There are exceptions to the rule, like when Anthony Albanese called in sick from the federal election campaign trail, but other than that Covid-19 isn’t getting much of a run.Midway through the federal campaign, most voters would struggle to describe how parties expect to tackle health aspects of this pandemic.There’s talk about growing the economy, inferring that something bad might have happened in the past, but there’s little discussion of hospital resourcing, mental health scars, under-vaccinated neighbouring countries and preparations for mutant variants.The tactic of avoiding the c-bomb and the subject that has transfixed the world for two years is set to be adopted at state level, too.Pollsters have been clear why, with former ALP assistant state secretary Kos Samaras – who has strongly backed health interventions during the pandemic – posting the following on social media.“I don’t have to point to research to state the obvious. People no longer want to talk about Covid. Louder some scream for attention to be paid, the greater number of people tune out.”Others have noticed the decline in Covid political commentary occurs while the number of deaths remain steady.A highly infectious new mutant COVID-19 strain has been discovered in Victoria.
Last week, there were 73 deaths reported by Victoria’s Health Department and then another 19 on Saturday – numbers that would have made chief health officer Brett Sutton keel over in 2020.Hundreds of people are filling hospital beds, including dozens in intensive care.There’s a lot of Covid-19 water to flow through the sewers before the November state election, but it’s unlikely the shift away from pandemic paternalism by politicians will be reversed.Premier Daniel Andrews knows people have had enough of hectoring. One more mention of the virus being “wildly infectious” could spark a riot on the steps of parliament.This poses a peculiar challenge for Andrews and for Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.A significant part of their role as Premier and potential premier is ensuring constituents are safe.So how do you approach a critical component of that when it is loathed by people you want to protect?Nancy Baxter, the head of Melbourne University’s School of Population and Global Health, recently said Australia was in the “denial” phase of the pandemic.This is dangerous, Professor Baxter said, because we are still in a pandemic.People are still dying.The public needs to know what the best advice is to protect themselves and others.The government hopes measures it has introduced – such as new ventilation at schools and better systems in hospitals and community health – will be enough to practically ward off waves of sickness and death without rabbiting on about it publicly.The strain on healthcare is becoming evident, however.A political nightmare would emerge if a new variant started to cause chaos.A recent personal experience with Covid-19 made me consider some of these issues.I have no idea how I got the virus, but it made me pretty sick.After several days of staying upstairs like a leper – we were lucky to have the capacity to segregate the household – my wife (triple-vaxxed like me) and our two-year-old became ill anyway.Coming out of the Covid fog was an interesting period, with our paranoia about infecting others and lethargy from the virus trumping our desire to get out and about again.When we did, we wore masks.People who don’t have the luxury of working from home when sick, or don’t give a toss about making others sick, would have different thought processes.What I noticed at the time was the lack of strong health messaging coming alongside announcements of pandemic restrictions being relaxed.NED-4812 Current Covid Cases Admitted to HospitalWhen my seven-day isolation period ended, I was still sick and so was the rest of the family, but it was a challenge to find the latest recommendations for this situation.We appear to have got to the stage where many people think any advice about masks or actions to take to protect people’s health is “bad” or controlling.Epidemiologists say masks won’t protect you from everything, but they could protect you – or others – from something.The same goes for vaccinations.It feels like messages are being crafted around what people want to (not) hear, not what they need to hear.At the height of the pandemic Andrews chose to insert himself into the frame, front and centre, with daily press conferences.His supporters said that was to lead the state out of the pandemic.With the pandemic grimly rolling on towards the state election in November, Andrews will shun the hospital PPE and don a hard hat at construction sites instead.Guy faces a balancing act of trying to remind people about pandemic failings, even though people want to blank that out and move on.What a conundrum. Matt Johnston is Herald Sun major projects reporter
Last week, there were 73 deaths reported by Victoria’s Health Department and then another 19 on Saturday – numbers that would have made chief health officer Brett Sutton keel over in 2020.Hundreds of people are filling hospital beds, including dozens in intensive care.There’s a lot of Covid-19 water to flow through the sewers before the November state election, but it’s unlikely the shift away from pandemic paternalism by politicians will be reversed.Premier Daniel Andrews knows people have had enough of hectoring. One more mention of the virus being “wildly infectious” could spark a riot on the steps of parliament.This poses a peculiar challenge for Andrews and for Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.A significant part of their role as Premier and potential premier is ensuring constituents are safe.So how do you approach a critical component of that when it is loathed by people you want to protect?Nancy Baxter, the head of Melbourne University’s School of Population and Global Health, recently said Australia was in the “denial” phase of the pandemic.This is dangerous, Professor Baxter said, because we are still in a pandemic.People are still dying.The public needs to know what the best advice is to protect themselves and others.The government hopes measures it has introduced – such as new ventilation at schools and better systems in hospitals and community health – will be enough to practically ward off waves of sickness and death without rabbiting on about it publicly.The strain on healthcare is becoming evident, however.A political nightmare would emerge if a new variant started to cause chaos.A recent personal experience with Covid-19 made me consider some of these issues.I have no idea how I got the virus, but it made me pretty sick.After several days of staying upstairs like a leper – we were lucky to have the capacity to segregate the household – my wife (triple-vaxxed like me) and our two-year-old became ill anyway.Coming out of the Covid fog was an interesting period, with our paranoia about infecting others and lethargy from the virus trumping our desire to get out and about again.When we did, we wore masks.People who don’t have the luxury of working from home when sick, or don’t give a toss about making others sick, would have different thought processes.What I noticed at the time was the lack of strong health messaging coming alongside announcements of pandemic restrictions being relaxed.NED-4812 Current Covid Cases Admitted to HospitalWhen my seven-day isolation period ended, I was still sick and so was the rest of the family, but it was a challenge to find the latest recommendations for this situation.We appear to have got to the stage where many people think any advice about masks or actions to take to protect people’s health is “bad” or controlling.Epidemiologists say masks won’t protect you from everything, but they could protect you – or others – from something.The same goes for vaccinations.It feels like messages are being crafted around what people want to (not) hear, not what they need to hear.At the height of the pandemic Andrews chose to insert himself into the frame, front and centre, with daily press conferences.His supporters said that was to lead the state out of the pandemic.With the pandemic grimly rolling on towards the state election in November, Andrews will shun the hospital PPE and don a hard hat at construction sites instead.Guy faces a balancing act of trying to remind people about pandemic failings, even though people want to blank that out and move on.What a conundrum. Matt Johnston is Herald Sun major projects reporter
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