It is past the middle of June and the coronavirus crisis rolls on. The good news is that Australia continues to be handling the crisis reasonably well from health perspective. Unfortunately, the economic impact the crisis is significant, and it doesn’t look as though this is going to resolved anytime soon.
The Figures
As I post, Australia has had 7,407 with 21 cases reported in the last 24 hours. The majority of those cases have occurred in Victoria. Some of those were people who had travelled from overseas. However, there still instances of community transmission. This seems to confirm that advice from the experts who are telling that it is very difficult to eradicate the disease completely.
A short time after I published this post the Victorian government announced that it was reimposing restrictions related to the coronavirus.
Having said that, New Zealand lifted all of its internal restrictions on the basis that it appeared to have no new cases of the virus for two ‘incubation periods’. Somewhat ironically, a couple of days later, it did experience two new cases albeit they were people who travelled from the UK.
On a global basis there have been 8.6 million cases. Over 2 million of those cases have been in the USA. Brazil has moved up the league table with over one million reported cases, followed by Russia, India and the UK. Those countries with right-wing populists leaders are certainly leading the way.
Black Lives Matter Demonstrations
In my last post I mentioned that “riots were taking place in over 25 cities across the USA. The riots are in response to the killing of a black man by police in the city of Minneapolis”.
In the subsequent days and weeks the demonstrations spread across all the states in the USA and around the world, including Australia. These demonstrations were clearly problematic given the risks of transmitting the virus where there are large gatherings people.
With the exception of the Northern Territory, all the state and territory leaders in Australia requested that people not attend the demonstrations. The New South Wales government tried to ‘outlaw’ the demonstrations. This was ultimately overturned by the Supreme Court and the demonstrations went ahead in Sydney, as did demonstrations in the other capitals.
There was a lot debate on the media and among politicians regarding the demonstrations. Clearly, the demonstrators and their supporters believed that the issue was so important, they were going to demonstrate irrespective of the risk. It should also be noted that the demonstrations in Australia were peaceful with some minor exceptions. Also, where possible the participants observed ‘social distancing’ and took precautions such as wearing masks and using hand sanitisers.
Of course, the right wingers were completely opposed to the demonstrations. These people had been noticeably quiet were the people who were opposed to the ‘lockdowns’ just a week or so earlier had demonstrated in large groups. Most of the Federal politicians were quiet on this the issues. The exceptions were the ‘Belgium Waffle’ Mathius Corman and the ACT Liberal senator Zed Seselja. These blokes are just so predictable.
Trump goes to Church
Some of the largest Black Lives Matter demonstrations took place in Washington DC outside the White House. In an extraordinary, but also predictable, reaction to these demonstrations Trump thrust himself into the spotlight.
He decided that it would be a good idea if me was photographed holding a bible outside the ‘President’s Church’ which is near to the White House. This required the clearing of demonstrators who were lawfully gathered in the streets and in a park between the White House and the church. They were cleared out of the way by heavily armed police using tear gas and pepper spray.
The whole stunt backfired on Trump. The Minister of the church pointed out that he was “standing outside a church which had never visited before, holding a book he had never read”. Trump was universally criticised and ridiculed for his actions. These included adverse comments from the former Defence Secretary, General Mattis. Also, the Army General who accompanied Trump on the ‘walk’ later said he should not have been there and apologized for seeming supporting Trump.
Statues under Threat in the UK
The Black Lives Matter demonstrations have also occurred in the UK, which definitely has serious ‘race’ issues.
These demonstrations have focused on the UK’s colonial history and its involvement in slavery. One of these demonstrations was in Bristol were a statue of a slave trader, Edward Colston was toppled and thrown into the river. This sent the extreme right wingers into a frenzy. They are claiming that this is an attempt to ‘deny history’.
