Exactly 725 days into the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and the elderly continue to die in NSW due to the indifference of the Morrison & Perrottet governments

As of 8pm on Wednesday 19 January 2022 there were 19,791 new confirmed COVID -19 cases reported by NSW Health in the last 24hr period. - comprising 17, 647 positive PCR tests and est. 2,144 self-reported positive rapid antigen tests.

Given the level of COVID-19 case under reporting this represents due to the combined state & federal mismanagement of the public health response (including disease test, trace & contact measures), conservatively the real NSW daily new case number on 19 January is estimated in excess of 98,995 persons.

Currently there are 2,781 COVID-19 cases admitted to NSW hospitals, including 212 people in intensive care, 68 of whom require ventilation.

As at Monday 17 January 166,122 people in the state were managing their COVID-19 illness at home or in insecure accommodation.

In the 24hrs to 8pm on 17 January a total of 25 people died with a COVID-19 diagnoses - 16 men and 9 women – with 65% of those dead being between 70 years of age to over 100 years of age.

As of 19 January 2022 there were 278,324 active COVID-19 cases across New South Wales.

The positivity rate on those daily PCR tests is 24.08% - so far above the World Health Organisation benchmark for an epidemic virus within a controllable range (under 5%) that there is no reason to see these numbers signalling the beginning of the end of the pandemic in New South Wales or Australia generally. Indeed, by week ending 15 January 2022 all 15 NSW local health districts were recording positivity rates of more than 5 %.

According to a Northern NSW Health District (NNSWLHD) media release on 20 January 2022:

To 8pm 19 January, 1,051 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Northern NSW Local Health District, including 601 positive PCR tests and 450 positive rapid antigen tests (RATs).

By LGA:

Ballina 63 [968 active cases]

Byron 78 [1,384 active cases]

Clarence Valley 45 [458 active cases]

Kyogle 14 [89 active cases]

Lismore 48 [591 active cases]

Richmond Valley 61 [374 active cases]

Tenterfield 2 (Woodenbong & Urbenville post code that comes under Lismore PHU)

Tweed 290 [3,391 active cases]

NOTE: My annotations in red come from data recorded for 19 January 2022 on “Map of NSW PCR tests and cases reported from PCR tests”

There are 50 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with 6 of these in ICU. (Tenterfield is in a different Local Health District, but postcodes put cases in NNSWLHD).

** Please note these RAT results may be from within the previous seven days, and there may be some cases included in these numbers where people have reported positive RATs on multiple days and/or where people have also had a positive PCR test during the same reporting period.

Quite frankly the NNSWLHD’s inability to accurately record and quantify the number of daily new COVID-19 cases in Northern NSW makes a mockery of any claim to have a genuine test, trace, contact & isolate/quarantine system in place. A failing they share with NSW Health and NSW Coalition Government. Therefore I am at a loss as to how I might accurately record the real number of daily new cases by postcode for the 7 local government areas within this health district.

SOURCES

• https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/20220120_00.aspx

• https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/blog/2022/01/20/covid-19-update-20-january-2022/

• https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/699349/20220119-COVID-19-Risk-Monitoring-Dashboard.pdf

• https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe/data-and-statistics#toc-map-of-nsw-pcr-tests-and-cases-reported-from-pcr-tests

 

Clarence Valley Council has a new Mayor and Deputy Mayor

 

Clarence Valley Councillors 

Back Row L to R: Ian Tiley, Greg Clancy, Bill Day, Steve Pickering

Front Row L to R: Karen Toms, Alison Whaites, Peter Johnstone, Jeff Smith. IMAGE: Clarence Valley Council

Clarence Valley Council, 12 January 2022:

Councillors Ian Tiley and Greg Clancy have been elected Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Clarence Valley at the first meeting of the newly appointed council.....

 

 Cr Tiley has previously served as Mayor on three different councils over a total seven years – Maclean Shire from 1997-2000, Clarence Valley Council from 2005-08 and Armidale Regional Council from 2020-21. 

The Emeritus Mayor said he felt humbled to be returning to the position of Mayor, marking it as “the beginning of a new era for the Clarence Valley Council”. 

“We as your council will strive to ensure that our community is vibrant and viable, and that our environment and biodiversity is protected and enhanced so that we can look our future generations in the eye and say ‘we tried our best’,” Cr Tiley said. 

“Improving the trust and confidence of the Clarence community will be a very high priority. "We are committed to transparency, openness and thereby community trust and confidence in the council, which belongs to the people we are privileged to represent.” 

Cr Clancy takes on the Deputy Mayor role after five years as a Clarence Valley councillor. 

