Coronavirus update, 22/3 - 'draconian' measures coming, because we can't be trusted
Beaches closed - welfare payments doubled - don't travel - and some golden tweets
Hello, welcome to #4 of ‘5+5: coronavirus edition’. Thanks to all who have signed up in the last day or had nice things to say — it’s very appreciated.
Each day I’m bringing you 5 big things to know, and 5 other bits, about the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. I’ll be calling out misinformation and dodgy claims; sharing good news and bad news; giving you resources to do your own fact-checks, to not fall for shit, and keep abreast of the latest info — because who honestly has time to consume every bit of the fire hose of news that’s being blasted out every day?
You can email me at joshb2@protonmail.com or find me on Twitter at @joshbutler if you have tips, feedback, ideas or just want to chat. If I’ve made a mistake, shared something I shouldn’t have, or done something wrong, please tell me. I’ll be here.
Wash your hands and sneeze into your elbow. Practise physical distancing - 1.5 metres. “Stay the fuck at home”.
5 BIG THINGS
Today’s statistics:
As of 11.43am Sydney time on 22/3, the Johns Hopkins University Center for Systems Science and Engineering reported there have been 304,544 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There have been 12,974 deaths, and 91,679 people have recovered.
[Note: I’ve been directing people to the World Health Organisation’s numbers (you can find those here) but they’re only updating once a day, currently they’re more than 24 hours old (current as of 10am Saturday, Sydney time), and the JHU numbers are coming more regularly.]
In Australia — as of time of writing, the federal Department of Health’s numbers haven’t been updated yet for Sunday, but of the last update as of 6.30am Saturday, there were 874 cases, a jump of 165 since the day before. Johns Hopkins reports there are 1071 cases.
“Draconian” measures considered
Scott Morrison has just used that word, after saying that Bondi beach crowding was “not OK”. More on that below, but he’s disappointed in Aussies not following the social distance advice, and says state premiers will today figure out if they need to tighten public gathering rules. It’s not a total national lockdown yet, but Morrison has alluded to the idea that individual towns, regions or states could do some version in specific areas.
“The measures that we will be considering tonight means that state premiers and chief ministers may have to take far more draconian measures to enforce social distancing,” he said.
In a massive press conference at 11.15am today, Morrison also announced a huge range of measures in a $66 billion coronavirus response — doubling the Jobseeker welfare payment (extra $550 per fortnight), and waiving waiting periods and assets tests for new applicants, allowing people who have lost their jobs to access the payment quickly; an extra $750 payment for those who are on income support but not eligible for Jobseeker; allowing people to draw $10,000 tax-free from their superannuation. You’ll want to read news for full details and how it will affect you (Sydney Morning Herald report here), but this is a big step — more on the welfare changes here.
Back on Bondi though, clearly those people weren’t observing the 1.5 metre rule, social distancing, physical separation, or any of that stuff. Which brings us to…
Social distancing ads are finally here
In yesterday’s newsletter, I pointed out — despite officials saying “social distancing” in press conferences regularly — the concept and rules hadn’t turned up in the government’s ad campaign. Of 16 ad resources online at the time, just ONE mentioned the 1.5 metre rule specifically, and ‘social distancing’ barely features. Now, there are 22 resources online here, and the 1.5 metre rule is in three. Scott Morrison has shared some more that are coming — prominently featuring the recommendations.
It’s a start. But enough to get through to the types who’d flock to a crowded beach in the midst of global pandemic? Yesterday I met two friends in the park in Sydney’s inner-west — two friends only, my second social engagement in two weeks, we stayed two metres apart, chose a deserted part of a quiet park, no handshakes, none of us took public transport, didn’t share any food or drink. Trying to be as careful as possible.
In another corner of the park, there was a birthday party under a tree with two dozen people sitting elbow-to-elbow on a table, sharing grazing platters. This message isn’t getting through yet. The bus shelter ads are a step up, but it should go further. Two suggestions:
Italy’s collapse is why it’s important
Things are falling apart in Italy. The government has just announced a near-total shutdown of the whole country. Already in effective lockdown, everything in the country besides banks, supermarkets and medical facilities is being forcibly shut (story here). Nearly 800 people died today alone, with the country is already in lockdown. JHU reports Italy has nearly 5000 deaths (the most in the world), among 54,000 cases. Do the maths on that mortality rate. Watch, again, this report from Bergamo.
Social networks taking it more seriously:
Yesterday I talked about the months-old video of supermarket baby formula shoppers as an example of misinfo spreading on social (by the by, since yesterday, it’s been watched more than 100k times, gotten twice as many Facebook interactions, and been posted by a few large right-wing pages).
Today, some good things the social media giants are doing — like Twitter, obviously a source of instant information and discussion for news-fiends, is working to give verification checks to “experts” who are “providing credible updates” about COVID19. It’s a good step, because there’s a lot of dodgy science and armchair instant epidemiology experts out there, so this should help people quickly find who has authority and knowledge in this time.
A cool thing Facebook is doing: on the top of events listings, advisories about public gatherings “to help you make decisions about large events”. The link sends you to the Australian government’s coronavirus ‘essential information’ page, with warnings about the 1.5 metre rule and the 100-person limit on indoor gatherings prominently at the top. It’s a very good idea and definitely something people should be hit over the head with, if they’re considering heading out to a public event.
5 OTHER THINGS:
Young people CAN get COVID-19. Don’t think of this as only for older folks. NSW has been reporting coronavirus cases by age bracket, and the highest decile is consistently the 30-39 group. On Saturday, that group constituted 103 of the state’s 436 cases, with 82 aged 40-49 (second-highest) and 72 aged 20-29 (third-highest). In all, a clear 44% of cases in NSW. are aged below 40. An awful story broke today in New Orleans, USA, where a 39-year-old woman died of COVID19 while waiting for her test results. Don’t be complacent if you’re young. Be safe. Be healthy. Wash your hands. Stay at home.
Those Bondi pictures sure caused a stir. Just a day after they came to light, the iconic beach — and a bunch more in Sydney’s eastern suburbs — have been closed, because we can’t have nice things. "We are going to close down the type of activities we've grown to love,” NSW police minister David Elliott said (story here).
Woolworths is donating a million bucks worth of groceries to charities helping those doing it tough (story here).
I’m looking for the light and fun on social media at this stage. I’m devoting two of these points to my two favourite coronavirus celebs. The first: Liam Gallagher, whose tweets have been nothing short of incredible, like doing hand-washing tutorials as he sings Oasis songs.
Then there is my favourite, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has become an unlikely light in the darkness — with his indoor house donkeys (???) making a late charge from nowhere to challenge for the title of the internet’s favourite celebrity pets.
IMPORTANT EVERY DAY:
be hygienic; wash your hands properly, for at least 30 seconds with soap and water, multiple times a day (here’s how you need to do it, plus a handy Dr Karl video tutorial); sneeze and cough into your elbows; use hand sanitiser
Listen to only official information from the World Health Organisation and legitimate health bodies
World Health Organisation latest statistics here
Australian government latest statistics here
Don’t share dodgy stuff on Facebook. If it looks too good (or bad) to be true, it often is. Verify, fact-check, don’t be part of the misinformation problem
Signing off - stay safe, be healthy, look after yourself and others
Josh