"Data-Driven is just another slogan. We know what 'data' is - knowledge - and the 'experts' claim to have the knowledge/data, but they seem to be doing sweet FA with it, particularly in Victoria. They keep on doing the same thing, and saying the same thing; and nothing changes. Fear and depression are all the 'experts' and half-wit politicians have achieved; and the media tells us how 'popular' the leading half-wit, Scott Morrison is. Popular compared to what. A bucket of sick?

This article is one of the few sensible ones among a whole lot of arrogant, ignorant bumf. Unfortunately, we have for too long complacently allowed our lives to be directed by morons, and there is no light to be seen at the end of this tunnel. The China virus is the most obvious warning that we have had yet of the end of life as we know it. And we don't have the right sort of people to deal with it.

> However, the COVID-19 is only temporarily avoidable.
The Kiwis say otherwise.

> A vaccine also does not guarantee permanent elimination.
It may or may not do. But even if it doesn't, it would make it far easier to protect the most vulnerable people and avoid overloading hospitals.

If folk would just comply with lockdown laws. The virus, which needs hosts to survive past a few days, would just go away!

The problem is not the data or the medical experts who are telling us what we shoud be doing! But the right-wing yokels who keep insisting, we the allegedly healthy people, have a God-given right to wander at will and kill as many of our vulnerable citizens as we/they can.

Implying that those folk in nursing homes, mum and dad, grandma or grandpa or the immune-compromised don't matter? And straight out of Herr Himler's, drain the swamp, handbook?

45% of carriers, present with no symptoms,i.e., Asymptomatic! And it is this cohort that are those doing the most spreading/killing the most of their fellow Australians?

Me? I'd have more testing stations, blood tests with 20-minute results at the portable relocatable testing labs and those with the virus,would be put on a bus, then a plane and quarantined for not less than three weeks on a offshore Island/detention centre!

Until we have an effective vaccine, we will need to observe social distancing, avoiding crowds and abusive, noncompliant drunks, who think it's all about them.

Self isolate at home as much as possible and wear a mask to protect your family and fellow Autralians.

It doesn't hurt! And if the nose is not covered, don't bother! As the nose is a source and safe harbour for many nasty pathogens/covid-19!

The sooner we, just not flatten the curve, but squash it flat, the sooner we will be able to get the recovery going!

Just not with the crimson fools currently in charge or the same old, same old, business as usual!

We need to stop stopping our best recovery solutions just to protect powerful vested interests and the usual medely of political cronies/contibutors?

I could say more on that score, but that seems pointless!
My views on our best possible recovery are well known!
Alan B.

The Chinese don't seem to be too worried about it.

Well put, Allan B, spot on!

One thing the author has not mentioned is the physical after-effects of this virus - to those 'getting over it' - with some experiencing quite severe reduction of their physical capabilities, possibly for life, and a potential shortening of their life expectancy.

'Herd-immunity' with this virus appears to carry some fairly severe side-effects - with who knows what ultimate consequences? Longevity, loss of sporting prowess, forced career-change, Fertility?

Notably, the author has also not given any idea of what 'alternatives' his data-driven model may have to offer?
Limited open-slather? Mass Hydroxychloroquine-plus-steroid-heparin-admixture universal administration? Alcohol? Prayer?

All data has to be interpreted. So, what/who are you going to trust? Our health experts and our responsible governments? Or, some Artificial-Intelligence formula-driven data-analyzer?

There may well be some viro-terrorists running around infecting people hither and yon - with gay abandon? Like some of those Beijing-backing CCP Stooges running around UQ? (Take a look at Bronwyn's posting on page 3 of the 'Death from the Sky..' article-thread - for a 'Westy' wake-up call.)

Asymptomatic 'carriers' going about normal business - and unwittingly wreaking havoc everywhere they go?
What alternative, but, lockdown, testing, and punishment for intentional rule-breakers?

Regarding self-isolation - I wonder why the authorities have not thought of employing electronic ankle-tags and mobile-phone tracking? Covid-safe?

Every country, state, province operating in 'laissez-faire' mode has given us an encyclopaedia of 'proof' of the inevitable consequences of 'business as usual'.

