Out-of-control COVID-19 surge in NSW causing supply problems right across the country

The text of an email being sent by the Woolworths Group on Friday, 7 January 2022:

Dear [redacted],

On behalf of the whole team at Woolworths, I’d like to wish you a very Happy New Year and hope that you were able to enjoy the festive period.

As we welcome in 2022, it’s clear that we are entering a very different phase of COVID, not least because of the high levels of community transmission associated with Omicron.

When you’re shopping with us at the moment, you might unfortunately have noticed gaps on shelf, or substitutions in your online order. Unlike the surge buying of early 2020 (who could forget the toilet paper), this is because of the number of people in our supply chain in isolation – from suppliers to truck drivers and distribution centre team members – which in turn is causing material delays to store deliveries. To give you a sense of the magnitude of the challenge, we are experiencing COVID-driven absences of 20%+ in our distribution centres and 10%+ in our stores. [my yellow highlighting]

NSW is currently the most affected, although we are seeing impacts across the whole country, and it’s not yet clear how soon the system will come back into balance as we move through the Omicron wave.

We understand how frustrating it is when you can’t find the product you’re looking for and, together with our suppliers and supply chain partners, we’re working hard to get all products back on shelf as quickly as we can (including Rapid Antigen Tests).

In the meantime, we have more than enough stock in the system and plenty more coming. We also have good supply within each ‘category’ of product (even if your favourite isn’t available, a good alternative hopefully should be), so it really helps if you can be flexible with the choices you make. We would of course also ask you to keep shopping as you normally would and to continue to show kindness to our teams.

If you’re shopping online, as a temporary measure we are automatically activating substitutions on all orders. We know this isn’t ideal, but it does mean there’s less chance of missing out on something you really need. We’ll revert to your preference as soon as possible.

As we transition to living with COVID in 2022, we’ll need to keep learning and adapting. We’ll communicate any changes to our settings as they arise so that we can keep providing the safest possible way for you to enjoy everything you’d expect from Today’s Fresh Food People.

Thank you again for your support and understanding as we go over the Omicron hump.

Brad Banducci

CEO Woolworths Group 

Meme of the Week

via @ElfinsongCP

Headline of the Week

 

"Dr Nick Talley: Protect yourself from Omicron, because the PM's plan won't" [Inverell Times, 3 January 2022]

 

Overflowing with arrogant certainty and drunk with power NSW Premier & Liberal MP for Epping Dominic Perrottet threw open the door wide to 'living with COVID' on 15 December 2021 - 23 days later he is trying desperately to close it again

 

Perrottet attempting to pretend all is going to plan......

The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 January 2022:

The NSW government is preparing to announce a major reversal of COVID-19 restrictions by shutting nightclubs, banning singing and dancing in pubs, and pausing major events and some elective surgery in response to the state’s surging Omicron caseload.

The changes were expected to be finalised on Friday after NSW recorded 70,000 coronavirus cases in two days and a significant increase in the number of hospitalised patients, government sources not authorised to speak publicly said on Thursday night.

Venues would also be discouraged from allowing “vertical consumption”, or standing up while drinking at bars, under the proposed changes, the sources said.

Major events would be risk-assessed by NSW Health and postponed where necessary. Restrictions will be branded as “minor” safety measures that will allow the state to “continue to live with COVID and manage the pandemic in a measured and considered way”.

The measures are to be signed off by the government’s COVID economic recovery committee on Friday morning. The decisions were made following a meeting of the committee on Thursday morning…..

Meanwhile, elective surgery restrictions are also expected to be re-introduced on Friday, after the Premier flagged the state government was “looking at” limiting procedures as well as mobilising private hospitals to deal with what health authorities have said will likely be a rapid, but short, case surge.

The Premier’s office was contacted for comment but did not reply before deadline.

And the long journey through the global COVD-19 pandemic continues for New South Wales & Northern NSW

# NSW recorded 35,054 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm Tuesday, 4 January 2022 and 8 deaths.

The NSW death toll now stands at 685 men, women and children since the pademic first began in January 2020.

Currently there are 1,491 COVID-19 cases admitted across 63 hospitals, with 119 people in intensive care, 32 of whom require ventilation.

There are currently 186,552 confirmed COVID-19 cases under self-management outside of a hospital setting. Note: this does not include those infected people who have been denied access to PCR testing since late December 2021 and are therefore invisible in all official state datasets.