Both Cr Tiley and Cr Clancy will remain in their roles until September 2023, when a mid-term election will be held for the Mayor and Deputy Mayor.

There were three councillors who stood for Mayor at the 11 January Clarence Valley Council Extraordinary Meeting, Clrs. Ian Tiley, Debrah Novak and Karen Toms.  The vote was Tiley 5, Novak 2, Toms 2. Due to the tied vote the returning officer was obliged to exclude one candidate by blind draw and Clr. Novak was excluded and a second vote taken. Resulting in a final vote Tiley 5 and Toms 4. 

Three councillors also stood for Deputy Mayor, Clrs. Greg Clancy, Alison Whaites and Jeff Smith.  The vote was Clancy 5, Whaites 2 and Smith 2. The required second ballot saw the vote result as Clancy 5 and Smith 4. 

Contact details for all Clarence Valley councillors here.

Comparing active cases and COVID-19 related deaths on the Australian east coast mainland as of Monday 17 January 2022

QUEENSLAND

As of 7pm Monday 17 January 2022 there were 86,561 confirmed active COVID-19 cases in Queensland. There were 819 COVID-19 cases in hospital – with 50 active cases in ICU, including 18 on a ventilator. A total of 16 deaths occurred of three people in their 70s, eight in their 80s, four in their 90s and one person aged over 100.

NEW SOUTH WALES

As of 8pm Monday 17 January 2022 there were 326,356 confirmed active COVID-19 cases in NSW. There were 2,850 COVID-19 cases in hospital – with 209 active cases in ICU, including 63 on a ventilator. A total of 36 deaths occurred - one person was aged in their 40s, two people were aged in their 50s, one person was aged in their 60s, eleven people were in their 70s, twelve people were in their 80s and nine people were in their 90s.

AUSTRALIAN CAPITOL TERRITORY

As of 8pm Monday 17 January 2022 there were 3,205 confirmed active COVID-19 cases in NSW. There were 52 COVID-19 cases in hospital – with 4 active cases in ICU, including 2 on a ventilator. A total of one death occurred

VICTORIA

As of 4pm Monday 17 January 2022 there were 235,035 confirmed active COVID-19 cases in Victoria. There are 1,152 COVID-19 cases in hospital – with 93 active cases in ICU, including 43 on a ventilator, and 34 cleared cases in ICU. A total of 22 deaths occurred of people aged in their 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s.

Is hoping this SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant is the last phase of the global pandemic just wishful thinking based on federal government propaganda and not science?

“Denial of the science of epidemiology is widespread, even among ‘experts’. We are told repeatedly that SARS-CoV-2 will become ‘endemic’. But it will never be endemic because it is an epidemic disease and always will be.” [Professor Raina MacIntyre, (UNSW) Principal Research Fellow and Professor of Global Biosecurity, Head Biosecurity Program, Kirby Institute which conducts research in epidemiology, vaccinology, bioterrorism prevention, mathematical modelling, genetic epidemiology, public health and clinical trials in infectious diseases, writing in The Saturday Paper, 15 January 2022]

ABC News program, Coronacast, Interview by Tegan Taylor with Dr. Norman Swan, 14 January 2022:

"Is Omicron the last variant?" [Duration: 21min 21sec]

"We're all no doubt very tired of the pandemic by now and could be forgiven for hoping now that Omicron has landed in Australia, once we get over the current outbreak it's all over.

But according to evolutionary virologist Eddie Holmes, sadly Omicron won't be the last and in fact the next variant probably won't evolve from Omicron.

So what can we do apart from get vaccinated and hope this terrible roller coaster ride will somehow end soon?"

Click here to start listening:

https://abcmedia.akamaized.net/news/audio/podcast/coronacast/cvp_20220114_episode444_when_will_end.mp3

VALE: Stan Mussared, educator, campaigner for ecological sustainability and environmental warrior

The Environmental Legacy of Stan Mussared

Stan Mussared with "The Earth Charter In Action"
Reweavers Dinner 2017
IMAGE: Lyn Hoskings

Stan Mussared, a Clarence Valley resident for 58 years and a highly respected teacher at Grafton High School for 31 years, died in December 2021. For the last three and a half decades of his life he also played a significant role in the conservation movement in the Clarence Valley.

Stan’s concern for a healthy natural environment developed from the values of his mother who instilled in him compassion and a respect for all life. This became a guiding principle in both his personal and community life.

