Just how are politicians able to " …. solve the immediate problem (the China virus) and to keep it from happening again"? They are just people like the rest of us! If scientists and other qualified medical professionals weren't able to stop COVID-19, what the hell were politicians supposed to do? Politicians aren't much good at the job they are elected to do; they certainly can't stop pandemics or mob hysteria.

In the current crisis, politicians are proving to be as useless as Jonathan J. Ariel, economist and financial analyst, who probably also holds the PM responsible for bushfires.

A sneeze leaves the nostrils up to 104 miles per hour and the droplets can travel up to 30 feet! And important that one sneezes into a tissue or the inner elbow.

That a virus cannot survive for more than a few minutes outside of a human host, or warm and comfortable place, e.g., your mobile phone if customarily carried in a pocket And where it may remain viable for up to a week?

Hand washing for a full 20 second under running hot water should be standard practice. several times a day. And automatically after using the toilet! Panadol may help with fever if you have one as will rehydration with water!

We have heard reports apparently emanating from Thailand that coronavirus has been successfully treaded with HIV antivirus?

We know viruses do not survive long in the cold or when exposed to UV. so, make sure your domicile is well ventilated, particularly when it's cold. the cold is your friend and the viruses, enemy. Rug up and practise circular breathing, in through the nose and out through the mouth.

If you smoke? Quit as this may compromise your lungs ability to absorb sufficient virus killing oxygen?

Ensure all your bedding spends time at least once a month out in full sunlight and exposed to sanitising UV, includes mattress and mattress protectors. As these things can carry a virus load, if used by someone sick?

Make sure the tin lids are following this advice and keeping their hands clean and out of their nostrils and quarantined away from the old folk, the sick and vulnerable!

Understand that the pollies know less than most of you and are reading scripts from paper and are usually clueless, but love photo ops and the sound of their own voices, have little if any empathy, and will only do what is forced on them via self-interest?

And excel at oratory? Blame shifting!

I mean, why do you think our economy is still welded to coal and most of our manufacturing industry/corporate Australia is offshore?
Alan B.

Good morning ttbn,

You are misguided claiming that I like many hold the PM responsible for the bushfires. What nut would hold him so responsible?

In fact the criticism made at the time urging him to return from the Aloha State were ill informed. He like many politicians should have stayed out and to a great degree stayed out of the management of the bushfire crisis. The criticism I believe concerned a lack of keeping the public in the know about his movements and the arrangements he put in place to manage the crisis.

Your point on medical experts, let alone politicians being unable to solve the crisis ignores my two key points. First, the crisis cannot be currently solved. It can however be better managed. Second, I query if the PM needs to trade in the current crop of scientific experts in favour of others in order to better manage the pandemic.

ScoMo let the tragic truth out mid-last week in media statement when he said that they have been planning/managing this crisis since *January*. Well, whatever their planning was it certainly doesn't appear to have given much consideration to the dire health/mortality implications of this.

Our country's response has been a balls up from the start!!

It has been obvious for quite a while now that this is the greatest threat we have faced in generations. While people in our country were still incessantly crapping on about bush fires (which have had only minor economic impact and negligible fatalities) China was building hospitals and shutting whole provinces. At this stage at the latest we should have been intensely focused on the virus and actually done something useful.

We are a first world ISLAND country thus it should have been very easy for us to contain this. Basically, all you had to do was introduce mandatory quarantine for those coming here and implement a strict testing regime! That should have been PLAN A. Then we should have also made PLAN B about what happens if it does gets here- eg, implement isolation and contact tracing for for infected like in other countries, and *importantly* disseminate these plans widely to the general public! Instead they fluffed around until it is was late and are now making ad-hoc back-footed on-the-run policy.

Weeks ago the government should have prepared the populace with timely and accurate advice about avoid it and about need to build up reserve food/supplies!

Just imagine what is would now be like if we did do this: You could still go out to any event you wanted, you could still have all students in class, the economy (besides tourism) would still be functioning nearly as normal, etc.

Thinkabit: Coulda, shoulda woulda. doesn't help! Neither does 20-20 hindsight and Monday morning expertise.

The virus is here now and how we deal with it now is all that matters, should concern us!

Our head of border control, the redoubtable Minister Dutton, brought a dose of the virus in with him? And infected others possibly? Who knows if or how many?

So if you're into finger-pointing and Monday morning expertise? Rack that one up!

Or alternatively, try thinking a bit before opening gob/Engage brain before putting mouth into gear.

Better the world should suspect you are a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt?

You'll have a nice day now y'hear.
Alan B.

Jonathan,

You ask "What nut would hold him so responsible?". Well, lots of nuts, as you would know from the hysterical media reports during and after the fires. If you say that you are not one of them, I have to accept that.

I never suggested trading in 'experts', but your mention of the possibility reminds me that these people have pleaded with politicians to leave the virus and comments on it to them. And so they should. Politicians are not to be trusted with anything, nor is a high percentage of the Australian public who are behaving disgracefully. As I said elsewhere, heaven help us if we ever have another major war.

Thanks for your contribution.