The Most Important Statistic Is Ignored
`Guard rails’ and vaccine-apartheid are Premier Daniel Andrews’ COVID-19 roadmap for Victorians.
His plan fails children, business, families, churches, the lonely, the ill.
None of the current curfews and lockdowns change until 70 percent, and then 80 per cent fully vaccinated watermarks are met.
These dates are estimated at October 26th and November 5th respectively.
Member for Western Victoria, and Assistant Shadow Minister for Scrutiny of Government, Bev McArthur, said those despairing will be crushed by the Premier’s plan.
It completely ignores the most important statistic: that the most vulnerable people in our community, those aged 70+ years old, have a first dose vaccination rate of 91 per cent, and 74.1 percent for second dose.
People aged over 70 represent 86 per cent of national deaths from Covid.
“This statistic alone should have been at the forefront of the Premier’s announcement,” Mrs McArthur said.
“Critically important co-morbidity and recovery data was also hidden. These are the key statistics we need.
“Yet the Andrews Roadmap continues to target the fit and healthy, the young, families, businesses and the part of the economy that is not vulnerable,” she said.
The effort to get vaccinated remains important, given about 87 per cent of people currently in ICU are not vaccinated, 12 per cent only partially vaccinated and two fully vaccinated.
“With nearly 5,675 active cases in Victoria, the hospitalisation figures clearly show most people are not getting COVID-19 seriously enough to warrant hospitalisation. This is a good thing and it should be championed – not ignored because it doesn’t suit a political agenda for control by fear.
“The bulk of people with this virus are in their 20’s and 30’s – and they are largely not the ones in hospital.
“Despite this, the Premier continues to treat this virus as a massive killer across all ages – pursuing fear as a mechanism for control,” Mrs McArthur said.
“The Premier can roll out all the modelling he likes – the reality is that he is putting a handbrake on the community, moving the goalposts, closing schools, tourism, business and restricting freedom of movement when the most vulnerable are already vaccinated.
“For those unvaccinated, there should be at least 4500 ICU beds waiting for them.
“On April 1 last year, the Premier announced $1.3 billion for another 4000 ICU beds. That money was on top of the 450 ICU beds already in Victoria and even more beds had been part of a previous $500,000 announcement.
“In total, Victoria should have at least 4500 ICU beds ready today – with some hospitals especially established for the potential COVID influx.
“The top two floors of the Barwon Health Services, University Hospital Geelong, have sat empty since March last year with 50 beds un-used which were supposed to be ready-purposed for COVID patients.
“The Premier’s worst-case scenario modelling tells us that 4500 beds may be required in total.
“Victoria can cope – assuming the Government has spent the $1.3+ billion preparing for this very moment.
“Lockdowns have flattened the curve, the aim before Zero took hold of the Labor zeitgeist.
“While we don’t lockdown for the flu, we are vaccinated for it if we choose.
“In 2019, 812 people died from the flu, and about 4,000 were hospitalised in that year.
“In 2016, there were more than 12,000 hospital admissions for the flu in Australia.
“COVID-19 is a different virus. But what these figures clearly tell us is that the Premier’s spending should have us $1.3B more prepared for this influx than any year of flu.”
Mrs McArthur has issued caution about a key term used by the Premier.
“The term ‘guard rails’ effectively tells us that, at any moment, Dan’s Grand Plan can mean nothing at all. A click of the finger and it’s gone.
“So how should we feel about this roadmap?
“No different to any other day that the Premier has spoken: wondering when serious change will happen and freedoms are returned,” she said.
“The roadmap means nothing for those people still locked out of the state, for families wanting to send children to school, for businesses wanting to operate fully and for the elderly and isolated locked up at home.
“For these Victorians, the roadmap and cure are far worse than the complaint.
“Under this plan, almost every decision demands vaccination be proven.
“Fully vaccinated families cannot be visited by fully vaccinated friends or family. Only when the 80 per cent vaccinated rate is reached can 10 vaccinated people visit.
“Why not now if full vaccination has been achieved for those families? Why the wait?
“It also limits businesses to fully vaccinated patrons.
“It celebrates vaccination apartheid for a virus in which the most vulnerable are 91 per cent first dose vaccinated, and 74 per cent double-jabbed.
“This is the only statistic that should be driving the roadmap and not one word was said.
“There was no roadmap to freedom in Victoria on Sunday.
“There was just a dead end road to nowhere - a fraud perpetrated on a very fragile, vulnerable community."
20 September 2021