Our Aus approach, even in Victoria, appears prudent and correct - in spite of loony-tunes naysayers, and only disabled by a smattering of criminally-irresponsible 'goons'.

However, I would like to see 'live-in' carers in aged-care - like FIFO.

I asked way back in early April..."What if its all for nothing".

It was then and it is now. We are destroying the economy, ruining lives, careers, families, social cohesion, democratic norms...all for nothing.

The whole thing is driven by the political desire to be seen to be doing better than the next guy.

Its the greatest disaster to befall this nation and it was all avoidable.

No Albie.

It is your BLM protestors in the case of Melbourne the problem, with the latest out of control situation in Victoria.

Ten thousand protestors of your lot, spilled out on the streets in milling crowds, laying bare any thread of pretence that left wing causes really give a toss about the rest of us.

Prior to that exact moment, Andrews had it all under control.

Dan

Oh dear, now the poster-child for 'eliminated', NZ, has fallen. BTW, what's with Sweden, with no lockdowns? Loudmouth, Steelie, Paul, anyone? http://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-covid-deaths-per-million-7-day-average?country=~SWE

"The economic, social, physical, and mental cost of indefinite and harsh lockdown measures with a rinse-repeat cycle is threatening to have lifetime effects"

Is dying a lifetime effect?

Let me make this clear to you.
I don't care about your lost finances or your stuck at home drinking.

If you want the lockdown to stop, the people in your state need to stay home.
Until your state learns to stop spreading the virus, then I don't care if it's Stage 5, Stage 8 or Stage 10, where they are shooting you with rubber bullets in the street and carting you off to detention.

The rest of the country is sick and tired of the crap coming out of Victoria.
A large quantity of you Victorians stopped caring about the impact you might have on the rest of the country.
- Selfish people.
What next? You spread it to our states and all our loved ones are dying too?

A convoy of southern aliens coming to our states queued up for kilometers?

Sweden, only 115 death per day?
You're really selling that one.
Oh please oh please - Can't we be more like Sweden? Idiot
Why couldn't one of those 115 just been you.

If we got rid of all the whiners like you, that promote more death non-compliance with restrictions, COVID-19 would already be a thing of the past.

Look at our states, COVID free, you want to impose the Sweden model on us?
- Because your tanting out over lockdowns measures, personal finances and drinking?

I'm over it.
I'm not sure I care if the government starts breaking legs in order to make Victorians learn to stay home.

Until you learn, you'll just keep willfully murdering your own people.
Keep your crap away from the rest of us, we don't want it.

Daniel Andrews told an 'outright lie' yet Victorians continue to cheer him on
http://youtu.be/glvywbWjtDg

Look at this Sky News crap.
What do you all think the rest of the country thinks about your whinging?

Do you think we care about your crying over lockdown?
Do you think we stand with you?

Even your own people don't stand with you.

Armchair Critic,
There was only one git in this video, Paul Murray !
Data is driving alright, in fact it's driven hard by headline jockeys clinging on the backs of inconsiderate COVID-19 distributors !

AC, you claim "Sweden, only 115 death per day?
You're really selling that one.
Oh please oh please - Can't we be more like Sweden? Idiot
Why couldn't one of those 115 just been you."

The article is about data, i.e. facts. You don't get to make them up. there are not 115 dying daily in Sweden. Please explain it's 'no lockdown' curve with your superior intelligence. http://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-covid-deaths-per-million-7-day-average?country=~SWE

If, in the most unlikely event, I am chosen by the virus to have my life shortened, I accept it to allow others not to have theirs shortened by the consequences of hysterical approaches by government towards dealing with it in anticipation of a magic-bullet.

Luciferase: So you're revelling in the fact that NZ has a new outbreak and can no longer claim that it is virus free.

