@o.c.16; it's hard to imagine that WA will allow what Morrison demanded and Perrottet delivered to the people of NSW and adjacent states and territories - one Hell of a mess that's now being assessed as far worse than any lockdown!
" NSW has few COVID-19 restrictions, but Omicron outbreak has sparked a de facto 'lockdown' " "... Spending data analysed by ANZ last week indicated economic activity plummeting to levels lower than any other time during the pandemic. "We're now facing economic situations that are worse than if we'd had an actual lockdown," said economist Jim Stanford, director of the Centre for Future Work. ..." "... Over 4,000 health workers have been furloughed due to COVID or isolation requirements, leading to critical staff shortages across Sydney's largest hospitals. The state government has attempted to rectify this by altering isolation rules for asymptomatic health workers who are close contacts. It's also shifting some patients to beds at private hospitals. ..." "... Angelo Gavrielatos, president of the NSW Teachers' Federation, said about 40 schools a day were being impacted by COVID-19 at the end of last term, when cases were about 5 per cent of what they were this week. He claimed "massive absentee rates will effectively deem schools non-operational". ..." "... "It's a non-negotiable that kids go back on day one, term one in a safe environment for teachers, parents and students," Mr Perrottet said. ..." "... Public transport services across NSW on Monday began running on a weekend timetable and will continue to do so for the foreseeable future. ..." "... COVID-19 outbreaks at distribution centres across Greater Sydney, as well as abattoirs and meat processing factories, have disrupted supermarket supply chains. ..." "... Dr Stanford said the government couldn't redefine the virus but it needed to be patient and allow a healthy workforce to rebuild. "What we're going to need is urgent measures to increase the hours of work for people who can safely and healthily go back to work," the Centre for Future Work director said. "We've got to support them and reward them and pay them for doing this over the next challenging weeks. "Once we let the virus rip and have this many people infected, there's no easy solution to it." ..."