Magda & Stan in their garden 2017
IMAGE: Lyn Hoskings

His commitment to ecological sustainability led to the long-term re-vegetation project on the Waterview Heights block he and his wife Magda moved to in 1973. At that time there were only two trees – a forest redgum and an ironbark - on the degraded four acre block. Transformed gradually through their determination and hard work, their block is now covered by a wonderful native forest which provides healthy habitat for a variety of wildlife - including koalas which have been visiting regularly since 2008.

Stan’s involvement in public environmental campaigning began when he joined a small group of dedicated people who formed the Clarence Valley Branch of the National Parks Association to save the Washpool rainforest from logging. From all accounts it was a very tense battle from mid-1980 with conservationists on one side and sawmillers and timber workers on the other. The conservationists’ determined campaign eventually led to the NSW Government’s decision to create the Washpool National Park which ensured this magnificent natural area was saved.

1988 brought another threat to the local environment – the Harris Daishowa proposal for a massive chemical pulp mill in the Clarence Valley. Despite government and local council support for the mill, community opposition grew quickly with the Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition (CVCC) being formed to fight the proposal. Members of the new group included Stan, the Washpool campaigners and many others. One of the campaign highlights - the March 1989 public meeting at South Grafton High School - was attended by 1,000 people. Stan was a major speaker presenting the economic and social costs of the proposal at this meeting and others around the area. Months later the strong community campaign paid off with Daishowa withdrawing its proposal. People power had beaten Daishowa.

Stan retired from teaching in 1993 – which gave him more time for other activities including environmental campaigning. Over the next 25 years he used his teaching expertise and organisational and communication skills to explain the importance of protecting the natural environment for the benefit of the community of life.

Stan was also was involved in opposing the plan to divert water from the Nymboida River to provide the constantly growing Coffs Harbour with a long-term secure water supply. From the mid-1990s to the early 2000s this resulted in more campaigning, more meetings to attend and more speeches from Stan and others about the danger to the Clarence River system of this inter-catchment transfer of water when better alternatives were available. Despite strong campaigning from the CVCC, the Clarence Environment Centre and Valley Watch this proposal went ahead with the construction of the Shannon Creek Dam and a pipeline to Coffs Harbour.

Campaigns on a variety of environmental issues continued and Stan’s leadership role was vital. He was Vice President of the Conservation Coalition for many years and served as its President for 9 years from 2010.

One of his most significant achievements was the founding of the annual Re-Weavers of the Tapestry awards in 2006. These awards honour and publicise the environmental work of individuals and groups who have re-woven green threads of sustainability into the Earth’s Tapestry to repair its wholeness. Local conservationists recognised include John and Pat Edwards (Shannondale), Peter Wrightson (Ashby), Kay Jeffrey (Iluka), Barbara Fahey (Grafton) and Russell Jago (Ulmarra). Others from further afield who have been honoured include Ashley Love (Coffs Harbour), Carmel Flint (Armidale), Jim Tedder (Grassy Head), Dailan Pugh (Byron Bay) Celia Smith (Armidale), and the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

Over the years since he became an environmental campaigner Stan spoke strongly for the Earth Community through letters and articles in the local media, through membership of a range of local organisations as well as participation in Council and Government committees.

As a committed environmentalist Stan Mussared achieved a great deal in his 88 years. He was a wonderful advocate for the natural world and an inspiration to many people.

– Leonie Blain

Honorary Secretary, Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition.

Stan Mussared beside the Clarence River
IMAGE: supplied

Living the pandemic ' new normal' in New South Wales January 2022

Want to know why in New South Wales chaos is the 'new normal'?

COVID-19 published data finally confirmed a truth - by week ending 9 January 2022 only 78.3% of total NSW population was fully vaccinated. Note: it’s possible that government was using June 2019 or 2020 population totals which would result in a lower fully vaccinated percentage total.

What this means is when Dominic Perrottet became premier in early October 2021 the real vaccination rate of the total state population (ABS pop. 30 June 2021) was under 55% & by 25 November 2021 it was still not the loudly boasted about 80% total. Even with est. 42% of the population aged 12 to 90 years of age & over being fully vaccinated.  And he knew those vaccination rates were misleading as he had been a member of NSW crisis cabinet since its creation.

Yet knowing all this Perrottet still kept Morrison & Berejiklian’s insane 'living with COVID’ push alive by further reducing public health protections in the face of a new Omicron Variant Outbreak combining with an existing Delta Variant Outbreak. 

The NSW Premier and MLA for Epping intentionally opened up vulnerable villages, towns & cities in 128 local government areas and communities them to fend for themselves.