But watch what happens now. London-to-a-brick their government will respond rapidly in implementing high level restrictions at an appropriate scale (either suburb, city/town wide or province, etc.) and start a thorough comprehensive testing and tracing campaign in the areas affected. Also the population will be very sensible in their interpersonal interactions to try and limit the virus spread without needing to be told to. I predict that very soon they will have the outbreak under control and suppressed.
The reason why they'll do this is because they know that they can do it successfully since they've already done it once. And also because they have plenty of examples in other countries which clearly demonstrate the catastrophes that can happen if they don't. The population in general know how good they've had it for the last few months with no internal restrictions at all and no new cases. They won't be stupid enough to let that slip away.

In short their reaction will most likely be very different to the debacle of Victoria where some of the the populace thought that their self-importance has priority to the general health and well-being of the public at large. And where the Vic government reacted shockingly slowly with initially only a half-hearted response allowing the outbreak explode into the disaster that it is today.

Tackling this virus at the early outbreak stage is quite easy: Go hard and go fast with your response!

Off Topic

Great news, and as expected, Joe Biden appointed KAMALA HARRIS (on 11th August US time) as his (Vice Presidential) running mate.

Harris, born 1964 (aged 55) is already a politician and former lawyer serving as the junior US senator from California since 2017.

Born in Oakland, California, Harris is a graduate of Howard University and University of California, Hastings College of the Law.

Harris began her career in the Alameda County District Attorney's Office before being recruited to the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and later the City Attorney of San Francisco's office.

In 2003, she was elected the 27th district attorney of San Francisco, serving until 2011.

Harris was elected Attorney General of California (which has a population and economy bigger than AUSTRALIA'S) in 2010. She was re-elected in 2014.

In November 2016, Harris was elected a Federal/US Senator for California.

Harris has been married to Douglas Emhoff since 2014.

More see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kamala_Harris

Not revelling thinkabit, but highlighting that there is no such thing as elimination of this virus without a vaccine. Why not take that onboard as a fact then thinkabit from there?

Luciferase,
A lie will never be a fact, no matter how often it is repeated.

The original SARS was eliminated without a vaccine.
COVID19 can be too.
It's much harder, as it's infectious before symptoms show. But with sufficient testing it can be done.

SARS didn't have asymptomatic cases, which is why testing wasn't needed to determine who was infectious and containment of the infected eliminated the virus. With COVID it appears from antibody and T-cell immunity that the majority of cases may be asymptomatic. If you're asymptomatic you're unlikely to isolate, or get tested.

Lalaland, a place where if you just dream it it's true.

Luciferase,
Of course. So the most sensible response is to implement mass testing.
Repeatedly testing the entire population may initially sound impractical or even impossible, but it only looks that way because we have so little experience of making a collective effort. If you look at it objectively, you'll see the cost would be far lower than the measures we're currently taking (let alone the cost of doing nothing)

Next thing you'll be telling us the storage issue for intermittent energy sources is licked. Aidan, I nominate you for King of Lalaland.

Would the brains-trust here please explain this, achieved without lockdown or locking up of people from their lives and aspirations http://ourworldindata.org/grapher/daily-covid-deaths-per-million-7-day-average?country=~SWE

Would you also please explain why my friend gave up his job and house lease and bought an air ticket to take up a position in Germany starting September 1 and has been denied an 'exemption' to travel there to take up the job and resume a relationship with his German sweetheart he met here? You morons and your hysteria are running the show and you are stomping on lives with your fear and hysteria.

Why, why, oh ffs why, can somebody not live their dreams and leave Oz just because they may reappear, one day, for self-funded quarantine? http://www.watoday.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/on-par-with-north-korea-three-out-of-four-requests-to-leave-australia-refused-20200814-p55luj.html

I am absolutely disgusted with my countrymen responsible, through rabid fear and panic, for this absolute nightmare. You are sick, stupid, and dragging the rest of us down the plug-hole with you.

Luciferase, I've not seen Lalaland yet, and nor have I been to LA. But I do know that those too lazy or stupid to comprehend the truth have a history of ridiculing and belittling those who do. George Stephenson was famously described as "a maniac fit for Bedlam" when he claimed trains would do 20mph!

> Why, why, oh ffs why, can somebody not live their dreams and leave Oz
> just because they may reappear, one day, for self-funded quarantine?

AIUI that's entirely down to government stupidity, and not really justified at all!