Can-do Capitalism Milks the Covid19 Threat

The Aussie state of New South Wales this morning (January 12) admitted to 34,759 additional COVID-19 cases and a record 21 more deaths in the so-called “24-hour reporting period to 8pm last night”, with 2,242 COVID victims now in hospital and 175 people in intensive care. Of course by now it is clear that the infection rate is actually much higher because these case numbers do not include rapid antigen test results [RAT].

NSW Premier Domicron Parrotwat

As reported in The Guardian online this evening, “The number of Covid-19 cases reported in New South Wales is set to explode on Thursday after more than 50,000 people registered positive rapid antigen tests on the government’s new app within six hours of it launching”. Tomorrow!

Yet that grindingly incompetent mediocrity of a NSW premier repeated Sideshow Scott’s eye-boggling admission that they decided NOT to distribute free RAT kits to the general public because private supply chains would “be compromised through that approach”.

Un-fucking-believable, but there’s Morrison’s “can-do-capitalism” in all its callous, cold-blooded, mercenary horror.

Meanwhile, Victoria has reported 21 deaths today, 946 hospitalisations and 40,127 cases, including those identified by RATs which account for around half of today’s new cases. Alarmingly, 6,600 health workers are on “furlough” because of the virus. How many are absent on sick leave in NSW? How many nationwide?

South Australia recorded 3,715 Covid cases (1000 more than yesterday) and seven more deaths. ACT recorded 1,078 new Covid cases and Queensland recorded 22,069 new cases, with 39 people being treated in ICU including eight who are ventilated, and 525 Covid positive patients in hospital wards. The slot machine state of Tasmania announced 1,583 new Covid cases.

PM Pastor Disaster

“Crisis talks” were apparently held overnight between “industry groups” and Sideshow Scott’s scam operation (aka the Australian Government, aka Morrison’s Shitshow), as “businesses try to deal with staffing shortages caused by the surge in COVID-19 cases,” once again in the crazy belief that by shifting goal posts and redefining what constitutes a “close contact” and what is “essential” will stem the viral surge brought on by reckless, short-sighted government and industry decision making.

In The Guardian (Yes, The Guardian again!), chief economist at independent thinktank the Australia Institute Richard Denniss states the bloody obvious: “There’s a simple reason Scott Morrison has refused to make rapid antigen tests free – and it has nothing to do with the budget or the economy. He just didn’t plan ahead.”

As Jim Stanford (economist, Director of the Centre for Future Work at the Australia Institute and honorary professor of political economy at University of Sydney) wrote in The Conversation this morning: “The result is an unprecedented, and preventable, economic catastrophe. This catastrophe was visited upon us by leaders – NSW Premier Dom Perrotet and Prime Minister Scott Morrison in particular – on the grounds they were protecting the economy. Like a Mafia kingpin extorting money, this is the kind of “protection” that can kill you… If relaxing health restrictions in December (as Omicron was already spreading) was motivated by a desire to boost the economy, this is an own-goal for the history books… The idea that health considerations had to be balanced with economic interests was always a false dichotomy. A healthy economy requires healthy workers and healthy consumers.”

Living with Covid

Regardless of how they are defined by the PM’s PR consultants, many workers just cannot afford to stay put, stay home and isolate. Many Aussies survive from pay day to pay day. This simple but blazingly obvious fact was always going to blow up in the faces of narrow-minded idealogues like Morrison and Perrottet. And as a result the rest of us got blown up too. And this self-defeating idiocy is not exclusive to Australia but is occurring around the world.

The Guardian also reports: “A west-to-east “tidal wave” of Omicron infections risks submerging health systems across Europe, the World Health Organization has said, warning that more than half the region’s population will be infected with the variant in the next two months… after moves by several European governments to shorten isolation and quarantine periods to prevent economies grinding to a halt.”

In the USA, 98% of Covid cases are now Omicron and doctors say the hospital system is “100% broken. We are now in disaster mode.” There are now 1.4 million cases and more than 1500 deaths daily in the Home of the Knave and the Land of the Freak.

“Oh Lord WTF can I fuck up now?”

 Interestingly – or something – Perrottet has at last sort-of changed his mind about rapid antigen testing and partially pulled his thumb from his clenched, tight arsehole, announcing $1,000 fines for anyone not reporting a positive RAT – from 19th January. As somebody else remarked, does he really think that more tests will be available from 19th January? Someone else commented “How are they going to enforce fining people for quietly binning their positive RATs? This feels like a brainwave where things are grandly announced and maybe 3 or 4 people (prediction: young, from Western Sydney) get fined for it. They’re great at announcing rules that can’t possibly be enforced in an equitable fashion.”

Yep, the gormless NSW premier is now issuing brain farts that rival even the prime minister.

Meanwhile, here is a reminder of why the wheels have fallen off under the heavy hand of Scott Morrison PM, the Disaster Pastor. God made him do it: “I must admit I was saying to myself, ‘You know, Lord, where are you, where are you? I’d like a reminder if that’s okay.’ And there, right in front of me, was the biggest picture of a soaring eagle that I could imagine and of course the verse hit me. The message I got that day was, ‘Scott, you’ve got to run to not grow weary, you’ve got to walk to not grow faint, you’ve got to spread your wings like an eagle to soar like an eagle.'” .

 Praise the Lard and push through to The Rapture!

Wow. I mean, really, wawa wowie! Remember that chick Joan of Arc, nick-named the Maid of Orleans? She too spoke to “God” and claimed “God” was speaking to her. That ended well for her, didn’t it?

As I repeat ad nauseum, the health and safety of the general public was never, ever a priority for Morrison or NSW governments.

Never mind. I’m sure the PMO will soon release another convincingly posed photo of the PM pretending to build a chook pen or cubby house or government policy that helps anybody other than himself and his cronies.

 

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