I have decided to blog about the coronavirus.
Everyone knows that it started in Hubei Province in China sometime in December 2019 and as I post this, it is a ‘pandemic’ and is spreading at various rates in every country in the world.
Watching Question Time on the 4th of March
I had travelled to Canberra on the 3rd of March having spent the previous two months or so travelling in South Australia and Victoria.
By the time I arrived in Canberra the coronavirus was already the main news item. It had surpassed the ‘Sports Rorts’ scandal. On Tuesday I had lunch with a group of very good and long-time friends. We greeted each other without the usual hugs and handshakes.
The next day I went to Parliament House. While I was there, I attended question time. I noted that virtually all of the questions from the government members related to the coronavirus. These ‘Dorothy Dixers’ were directed to the Prime Minister and the relevant Ministers. They were worded in the usual manner: “Will the Minister informed that House of the measures the government is taking to protect the Australian people from potential impact of the spread of the coronavirus?”
The answers were as you would be expected. They talked about what a great job the government had done in managing the country. In particular, the economy. How the budget was in surplus following the ‘disaster’ of the Labor years and that all the necessary planning for dealing with possible impact of the coronavirus was in place.
One notable absentee from the House was Peter Dutton. He is the Minister for Home Affairs with a very wide portfolio including Border Security that encompasses what used to be known as Immigration.
Reports from China
As the week progressed, reports were coming out of China that the city of Huhan was in total lockdown as the virus spread and that the death toll was rising significantly.
Travel restrictions were being applied across China in an effort to restrict the spread of the virus.
A Friend in Japan
As I was travelling around since January, I was in periodic contact with a mate who was travelling in Japan.
Japan was one of the first countries outside of China to detect any cases of the virus. A great deal of media attention was being given to a cruise ship that had passengers that had been tested positive for the virus. They and the rest of the passengers and crew were being prevented from landing in Japan.
My mate was providing reports of what he was seeing as he continued his travels around the country. He was observing that places “that were usually packed with tourists were unusually quiet”.
Into Sydney
I stayed in Canberra until the 10th of March before catching the train to Sydney.
By this time the coronavirus was well and truly the major news story. Notwithstanding that, life in Sydney appeared to be normal. The only thing that was obviously different was panic buying of toilet paper.
Also, by this time reports were coming out of the USA and Europe that cases of the virus were being detected. More significantly, a major outbreak has been detected in South Korea and a whole city had been effectively shut down.
We were also getting reports from the USA regarding Donald Trump’s reaction to the emerging crisis. As to be expected his messages were confused and contradictory. He was saying things like ‘it is not as bad as the flu’, ‘it will all be over when the weather warms up in April’ and ‘there is nothing to really worry about because the USA has the greatest health system in the world’ etc.
Check out the link to Trump’s Timeline below.
Another notable feature of what was happening in the USA was that Fox News was blaming the Democrats and the ‘liberal’ media for overstating the significance of the virus in “an attempt to discredit Trump”. This themes was picked up by the right-wing politicians in Australia like Graig Kelly the member for Hughes and ‘shock jocks’ like Alan Jones. They were peddling the idea that the virus was much less of threat than the flu.
Checkout the link below to the Fox News coverage.
A Worldwide Pandemic Declared
On the 11th of March, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared that the coronavirus was a ‘Pandemic’.
Things were clearly getting serious. Northern Italy was in a state of shut down. There were reports of the virus spreading rapidly through other parts of Europe and in the UK.
On the same day in a bizarre statement from the White House Donald Trump announced that he was closing the US borders to travellers and goods from Europe. This did not apply to the UK. A series of corrections and ‘clarifications’ were issued by the Administration after the speech. These included that the restrictions only applied to people, not goods. Trump had misread the autocue.
Following the speech, the US stock market dropped dramatically. Stock markets around the world including Australia’s followed suit. The Australian dollar fell dramatically.
Restrictions start to Apply
As the end of week approached, announcements were being made in various parts of the world with respect to restrictions on the movement of people within countries and the cancelation of events that involve gatherings of people.
The UK soccer (football) matches were cancelled and cinemas and theatres were closed.
In Australia, similar restrictions were foreshadowed with the expectation that they would commence at the start of the next week.
