Get fully vaccinated as the best protection against Covid-19
My thoughts today are pre-occupied with the delta variant of Covid-19 and how the transfer of that highly transferable and deadly virus would affect the citizens of the Solomon Island if unvaccinated.
The delta variant of Covid-19 is present in oarts of NSW and in Fiji and the latest news reports from both places, which I want to share with readers, should be sufficient incentive to all those in the Solomon Islands above 18 years and who have still not been vaccinated to to do so as soon as possible.
The highly transferable nature of the deklta variant is that it could easily spread and infect people should it get a foothold in the Solomon Islands, as is the case in parts of Sydney and in Fiji.
I do not bring you the following news reports as scare tactics but out of genuine concern for your welfare and by way of encouragement for you to please get yourself vaccinated to protect yourselves, your family, love ones, friends and the country lying so vulnerable between Australia, Fiji and Papua New Guinea, where the delta variant is also believed to have been found.
Please read these quoted news stories all published by Radio New Zealand today.
New South Wales reports 210 new local Covid-19 cases, snap lockdown in parts of Queensland
New South Wales has recorded 210 new locally acquired Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8.00pm yesterday.
Two thirds of the new cases in NSW are in people aged under 40.
"It definitely is circulating in the younger community and I want to stress that another 210 locally acquired cases, two-thirds, two-thirds, 138 cases, were people under the age of 40 years old," NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard said.
South-east Queensland has been put into a snap lockdown from 4pm today local time after six new locally acquired cases of the Delta Covid-19 variant were reported.
All are linked to a 17-year-old high school student from Brisbane's inner-west who tested positive on Thursday.
Chief Health Officer Dr Jeannette Young said whole genome sequencing had linked the cluster stemming from the school student to two people who had returned from overseas and were in hotel quarantine.
Dr Young said the lockdown had to be particularly restrictive due to the highly infectious nature of the Delta strain and it was more important than ever for people to come forward for testing at the first sign of symptoms.
The lockdown will mean people can only leave their homes to obtain essential goods, essential work school or childcare, to exercise but only with one person from outside the household or to care for a vulnerable person or seek medical treatment or a Covid-19 test or vaccination.
Victoria has recorded two new local Covid-19 cases which have both been linked to known outbreaks.
Source- ABC
Sydney readies for army as lockdown fails to squash Delta outbreak
Sydney's poorest neighbourhoods are bracing for military enforcement of the city's toughest and longest lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic as the infection numbers held persistently high five weeks since restrictions began.
With the city of 5 million people ordered to stay home amid an outbreak of the highly transmissable Delta variant, authorities outlined even tighter restrictions for the worst affected suburbs, including mandatory testing and mask-wearing outdoors.
From Monday, some 300 Australian army personnel will help police door-knock people who have tested positive to the virus to ensure they are isolating, New South Wales police commissioner Mick Fuller said at a televised news conference.
"The sheer volume of increase over the last week [means] the level of compliance [enforcement] has gone from hundreds into thousands," he said.
The amped-up military and police presence would cover the breadth of Australia's largest city but mainly eight local government districts in the city's west - home to 2 million people - where most new cases have been reported.
As the city entered its sixth week of a planned nine-week lockdown, New South Wales state reported 170 new local cases, most in the state capital Sydney, down from a record 239 a day earlier. Of the new cases, at least 42 spent time in the community while infectious.
While new cases fell, state premier Gladys Berejiklian said the high number of infectious people in the community meant "we are expecting to see those numbers bounce around".
At the same news conference, state health minister Brad Hazzard said people were waiting too long to get tested after developing symptoms, and that "we are seeing more families coming in with a family member who is presenting not alive but dead".
While some people in migrant communities may be distrustful of government, "we are here to support you and our health system is here to support you", he added.
Since the outbreak began with an unmasked, unvaccinated airport driver last month, NSW has reported 13 deaths, taking the national total to 923 since the pandemic began.
A city divided
The epicentre of the outbreak has crossed Sydney from the affluent beachside suburb of Bondi to the western suburbs, where local leaders said residents felt unfairly targeted by the heightened enforcement.
"They've got no other ideas than to bring in the military as a last resort because they're lost for answers on issues they created," said Steve Christou, mayor of the Cumberland local government area, where 60 percent of its 240,000 residents were born overseas.
"They are a poor community, they are a vulnerable community, and they don't deserve these lockdowns or these extended and harsh measures that they have now been targeted with," he added.
People living in the western suburbs must stay within 5km of home and have a virus test every three days in order to be allowed to do essential work outside the area.
Already police have been given sweeping new powers to close businesses breaking rules. Military officers won't be armed and will be under police command, police commissioner Fuller said on Friday. They will also aim to work with community leaders on enforcement strategies, he said.
An emergency Covid-19 cabinet of state and federal leaders meanwhile began a regular meeting on Friday, with plans to discuss exit strategies from the pandemic - widely expected to centre on getting more people vaccinated.
Until recently, Australia had handled the coronavirus crisis much better than many other developed countries, with just over 34,000 cases and fewer than 1000 dead. But that standing has been shaken by a sluggish immunisation programme that has left just 18 percent of people aged over 16 fully vaccinated.
Until that number rises substantially, the country will rely on lockdowns to keep new infections under control, lawmakers have said. Prime minister Scott Morrison said this week he hoped enough people would be vaccinated by the end of the year to do away with lockdowns for good.
Source - Reuters
Fiji reports 1163 new cases, six deaths - including
The government has reported 1163 new cases and six deaths in the 24 hours to 8am yesterday.
That compares with 1301 cases and nine deaths in the previous 24-hour period.
Health Secretary Doctor James Fong said all the latest victims were unvaccinated.
He said severe disease and death due to the coronavirus among infants were rare.
"However the doctors overseeing this baby's care confirmed that he did die because of Covid-19," Dr Fong said. "And we know that once a very high level of infections are reached in the community, these rare events do occur.
"It is an absolute tragedy when the most vulnerable in our community, our babies, become victims of this awful disease.
"It is why we at the Ministry are following the science and advice of WHO very closely with regards to the vaccination of those below the age of 18, and we are making arrangements to import more vaccines once we know that they are proven to offer safe and effective protection for children against the virus.
"While we await these vaccines for the younger age group we also need to remind you that every time you vaccinate, you also help to protect those not eligible for vaccination - including our children."
Dr Fong said a front-line worker was also among the dead, the second nurse to die this week.
"This is another frontliner colleague we knew and loved and our sympathies are extended to their families and to all families who have lost a loved one. She was not vaccinated. In line with government policy, she was on leave at the time she became infected," he said.
"To date nobody has died in Fiji from Covid-19 after being fully vaccinated, we know that this is the very best protection we can provide for our colleagues."
Fiji now has over 21,000 active cases in isolation. The death toll is at 233, 231 of these from the latest outbreak that began in April. Dr.Fong says.
Source. Radio New Zealand.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
