Australia, Melbourne, Duy, Australian-Vietnamese, 35, Public Servant, Married/Kids: Single no dependants
General
How is the situation in your city/ country? Is there a 2nd wave yet?
Melbourne is experiencing a second wave outbreak that started in July that at its peak saw 725 new cases in a day. As a result, the state has seen the most stringent lockdown measures in Australia, whereas other states have effectively suppressed the virus with the first wave. For Melbournians, cumulatively we have been under lockdown for 6 months with the following restrictions:
- Working from home and closing of all hospitality, retail, non-essential trades and services, up 75% reduction in workforce for critical infrastructure industries
- Permission to leave home for 4 reasons only; work where it cannot be done from home, one hour of exercise, essential shopping and emergency caregiving
- Restriction of activities to within 5 km of home
- No visitors, with permission to exercise with one other person only from within 5km of home
- Compulsory facemasks
- Individual fines of $1,600 for breaching the above, and up to $5,000 fine for organising illegal gatherings
How did the atmosphere in your country change within the last months?
For Melbournians and Victorians, a sense of reprimand. The initial solidarity experienced as a nation when the first lockdown saw effective suppression of the first wave was gone – Victorians are now the only state seeing a resurgence and going back into a more severe lockdown. The police is a constant presence.
How are you and your family?
I am fortunate my family and I are healthy, safe, working and well. Although some of us were in jobs that initially seemed like they would be shut down as part of lockdown measures, they have been permitted to work which makes a big difference both financially and for morale.
What was the biggest challenge for you within the last months?
Not being able to see people is hard, and although video catchups go a significant way to alleviating our cravings for social interaction, are simply not the same.
Measures
When did you realize how serious the situation is?
The first devastating outbreaks in Iran and Italy were the final warning bell for me personally – in November 2019 my friends and I had cancelled a planned holiday to China because of the situation in Wuhan but even then, it seemed so far removed, like SARS and other outbreaks.
How did your government react to the crisis? Which measures/restrictions were taken first?
Australia is in an enviable position as an island nation – shutting our international borders, enforced mandatory quarantine for arrivals and nationwide lockdowns almost simultaneously in March 2020. This meant we successfully ‘flattened the curve’ of the first wave, preserving our health systems, ensuring our hospitals were never overwhelmed and had time to build capacity.
Are you satisfied with the measures of your government? What was good/bad?
The word ‘unprecedented’ has been used a lot to describe 2020, between Australia’s record-breaking bushfires in 2019/20 and now the global pandemic. Both federal and state governments have had unprecedented responses, some of the best and worst aspects are:
Best:
- Federal: $1500 a fortnight payment for both Covid redundant workers and the unemployed, unfortunately reducing to $1200 in September and finishing March 2021
- State: Accommodation for the homeless until April 2020, and then a further investment into building long term housing as one of many ‘shovel ready’ infrastructure projects to invigorate the economy post Covid
- State: $450 payments for people awaiting test results to discourage casual or at risk workers from continuing to work and spreading the virus
- State: $3 billion grants package for small businesses to assist them restart post lockdown, including specific hospitality measures to increase capacity of outdoor dining
Worst:
- Federal: Poor oversight of the aged care sector, specifically a highly casualised workforce that ended up being carriers and spreaders of the virus into nursing homes, leading to significant outbreak and deaths amongst the elderly
- State: mismanagement of the hotel quarantine program, leading to the second outbreak
- State: implementation of a an 8am to 5am curfew with little evidence as to the efficacy of such an intervention
- Abandonment of international students and other groups marooned in Australia with no financial support
What would you like to say to your government?
First, a thank you – to those who have worked hard to protect us and get us this far, an enviable position globally despite all the politicking. Next, adapt and delegate – whether through exhaustion or unpreparedness critical mistakes have been made. We need consistency and community input/empowerment into decision making, not consolidation as the problem evolves. Command and control are necessary in the first instance for effective crisis leadership, but as the situation persists varied input is needed as part of the response. We may be missing innovations and solutions by community to improve quarantine failures, contact tracing, community communication and successful engagement that is bottlenecked or missed by authoritative control.
Start with the most vulnerable first – our greatest casualties here and worldwide continue to be the most socially disadvantaged – not just the elderly and the sick who die from the virus, but the migrant workers, the cleaners, housekeepers, abattoir workers, the frontline nurses and people from low socioeconomic, non-English speaking backgrounds who are picking up this virus more and dying more disproportionately than any other. We need to learn from our own and international mistakes – Singapore that failed to quash the outbreaks amongst its migrant workforce, America which has seen Black, Hispanic and non-anglo communities suffer far greater than any other due to this virus.
Which sentence of a virologist/politician did you memorize the most?
Our state premier frequently describes “this is a wicked problem”. I’m not sure if the average person understands ‘wicked’: Wikipedia defines it as “In planning and policy, a wicked problem is a problem that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize”. The pandemic response, climate change issue, human rights as they apply worldwide – these are all wicked problems where solutions in one context paradoxically will not work in another due to different context – stakeholders/drivers/needs. Each country’s individual solutions to this may be a patchwork tapestry making up a larger quilt underpinned by scientific facts. We may have to accept this.