Of the 35,054 cases reported to 8pm last night, 6,542 are from South Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD), 5,989 are from Western Sydney LHD, 5,710 are from South Eastern Sydney LHD, 3,827 are from Sydney LHD, 3,667 are from Northern Sydney LHD, 2,961 are from Hunter New England LHD, 1,502 are from Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, 1,496 are from Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD, 588 are from Central Coast LHD, 576 are from Northern NSW LHD, 501 are from Western NSW LHD, 392 are from Mid North Coast LHD, 379 are from Murrumbidgee LHD, 345 are from Southern NSW LHD, 24 are from Far West LHD, eight are in correctional settings and 547 are yet to be assigned to an LHD.

There were 108,844 COVID-19 tests reported to 8pm on 4 January revealing a test positivity rate of 32.2%.

NSW Health reports that on 4 January there were 184,413 active COVID-19 cases state-wide.

As at 8m on Tuesday, 4 January there were 576 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the 7 local government areas in the Northern NSW Local Health District.

Tweed Shire – 240 cases across postcodes 2483, 2484, 2485, 2486, 2487, 2488, 2489;

Ballina Shire – 102 cases across postcodes 2477, 2478;

Byron Shire – 96 cases across postcodes 2479, 2481, 2482, 2483;

Clarence Valley – 67 cases across postcodes 2460, 2462, 2463, 2464;

Lismore City – 43 cases across postcodes 2472, 2480;

Richmond Valley – 25 cases across postcodes 2469, 2470, 2471, 2473,

Kyogle Shire – 3 cases in postcode 2474.

TOTAL 576

There are currently 26 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with 4 of these in ICU.

# NSW recorded 34,994 new cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm Wednesday, 5 January 2022 and 6 deaths.

The NSW death toll now stands at 691 men, women and children since the pademic first began in January 2020.

There are currently 1,609 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, with 131 people in intensive care, 38 of whom require ventilation.

Of the 34,994 cases reported to 8pm last night, 5,556 are from South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (LHD), 5,456 are from Western Sydney LHD, 5,364 are from South Western Sydney LHD, 4,226 are from Sydney LHD, 3,538 are from Northern Sydney LHD, 3,424 are from Hunter New England LHD, 1,633 are from Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD, 1,452 are from Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, 1,116 are from Central Coast LHD, 686 are from Northern NSW LHD, 637 are from Mid North Coast LHD, 524 are from Western NSW LHD, 419 are from Murrumbidgee LHD, 322 are from Southern NSW LHD, 30 are from Far West LHD, 11 are in correctional settings two are in hotel quarantine and 598 are yet to be assigned to an LHD.

There were 111,231 COVID-19 tests reported to 8pm 5 January, with an as yet unconfirmed test positivity rate. However, a number of journalists are reporting 35% of all tests on 5 January were positive for COVID-19.

As at 8m on Wednesday, 5 January there were 686 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the 7 local government areas in the Northern NSW Local Health District and 1 death in Ballina LGA.

Byron Shire – 236 cases across postcodes 2479, 2481, 2482, 2483;

Tweed Shire – 224 cases across postcodes 2483, 2484, 2485, 2486, 2487, 2488, 2489, 2490;

Ballina Shire – 92 cases across postcodes 2477, 2478;

Lismore City – 81 cases across postcodes 2472, 2480;

Richmond Valley – 21 cases across postcodes 2469, 2470, 2471, 2473;

Clarence Valley – 20 cases across postcodes 2460, 2462, 2463, 2464; 2466;

Kyogle Shire – 9 cases across postcodes 2474, 2476;

Tenterfield Shire – 3 cases across postcodes 2372, 2476.

Note: Tenterfield is in the Hunter-New England Local Health District, but postcodes put cases in NNSWLHD

TOTAL 686

There are currently 25 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with 4 of these in ICU. 

Dangerous rough surf along the NSW coastline brings death and near misses on the New Year long weekend

Bilgola (Ali Higgins) Manly Observer

Dangerous rough surf along the NSW coastline caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Seth in northern waters and a ridge of high pressure extending across central and southern waters, saw three rock fisherman (two at Windang Island & one at Turimetta Beach, Warriewood) and a holidaymaker (Park Beach, Coffs Harbour) drowned last weekend, 1-2 January 2022.

Surf lifesavers and members of the public took part in multiple rescues up and done the coast, including a nine year-old boy rescued at Brighton-Le-Sands in Sydney, a man pulled from the surf at Sawtell near Coffs Harbour and. three rescues of tourists at Yamba’s Main Beach on the Saturday. As well as the rescue of a group of people whose jet skis rolled in rough seas off Point Danger at the NSW-Qld border on the Sunday.