The rest is history. Because ‘opening up’ the state with a real full vaccination rate well under the promised 70-80% (a percentage range much of the expert advice to government was based on) and, with the bare minimum of a test, trace, contact & isolate public health structure in place, the combined Delta-Omicron infection growth began to surge and is on its way to being an epidemiological tsunami which will toss New South Wales this way and that for at least the next six weeks, perhaps longer.

This because, despite the fact that full vaccination of those 12 to 90 years of age & older has now reached est. 86.1%, a significant number of those vaccinated since 22 February 2021 no longer have a high level of protection against the virus. 

By the week ending 9 January 2022, 68.9% of all COVID-19 cases hospitalized across the state were patients who had been fully vaccinated sometime in the last 22 months and, as of 15 January only 25.4% of all fully vaccinated NSW residents have received a vaccine booster injection to increase waning immunity levels.

Even reinstating a weak mishmash of previous public health restrictions is not going to change what is happening now that the virus has reached the status of uncontrolled.

The exact number of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly and annual COVID-19 cases which have occurred in the New South Wales resident population can no longer be reliably quantified. The 'let it rip'  mentality of the Australian and NSW Coalition Governments had overseen the disintegration of a public health response to SARS-CoV-2 the virus and COVID-19 the infectious disease it caused.  A situation which was laid bare by December 2021 when it became impossible to test or count every person in the state who was displaying/fallen ill with COVID-19 symptoms.

There were at total of 23,456 new confirmed COVID-19 cases reported by NSW Health to 8pm Saturday 15 January 2022, with the deaths of 20 people of whom 14 people were vaccinated against COVID-19 and six people were not vaccinated.

NOTE: The aforementioned total new cases includes both positive PCR and RAT results, but excludes those 11, 204 positive RAT results included in 15 January figures which actually occurred in the last 7 days. It seems that the difficulty in sourcing a RAT has resulted in only est. 2,478 COVID-19 positive home being reported within the last 24 hours to 8pm 15 January.

Currently there are 2,650 COVID-19 cases admitted to hospital, including 191 people in intensive care, 61 of whom require ventilation.

As of 8pm 15 January there are 342,838 active COVID-19 cases in the state - less than 1% of these people would currently be in hospital and the remainder are understood to be self-managing their illness outside of a hospital setting either in the home or insecure accommodation.

Currently NSW Health is recording the incidence of COVID-19 diagnostic testing in the last four weeks up to 15 January as 125 PCR tests done per 1,000 head of population. Since 26 November 2021 a large proportion of all positive PCR tests have not had genomic sequencing.

According to NSW Health of the 20,978 new cases confirmed by PCR testing as at 8pm on Saturday 15 January 2022: 4,063 are from South Western Sydney Local Health District (LHD), 3,139 are from Western Sydney LHD, 2,336 are from South Eastern Sydney LHD, 1,875 are from Northern Sydney LHD, 1,858 are from Sydney LHD, 1,755 are from Hunter New England LHD, 1,458 are from Illawarra Shoalhaven LHD, 989 are from Nepean Blue Mountains LHD, 686 are from Northern NSW LHD, 610 are from Central Coast LHD, 571 are from Murrumbidgee LHD, 489 are from Southern NSW LHD, 439 are from Western NSW LHD, 257 are from Mid North Coast LHD, 67 are from Far West LHD, 2 are in correctional settings, and 384 are yet to be assigned to an LHD.

To 8pm 15 January, 686 COVID-19 cases confirmed by PCR testing were recorded across 7 local government areas in Northern NSW Local Health District:

Tweed Shire – 353 cases

Byron Shire – 126 cases

Ballina Shire – 84 cases

Lismore City – 49 cases

Clarence Valley – 33 cases

Richmond Valley – 28 cases

Kyogle Shire – 13 cases

TOTAL 686

NOTE: NSW Location database is only updated 5 days out of every seven so postcodes for 15 January not yet available at time of posting.

Currently there are 52 COVID-19 positive patients in hospital in Northern NSW, with 8 of these in ICU.

IMAGE: found on Twitter

The Weekend Australian reported on 16 January 2022:

“It is as we feared,” Dr Chris Ingall, from the hospital’s medical staff council, told the publication.

“We are seeing an almost exclusively unvaccinated population in the hospital and exclusively unvaccinated in the intensive care ward at this point.

“We predicted this, we said there would be a tsunami here, everyone predicted it would sweep through the pockets of the unvaccinated.”…..

One of the people in ICU is Mullimbimby-based tarot card reader and reiki master Helen Dean who had previously protested against vaccine mandates.

She caught the virus last month and has been on a ventilator since Christmas Day…...

The Daily Telegraph reported she was taken off life support on Saturday but remains in ICU…..

