Preventing/ discouraging /avoiding large gatherings of people is the final opportunity a country has to prevent widespread community infection from beginning.
If that final opportunity is squandered, the effort required, the pressure on medical resources will mean life or death triage choices being made ever more frequently as many more in the community and in particular, medical front-line staff, become infected.
We end up with more seriously ill and fewer medical personnel, along with greater demand overwhelming the available suitable hospital equipment.
A footy crowd is a close, jostling one with very close seating.
Admit your error and retract your statement Mr PM. We all make mistakes, this is one of yours, but you still have time to fix it, instead of regretting it for evermore.
Plenty of highly regarded medical specialists have already published clear, logical reasons not to attend large gatherings. You won't have any large cohort of them to rely on in attempts to later excuse your serious error.
Here is a strong contrary view from the head of the AMA in the ACT:
It's as though you can't switch from jolly old Scott, by golly, encouraging visitors to fire-ravaged areas, to someone able to recognise that attending large, close gatherings of people is not just reckless advice, but directly contrary to the interests of public health.
Sure, you wouldn't dream of suggesting it in Italy. Why not just get ahead of the curve here - there's only weeks in it, and no-one, least of all you, is capable of spotting the point in time at which what you think is 'fine' switches from being 'fine' to being 'insane'.