Monday brought a multi-agency search…...

The Daily Telegraph, 5 January 2021, p.10:

A  search and rescue operation for a missing swimmer at Pippi Beach, Yamba, has been suspended.

The search started on Monday after a member of the public reported a swimmer in distress to the police.

Chris Samuels, Surf Life Saving Far North Coast branch duty officer, said the search was conducted for about 2½ hours before being suspended.

“It was a dangerous search due to the weather conditions,” Mr Samuels said. “We performed an extensive search with our duty officer on the scene, the Westpac helicopter, the ambulance and a police fixed air wing to assist.

“There was nil person located.” A spokeswoman for NSW Police Coffs Clarence Command confirmed the multi-agency response did not locate a person.

“Officers searched the nearby shore line for items and nothing was located,” the spokeswoman said.

“Given there is no missing person reported at this stage the search is suspended.” Search operations would be reassessed depending on any new information, she said.

“The waters are dangerous and treacherous and we recommend not going in,” the spokeswoman said…..

Clarence Native Bees Landcare Group begins its activities for 2022

Blue-banded Bee
Image: ABC News, January 2019

The previously postponed Annual General Meeting of the Clarence Native Bees Landcare Group will be held on Thursday, 13 January 2022 commencing 5:30pm at the South Grafton District Ex-Servicemen’s Club at 2 Wharf Street, South Grafton. Office holders will be voted on during this meeting.

Single day native bee workshops will be held with Tobias Smith on both Australian solitary and social bees for both members and the general public on Saturday 5 and Sunday 6 March 2022 at 18-26 Victoria Street Grafton (Clarence Valley Aboriginal Healing Centre/Gurehlgam Corporation building).

Each workshop is limited to 45 people and lunch is supplied.

Cost:

Non-members - $45 including lunch

Members – cost of lunch only.

Please contact Carol on 6643.3750 if wishing to attended.

Advice on how to rescue a fallen native stingless beehive:

We have also received reports of fallen trees and branches with native beehives exposed on the ground. If the nest is split open and accessible, advice would be to remove and place the brood/egg structure with the queen bee who is usually hiding in the egg spiral, along with any worker bees, into a box as soon as possible very gently. This can be wooden, plastic, cardboard, polystyrene foam, tin can or even an Esky. Scissors are handy for cutting the egg spiral away from damaged sections of the hive and broken wax structure. Wax without any honey or pollen can be included for repair material for the bees. Don’t include anything with spilt honey on it as this attracts insect predators that attempt to lay their eggs in the damaged hive. If there are unbroken pots of honey or pollen you can include 4 or 5 of each, but if the damaged hive has been exposed for even a short amount of time, predators may have laid their eggs on the pots, so it becomes an unwarranted risk to include them. Don’t be too concerned about the bees starving. If the weather is suitable, the workers will quickly resume foraging and start constructing and filling pots and the queen will resume egg laying. Seal any gaps or cracks in the new box with masking/duct tape, gap filler or even mud/clay in a pinch, to exclude predators. Make or leave a single entrance hole 6-10mm in diameter for the bees to enter/exit and more easily defend. Drilling a hole or poking a hole through the tape with a small stick is an easy option. Reducing the entrance hole size with some of their wax to about 4mm diameter, will make it very easy for even a single bee to defend and the bees can adjust this to their preference. Leave the box near where the hive fell but shaded from direct sunlight, so loose bees can find their way into the new hive box. They will zero in on the scent of the brood/queen. The more workers you can save, the faster the hive recovers and better chance of survival.

Order of priority: queen, workers, brood. If you must, choose two out of the three, queen and workers. If you can’t find the queen, concentrate on saving the brood and workers. There are usually several slightly larger queen eggs in the brood located on the outer edge of the spiral. They also keep very sticky resin in stockpiles around the hive, that is a valuable resource for defense. If you spot any of that, include in the new hive.

After a few weeks or months, once the hive is stabilized and out of immediate danger, they can be transferred to a more substantial box if needed.

For any urgent native bee rescue enquiries or assistance, please call Bronwynn 0427 690 971 (rescue hotline)

Or visit our website www.clarencenativebees.org or email clarencenativebees.info@gmail.com

Bronwynn Lusted [writing in Clarence Valley Independent, 15 December 2021]