Meanwhile, NSW Health data has revealed the impact anti-vaxxers are causing on the health system.

Of NSW’s Covid deaths, 420 were unvaccinated while just 96 had the jab.

The Daily Telegraph also estimated the cost of ICU per patient per day is about $4375.

SOURCES

• https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/news/Pages/2022-nsw-health.aspx
• https://aci.health.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/critical-intelligence-unit/dashboard
• https://nnswlhd.health.nsw.gov.au/blog/category/media-releases/
• https://www.health.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/2021/10/covid-19-vaccine-rollout-update-6-october-2021.pdf
• https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/population/national-state-and-territory-population/latest-release
• https://twitter.com/NSWHealth
• https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/332073/WHO-2019-nCoV-Adjusting_PH_measures-Criteria-2020.1-eng.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Morrison Government enters into multiple emergency procurement contracts for the supply of rapid antigen tests then acts surprised when its demands crowd out existing non-government customers

On 11 January 2022 AUSTENDER published five contract notices for the procurement of Rapid Antigen Tests by the Australian Dept. of Health with a combined value of $61.82 million.

All contacts began on 10 January 2022 and all end in January or early February 2022 and, these contracts are with Suretest Medical Pty Ltd, Stonestar Wholesale Pty Ltd, Hough Pharma Pty Ltd, and AM Diagnostics Pty Ltd.

All five federal government procurements were done by way of Limited Tender under Condition:10.3.b. Extreme urgency or events unforeseen. When, for reasons of extreme urgency brought about by events unforeseen by the relevant entity, the goods and services could not be obtained in time under open tender.

To meet the deadlines under these contract agreements it appears that some or all of of these companies may have failed to meet some or all previous contracts made with non-government agencies/corporations.

An ABC News article of 12 January 2022 highlighted one supplier as informing a private business customer by email that; the federal government had also "placed a mandate order and will be taking supply for their requirements out of this order arriving this week". "At this stage, we are unsure whether it will be the whole shipment or a portion"... 

Twitter on 11 January 2022 displayed a snapshot of section of an email:

While The Canberra Times on 13 January 2022 reported:

Private retailers have been told their rapid antigen test orders are being delayed and redirected by the federal government as it made an urgent tender for millions of tests.

Five tenders for rapid antigen tests worth just under $62 million were published on Tuesday by the Department of Health.

The tenders website states the condition is due to "extreme urgency or events unforeseen."

This comes after criticism from pharmacists that the government wouldn't procure extra kits for businesses under the national concession card scheme.

The Department of Health said this latest tender was not for additional rapid antigen tests and instead was a part of the broader procurement of more than 70 million rapid tests.

"Each proposal was independently assessed against consistent criteria before the departmental delegate made the decision to procure the tests," a spokesperson told NCA NewsWire.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rapid antigen test orders not being redirected to the Department of Health

Widespread reporting that supplies of rapid antigen test (RAT) kits are being redirected to the Commonwealth Department of Health are untrue.

Date published: 14 January 2022

Media type: Statement

Audience: General public

Widespread reporting that supplies of rapid antigen test (RAT) kits are being redirected to the Commonwealth Department of Health are untrue.

The Department of Health reaffirms that the Department has not requisitioned all RAT supplies within and entering Australia.

The Department has made purchases in accordance with Commonwealth Procurement Rules, and has not sought to place itself ahead of other commercial and retail entities.

While we are aware there are supply constraints within the market, it is expected supply will normalise over the coming weeks.

The Australian Government has secured more than 80 million RATs for delivery in January and February. State and territory governments also advise that they have placed orders for approximately 130 million RATs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

On or about 6 January 2022 the Australian Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment entered into a $14,531.73 contract with Team Medical Supplies for supply of Rapid Antigen Tests between 6 to 20 January 2022. This contract was also limited tender but with no emergency condition attached.

In December 2021 the Australian Federal Police had entered into a $232,003.64 contract with Aspen Corporate Medical Options Pty Ltd T/as Corporate Medical Opti for supply of Rapid Antigen Tests between 23 December 2021 to 14 December 2022. This contract was open tender. 

All in all the Morrison Government has six active contracts for the purchase of rapid antigen test kits. It is disingenuous of the Dept. of Health to imply that the suppliers were not aware that the Morrison Government wanted est. 89 million test kits asap, in an import market already committed to supplying Australian states and territories with a further est.139 million test kits.

Someone was always going to miss out in a tight market and, in this case it is ordinary people, forced to pay often above-market price for a hard to find test kit in a national marketplace which has been artificially starved of product by government competition.