The Virus
Do you know anybody who was infected with COVID-19 or even died?
No.
Have you already done a Coronavirus test or have you been in quarantine?
No.
Are you afraid of getting infected with the Coronavirus?
Yes – both personally and as a carrier. There is mounting evidence it can have ongoing and persistent medical repercussions for recovered people. I am the caregiver for my 9 month old niece and protecting her is integral to me.
The lockdown
How long is/was your lockdown and what was allowed/what wasn´t?
The key aspects to Victoria’s second lockdown (commenced July 7, current at 4th October 2020) are:
- No movement beyond 5km of home unless for permitted reason (permitted work or caregiving)
- Within your 5km radius is where you shop and exercise for 1 hour per day
- Face masks are mandatory
- Unless you have an intimate partner, no visitors are allowed, meetups with only 1 other person for exercise
- As of September, provisions have been made for single person households living alone to have one nominated ‘social bubble’ visitor
- All non-essential services closed including retail, except for online trade or contactless pickup and delivery
- If you can work from home, you must work from home
- $1600 individual fine for breaching of the above rules by Police, up to $5,000 for deliberately organising illegal gatherings
Did you spend the lockdown time with somebody and what did you do during this time?
Fortunately I acquired a housemate at the start of the first lockdown and she and I have passed the time with Friday night craft beer reviews – its no secret alcohol sales have increased with lockdown measures and we definitely had something to do with it. I have a record collection that we sometimes go through and review. We cook. We clean. We walk the dogs, we always respect each other’s space and privacy.
What did you miss the most during the lockdown? What helped you?
Mums home cooking – my best efforts are Frankenstein versions of her home cooked meals, but my culinary skills are improving. I’m certain my mum is withholding secret ingredients to lure me home 🙂
Changes
How did your work situation change within the last months (shorter hours, working from home, etc.)
I am amongst the privileged who can work from home with minimal disruption to my workload. After the initial transition and adaptation to technology, I have preserved and maintained my workload and productivity. I am incredibly fortunate.
How did your social life (relationship/friendships/dating) change due to the Corona crisis?
Like everyone – zoom drinks and trivia replaced bars and pubs, with the novelty of texting or traditional phone calls to add some variety.
What impact has the Corona crisis on your financial situation?
I am privileged to say this, but with the lockdown and quarantine, I have been saving money instead. This is no good for a struggling economy, so I make conscious efforts to order takeaway and buy locally to keep small businesses afloat, but the last 6 months of lockdowns has seen a net gain in my savings overall as I am restricted from all the usual spend.
Social distancing: How does your daily life look like at the moment?
I crave hugs – no doubts about it. My dogs keep me sane. I physically distance but socially I remain more active than ever.
Perception
Who are to your opinion the heroes of this crisis?
The frontline health workers. The crisis responders who are responding to an unprecedented challenge. The aged, the mental health strugglers and immunocompromised who are trying to do the right thing. The business owners weathering the storm and planning to reopen. The parents juggling home school and work. The scientists struggling to communicate facts against the cacophony of politics, conspiracy theorists and media hysteria. The cleaners who are overnight heroes carrying out ‘deep cleans’ and directly stepping in harms way.
What did the crisis show you?
If you neglect your health services, if you consume rampantly with no regard, nature will catchup to us. People and planet need to come first in equal measures – there is no economy without it.
What will you appreciate more after the crisis?
The privilege of living in a country where we have the capacity to buffer such events – and the need to build this capacity more equally across the globe. And, I’ll appreciate being able to go hiking/climbing/fishing/seeing loved ones more than 5 kms from home.
Which images will you never forget?
My niece standing for the first time. Indian police beatings. Nurses with face rashes from wearing face masks. Ice skating rinks turned into morgues.
Which stories/incidents/experiences touched/shattered you the most?
Charities that rallied to feed our stranded international students. People locked down inside Melbourne’s public housing towers with Covid outbreaks.
Perspective
What are you afraid of right now?
I’m watching globally and locally as people become radicalised both left and right. We are forgetful and the other genuine crisis of climate change induced bushfires quickly fading from memory as we react from one human induced disaster to another.
What gives you hope?
My niece was born at the start of 2020. She has nothing but hope. We owe them hope. It gives us hope.
Are you planning to travel within the next months?
I wish.
If they find a vaccine, would you take it?
Yes – preferably Batch 2. 🙂
What can we all learn from this crisis?
We have a golden opportunity amidst this darkness to reform business practices, industries and economies that have failed our most vulnerable. A post Covid world is one that must see safety and prosperity shared, not divided by wealth polarisation. Lastly, this is a lesson in the age-old dangers of human beings forever encroaching on the natural world. We must acknowledge the environmental systems that keep us in equilibrium with all other species regardless of the origins of this virus. Our future policies must protect and foster what really matters – community health and the health of our environment – looking after these will give you a bountiful economy. There will always be future disease outbreaks and bushfires – what we can control is the severity of these events – what we do now can mitigate or exacerbate these outcomes.
If you could give 2020 a headline, what would it be?
We are our only hope.