The simple fact is that there has been an ongoing debate in Bristol over how this man is remembered. A piece in the Independent back in 2014 noted that:
“Edward Colston is fondly remembered in Bristol. A grand bronze statue on a pedestal of Portland stone was unveiled almost 120 years ago in the city centre, dedicated to the 17th-century merchant and MP. Depicting a middle-aged Colston leaning pensively on a stick, its inscription reads: “Erected by citizens of Bristol as a memorial of one of the most virtuous and wise sons of their city.”
Not mentioned are the thousands of slave victims that Colston and his family trampled over to obtain much of their wealth. He served as deputy governor of the Royal African Company – which held a monopoly on the trade – while his brother Thomas supplied the glass beads that were used to buy slaves.
The debate over how Bristol should commemorate Colston, if at all, has reared its head again in recent days after the Bristol Post asked whether the statue should be pulled down. Just over half (56 per cent) of the 1,100 respondents said it should stay – 44 per cent wanted it to go”.
Since then, the local council has decided that the concert hall that bears Colston’s name should be renamed. It has also been decided that the statue that was thrown of the river will now be housed in a museum where the whole story of his life, including his involvement in the slave trade will be told.
The notion that removing a statue of the slave trader is a denial of history is patently absurd. Liverpool which was also made rich through the trading and transport of slaves has a museum which tells the story of this period of British history in graphic detail. Refer to the link below.
Restrictions Eased in Australia
More coronavirus related restrictions have been eased in Australia. These include the opening of pubs and restaurants to larger numbers and allowing larger gatherings of family members and other groups in homes.
However, the internal borders, with the exception of NSW and Victoria, are still closed.
The Federal government has also announced that restrictions on overseas travel restrictions are likely to remain in place until next year. However, there is a possibility of travel between Australia and New Zealand being allowed earlier.
USA Opening Up???
Australia is not the only country to open up. It is also happening the USA, particularly in states governed by Republicans. This is a bit of a worry to say the least as many of these states are experiencing increases in infections rates.
One of these states is Oklahoma. This weekend Donald Trump will be holding a rally in the city of Tulsa in that state. As the New York Times reports:
“Two days before President Trump was scheduled to speak at a rally downtown, some of his biggest fans braved a sweltering Thursday afternoon to make sure they made it into the event.
The crowd of a few hundred included locals and visitors, most everyone pitching a tent to shield themselves from the 90-degree heat. Vendors and performers hawked memorabilia with Mr. Trump’s likeness, including a silver bust of the president and T-shirts with some of his best-known commentary.
Mike Grimes, of Minnesota, drove 750 miles to line up at the event.
“I wanted to be at the first one back, because it feels like a symbol of America opening back up,” he said. Mr. Grimes, a 41-year-old postal carrier, said well wishers had dropped off Gatorade and water.
One Trump supporter, who said Saturday will be the 64th rally he has attended, is part of a group of Mr. Trump’s superfans who call themselves “Front Row Joes.” Other members had arrived in Tulsa as early as Monday, he said. He made it to town on Thursday.
The man, who is 60, said he was not worried about the spread of coronavirus in the arena here. (Previous reports show he was arrested for disorderly conduct after disrupting a 2019 event in Iowa for Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts.)
“Sure, the virus is out there. But when you look at the survivability rate — I’ll take those odds,” he said, laughing.
He said this rally feels different.
“We’re going to show the country and were going to show the world that we need to open up,” he said. “We’re Americans. We have freedom and choice. And we have the choice to be at risk.”
Oklahoma reported a record number of cases on Thursday: 450, up from 259 on Wednesday. It was the fifth consecutive day that levels reached new highs”.
Clearly, it not possible to talk sense with these hardened Trump supports. It is an indictment on the state of the nation. Unfortunately, what happens in the USA has global implications including for Australia.
Trump’s photo opportunity 2nd June
Liverpool Slavery Museum
https://www.liverpoolmuseums.org.uk/transatlantic-slave-trade
New York Times on Trump Rally
billrider2013 