Somewhat curiously, or maybe not, Scott Morrison announced that he was planning to “go to the footy” on the weekend and encouraged people to go to Church. He said his church would be open. Morrison is a Pentecostalist.
The Hillsong Church of which Morrison was a member was having a major event over the coming weekend.
As it turned out, Morrison didn’t go to the Sharks ‘footy’ game. It is not known if he went to church to ‘sing and clap’.
However, the Hillsong Church event did go ahead with hundreds of attendees. It was subsequently reported that attendees of that event tested positive for the coronavirus.
Friday Night and the Weekend
Sydney is famous for its ‘Friday Night’ drinks, particularly in the CBD. The office workers really let of steam at the end of the week. They pack the numerous pubs and bars in the CBD and adjacent areas including The Rocks and Darling Harbour.
I spent most of my working life in Sydney and most of that working in the CBD.
When I return to Sydney, I always catch up with mates with whom I have enjoyed a ‘Friday Night’ drink over the years.
On this particular night, the ‘drinking gang’ totalled three. My mate, who mentioned above was travelling in Japan, was not able to join us. He was in ‘self-quarantine’ and was looking to go to St Vincent’s Hospital the next morning to be tested for the virus.
The other two of the ‘three’ decided that the most appropriate place to go was the Customs Bar off Bridge St. It is largely outdoor. It was very quiet. We had three beers and left.
The news that next morning was not good. The virus was spreading rapidly in Italy and across Europe. The death toll was rising.
People not Physical Distancing Themselves
The next day was the commencement of St Patricks day celebrations albeit the day wasn’t until the next Tuesday. St Patricks Day is a big thing in The Rocks. I used to work for the organisation that owns all of the pubs in The Rocks and assists in promoting the precinct as place to celebrate this day. This includes allowing celebrations to take place in the small park between George St and Circular Quay. I noted that tents and other temporary structures were in place in readiness for the celebrations.
As it turned out, the St Patricks Day celebrations in The Rocks were severely curtailed. Nothing happened in the park. However, this didn’t stop people celebrating the pubs. A good example was The Fortune of War.
Check out the video in the Flickr Link.
Heading North
On the next Tuesday I left Sydney on the train to Grafton.
It is a long trip. The train was essentially full.
I need to make one comment about the trip. I was mindful of the need to following the advice about washing your hands frequently. I think it was around the six hour mark that I found that the soap in the toilets had run out. I informed a staff member of the train. I was told, “if we have run out, we have run out”. He further stated “it doesn’t normally run out so quickly”.
Just think about that.
In Grafton
My accommodations in Grafton was The Crown Hotel of the banks of the Clarence River. It is a classic Australian ‘country’ pub.
I decided to have a meal at the Roches Hotel around the corner. I have eaten there before as it has very good meals.
As I was eating my meal, I overheard a conservation at the table next to be me. I was between a group of four couples. All of the blokes were in their sixties or above. Two of the women, I assume wives, were much younger and seemed be speaking with Russian accents. I digress.
One of the blokes was obviously a ‘Stock and Station’ Agent. Who remembers the Quiney character in the TV series Bellbird on the ABC in the 70’s? This bloke was like him.
At some point in the conversation he started to talk about a ‘secret’ drug that was going to “cure people with this virus thing”. It had been “developed in the US and hardly anyone knew about”. His audience seem very impressed and asked some questions. I can’t recall one of the questions being, “if I is a ‘secret’, how do you know about?
In hindsight it would appear that the ‘secret’ drug is the ‘malaria’ drug that Trump has been banging on about.
On to Brisbane
I only stayed one night in Grafton.
When I went down to the reception to check out, I heard a very animated discussion going on in the office. It appeared to be between the owner and a staff member. The upshot was that the staff member was upset that the operations of the hotel were likely to change over the coming days.
The response of the owner was, “please go away, I have important calls to make”. He was very calm and controlled.
In the afternoon I caught a very empty train to Casino and the connecting bus to Brisbane.
I check into the Brisbane City YHA.
Later I headed out for the meal. All the nearby pubs and restaurants were operating as normal.
Links
Trump’s Timeline
Fox News
Flick Links
Sydney
Check the video of the people celebrating St Patricks Day in the Fortune of War Hotel
billrider2013 