unfortunately we don't live in Utopia.

So the governments around the world should just say W-T-F, I think the majority of people have no problem adhering to the "draconean" ways we are or have been all locked up as sheep, see above post reply.

16 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Many will not perish. Some will, but most won't. Those at risk are the ones to isolate, not everyone, IMO.

 

What happens if the "holy grail" never comes forward? Even if a vaccine is developed ( and that isn't guaranteed ) it isn't going to be available for everyone- 8 billion people in the world. What happens if it's like flu and keeps mutating?

 

Exactly, and how long can they realistically keep locking down everytime the disease strikes again, as it will? Years and years?

 

I'm a fan of the Swedish solution.

I have to agree with you, but I am not in power, you know the ones we elect, and until they unlock the chains, we are in the same place we started out in the beginning.

 

 

Edited August 5, 20205 yr by 4MyEgo

37 minutes ago, FarFlungFalang said:

This type and level of response to the flu hasn't happened before and as can be seen from history the flu can be much worse even in 2017 1100 died and 2019 900 died from the flu and there wasn't this kind of response and Australia is currently around 247 deaths 7 months into the year.

Difference being there is currently no vaccine for Covid-19, as well as Covid being a great deal more infectious than the flu with more severe medical consequence, such as long-term damage to organs, for survivors across different age groups, including children. We also have to remember Covid-19 has only been in-place for humans for approx six months so way too early to realistically compare to the flu's for damage to society.

Same pattern everywhere.

"There is literally no reason for you to leave your home."

Oh really, then why are many rich, entitled and connected people invariably allowed to leave their homes? 

 

And then they start in on their own, self serving definition of 

"essential businesses".