[BostonCard]

Good piece about what NSW did:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE...2?query=RP

On January 21, NSW Health opened its Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (which was previously used during the H1N1 influenza pandemic and for subsequent exercises) to coordinate case finding, contact tracing, outbreak control, communications, and other preventive actions. It drew staff from health services, government agencies, universities, and former employees. More than 150 contact tracers were hired, and the State Health Emergency Operations Centre was opened at the Rural Fire Services headquarters to help the state’s 17 local health districts build critical care and emergency department capacity, establish Covid-19 testing clinics, and coordinate the supply of personal protective equipment. NSW Health regularly produced online content and webinars for physicians, health administrators, and other stakeholders.

What was our government doing on January 21?

Expert committees, led by the Communicable Disease Network Australia and its parent organization, the Australian Health Protection Principle Committee (AHPPC) — both of which include jurisdictional health department staff and academic experts — meet daily to review surveillance data and models of projected disease spread and to develop recommendations. The AHPPC advises the newly formed national cabinet (composed of the prime minister and the first minister from each state and territory), which then creates policies, recommends legislation, and implements laws related to Covid-19.

Instead our governors and president get into spats over twitter.

To identify as many cases as possible and thereby avert further disease transmission, special attention has been given to increasing testing capacity and broadening access to testing for people with mild symptoms. New South Wales now has among the highest testing rates in the world. To strengthen traditional contact-tracing methods, the Australian government launched COVIDSafe, a mobile app that uses Bluetooth to identify close contacts of people with Covid-19, on April 26.

Don't get me started on testing in the US. Australia has performed 775,080 tests and identified 6,927 cases (a positive test rate of <1%).  The US has carried out 8.6 tests, but 1.3 million have come back positive (over 15%).

Like the rest of Australia, New South Wales is currently in a lull — new diagnoses have fallen from a peak of 212 on March 27 to 1 on May 3. This success may be attributable to Australia’s near-unique ability to close its borders as well as to consistent national Covid-19 policies, regular communication with an engaged community, effective identification and isolation of infected people, quarantine of those who have been exposed, and the public’s high degree of compliance with social-distancing guidelines.

In contrast, we have demonstrations about shelter in place guidelines, and people would rather brandish their weapon (or, in the worst case, use it) at security guards asking them to use a mask. 

FWIW, the Prime Minister of Australia is from the right side of the political spectrum (yes, the Australian Liberal party is conservative), and was lambasted for his response to the Australian bushfires earlier in the year, but his response to COVID-19 has been decidedly better.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...on-schools

The latest survey suggests Morrison’s response to the pandemic is continuing to get a thumbs up from voters. The prime minister’s approval rating has increased in the latest survey for the fourth straight month. In February it was 39% and now it is 64%. Morrison is enjoying approval from 92% of Coalition voters.

BC

[BostonCard]

Good piece about what NSW did:

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NE...2?query=RP

On January 21, NSW Health opened its Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (which was previously used during the H1N1 influenza pandemic and for subsequent exercises) to coordinate case finding, contact tracing, outbreak control, communications, and other preventive actions. It drew staff from health services, government agencies, universities, and former employees. More than 150 contact tracers were hired, and the State Health Emergency Operations Centre was opened at the Rural Fire Services headquarters to help the state’s 17 local health districts build critical care and emergency department capacity, establish Covid-19 testing clinics, and coordinate the supply of personal protective equipment. NSW Health regularly produced online content and webinars for physicians, health administrators, and other stakeholders.

What was our government doing on January 21?

Expert committees, led by the Communicable Disease Network Australia and its parent organization, the Australian Health Protection Principle Committee (AHPPC) — both of which include jurisdictional health department staff and academic experts — meet daily to review surveillance data and models of projected disease spread and to develop recommendations. The AHPPC advises the newly formed national cabinet (composed of the prime minister and the first minister from each state and territory), which then creates policies, recommends legislation, and implements laws related to Covid-19.

Instead our governors and president get into spats over twitter.

To identify as many cases as possible and thereby avert further disease transmission, special attention has been given to increasing testing capacity and broadening access to testing for people with mild symptoms. New South Wales now has among the highest testing rates in the world. To strengthen traditional contact-tracing methods, the Australian government launched COVIDSafe, a mobile app that uses Bluetooth to identify close contacts of people with Covid-19, on April 26.

Don't get me started on testing in the US. Australia has performed 775,080 tests and identified 6,927 cases (a positive test rate of <1%).  The US has carried out 8.6 tests, but 1.3 million have come back positive (over 15%).

Like the rest of Australia, New South Wales is currently in a lull — new diagnoses have fallen from a peak of 212 on March 27 to 1 on May 3. This success may be attributable to Australia’s near-unique ability to close its borders as well as to consistent national Covid-19 policies, regular communication with an engaged community, effective identification and isolation of infected people, quarantine of those who have been exposed, and the public’s high degree of compliance with social-distancing guidelines.

In contrast, we have demonstrations about shelter in place guidelines, and people would rather brandish their weapon (or, in the worst case, use it) at security guards asking them to use a mask. 

FWIW, the Prime Minister of Australia is from the right side of the political spectrum (yes, the Australian Liberal party is conservative), and was lambasted for his response to the Australian bushfires earlier in the year, but his response to COVID-19 has been decidedly better.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-ne...on-schools

The latest survey suggests Morrison’s response to the pandemic is continuing to get a thumbs up from voters. The prime minister’s approval rating has increased in the latest survey for the fourth straight month. In February it was 39% and now it is 64%. Morrison is enjoying approval from 92% of Coalition voters.

BC