TTBN you wrote:

"The annual rate of suicide caused by lockdowns, could see a 50% rise in deaths, with youth suicides making up almost half of the expected deaths, according to Professor Ian Hickie, former NSW Mental Health Commissioner and head of Sydney University’s Brain and Mind Centre".

"Could" being the key.

From 2019 to 2021, rates of suicide and suspected suicide in NSW have been pretty static:

2019
Full year 943
Jan-Apr 294

2020
Full year 900
Jan-Apr 292

2021
Jan-Apr 291

See: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/mentalhealth/resources/Pages/sums-report-apr-2021.aspx

That said, even if lockdowns do cause mental health issues, the true comparison is the number of Australian lives saved by lockdowns v number of Australian who perish because of no lockdowns.

Poor old Alan B, what a pathetic specimen.
Wants people shot for going out which he disagrees with and fixated on boogey men.
Alan old son the Covid is just another virus which we could easily live with and your irrational fear of mutants I understand. Watching too many zombie movies and believeing politicians are wanting to help you, thats sad Alan really sad! Then like this dopey writer trusting doctors too much and not recognising how many billions the big pharma have made from this nonsense.
If there is any shooting to be done I suggest it is the directors of big pharma and politicians to better deter the others.
As for you Alan what can I suggest for your cruel and delusional fantasies, I can't I am at a loss there.

COVID is crowding Intensive Care Units (ICUs) all over the world (except lucky us and NZ) and with an increasing portion of young people.

COVID patients in the US and many European countries are dying in hospital halls. Medical staff catching COVID, lack of equipment, lack of oxygen can't keep up with the numbers. So they die untended.

But there are always the ignorant doubters who don't know how catastrophic COVID is overseas.

This is because Australia has been been keeping the numbers of dying down - doing things right with lockdown.

plantagenet,

You wrote:

LIBERAL Gladys:

1. delayed the much needed lockdown when the Delta outbreak was in her support base - the most LIBERAL voting Eastern suburbs of Sydney.

I expect she used the vaccine uptake in the eastern suburbs as her guide as to whether to lockdown the area, if so, how soon to lockdown or to what degree to lockdown.

If we assume that the spread of the Delta variant is more or less out of our control but the take-up of the vaccine is very much under our control, then Gladys' decision to clamp down harder on SW Sydney makes epidemiological sense.

In the eastern suburbs, 44.8% of the folk have had one inoculation and 23.9% have had both inoculations. In SW Sydney the figures are dire: 33.1% and a miserable 14.6%.

I don't think lockdowns are decided by Team Gladys solely based on political support.

I do think the hard questions as to WHY the folk in SW Sydney are not vaccinating need to be asked, no matter on whose toes such questions cause discomfort.

AND you claim that

... Gladys then blamed the mainly LABOR voting southwestern surburbs as the cause of the lockdown. The police and now army are patrolling and Gladys is SCAPE-GOATING this southwestern Sydney LABOR voting area.

Are you saying that areas where there is a lack of compliance (such as SW Sydney) and where the Delta variant is not only a nightmare, but possibly FAR worse (after all, we don't know how many symptomatic dolk are bothered to be tested) should not be targeted just because it could look like Gladys is being hard on supporters of the ALP? Surely not.

Bronwyn,

Just to be clear, I do not advocate that the vaccine alone is the answer to overcoming or "living with" the coronavirus.

Of course other modifications to our behaviour is needed.

But just like many take up the influenza vaccine every winter, we also try to eat right, stay warm and ensure we chow down adequate food, drink 2 litres of water daily and rest.

JJA

Yep.

Your thoughts, as displayed by your article, lack political cynicism.

Lordy P.