To: Department of Health, Scott Morrison, Vic and NSW departments of health, and premiers Gladys Berejiklian and Daniel Andrews
Non-restrictive measures to help slow covid19 spread + ease restrictions
There are many reasons why Victoria and NSW have suffered so much with covid and longest lockdown worldwide, due to enormous failures and ongoing mistakes of our government and lack of leadership. We can't just do the same as what we have done before, to try reduce covid spreading, when it's not working, and while we are putting enormous pressure/inundation on our hospital + health systems which will eventually crash +burn, and have too many staff contact-traced +placed in isolation to function. We can’t rely only on aiming for 80% vaccine rate, when NSW numbers still haven’t peaked at 80% vaccine rate. The pressure and acute stress placed on families from lockdowns, compounding family violence, and impacts of lockdowns on mental health, is preventable. These are some practical non-restrictive reforms to help slow covid19 spread, ease inundation on the hospital systems, and work towards easing restrictions to end lockdown.
1. Prioritise mental health reforms, fast track the implantation of the mental health royal commission, co-producing this with people with lived experience, and give free online and mail/post out mental health support and courses, and self-care resources that are lived experience informed. Do more for suicide prevention and fix the 000 suicide call-out response. Do more to help people afford food and rent, to prevent homelessness, and fix Centrelink back-log.
2. Build Howard Springs standard quarantine facilities in every state/territory. Hotels should be banned from being used for quarantine, because they spread covid. Learn from failings of the hotel quarantine system and reform the quarantine workforce.
3. Train pharmacists to vaccinate more people on mass. Send more vaccine busses out to regional areas, immigration detention, institutionalised residential settings, and prisons, to get more high risk of dying people vaccinated. Give people who are immuno-compromised access to a 3rd vaccine to boost their immunity and anti-body levels, as research shows giving only two doses is equal to leaving immuno-compromised peoples unvaccinated, and 3 doses is best practice to save lives and prevent severe hospital admissions, ICU and more deaths. They’re doing this in UK and this will save public health millions, preventing large amounts of ICU admissions.
4. Address the vaccine shortages Australia-wide and booster shortages – because its already been over 6 months many essential workers were vaccinated with Pfizer, and after 6 months the effectiveness of Pfizer /anti-body levels have reduced to 65%, when many of these essential workers are working with clients high risk of dying.
5. Upgrade hospitals in all major regional area hubs, so that regional hospitals have better infrastructure to cope with outbreaks and prevent further spread.
6. Build an Australian owned PPE factory, producing high quality PPE, airtight N95 masks, PPE, N95 respirators, ventilators, medical infrastructure, etc. to help Australia and help other countries globally, given Australian and worldwide shortages. This will create jobs, help us nationally for future pandemics, respiratory protection in the bushfires and for fire-fighters who end up living with cancer from lack of respiratory protections. Flimsy non-airtight masks, with ear straps (instead of adjustable straps that go around back of head), and people using their own self-made masks, are not covid-safe or air-tight and spread covid.
1. Prioritise mental health reforms, fast track the implantation of the mental health royal commission, co-producing this with people with lived experience, and give free online and mail/post out mental health support and courses, and self-care resources that are lived experience informed. Do more for suicide prevention and fix the 000 suicide call-out response. Do more to help people afford food and rent, to prevent homelessness, and fix Centrelink back-log.
2. Build Howard Springs standard quarantine facilities in every state/territory. Hotels should be banned from being used for quarantine, because they spread covid. Learn from failings of the hotel quarantine system and reform the quarantine workforce.
3. Train pharmacists to vaccinate more people on mass. Send more vaccine busses out to regional areas, immigration detention, institutionalised residential settings, and prisons, to get more high risk of dying people vaccinated. Give people who are immuno-compromised access to a 3rd vaccine to boost their immunity and anti-body levels, as research shows giving only two doses is equal to leaving immuno-compromised peoples unvaccinated, and 3 doses is best practice to save lives and prevent severe hospital admissions, ICU and more deaths. They’re doing this in UK and this will save public health millions, preventing large amounts of ICU admissions.
4. Address the vaccine shortages Australia-wide and booster shortages – because its already been over 6 months many essential workers were vaccinated with Pfizer, and after 6 months the effectiveness of Pfizer /anti-body levels have reduced to 65%, when many of these essential workers are working with clients high risk of dying.
5. Upgrade hospitals in all major regional area hubs, so that regional hospitals have better infrastructure to cope with outbreaks and prevent further spread.
6. Build an Australian owned PPE factory, producing high quality PPE, airtight N95 masks, PPE, N95 respirators, ventilators, medical infrastructure, etc. to help Australia and help other countries globally, given Australian and worldwide shortages. This will create jobs, help us nationally for future pandemics, respiratory protection in the bushfires and for fire-fighters who end up living with cancer from lack of respiratory protections. Flimsy non-airtight masks, with ear straps (instead of adjustable straps that go around back of head), and people using their own self-made masks, are not covid-safe or air-tight and spread covid.
Why is this important?
7. Give out free N95 masks, PPE, gloves, hand sanitizer and alcohol spray to everyone in public places. Many are in financial hardship, can’t afford to buy these. If these were free more people would be using these. These can be bought affordably off ebay from Australian companies who are already producing N95 masks (but they are not airtight or have head-straps, but still affordable). Ensure essential workers have enough supply too, including disability workers and aged care workers (mandate workforces to supply these free to workers).
8. The biggest way covid is spread is surface contact, and 80% young healthy people who get covid have no symptoms, and everyone has no symptoms at the start of catching covid anyway, but is still infectious. Please encourage (NOT mandate) everyone in hotspots to wear gloves in public places, sanitise their gloves and mobile phones before and after shopping. Create a reward system for those doing this (e.g. 10% off food from Coles or Woolworths). For those who don’t want to wear gloves should be encouraged to use their tops/jumper’s sleeves as a barrier when touching things in public places.
9. Make people register their bubble buddy on a database, to ensure people are not breaking rules having multiple bubble buddies or 10 bubble buddies. For people who need more social support for mental illness reasons, can apply for exemptions, which are already being granted with supporting GP letters.
10. Prioritise systemic work to support countries who have too many vaccines, to better share these globally, to prevent covid further mutating in other countries globally.
11. Shared air ventilation in apartment needs to be legally mandated to be fixed, to become covid-19 safer and reduce spread for current and future pandemics, if not for whole apartment complexes at least tenancy and body corporate law reforms to allow ventilation to be shut off for people high risk of dying. Body corporates could lead this work.
12. We need state and federal leadership in reforming covid safety in the residential care systems, disability and aged care, youth residential care (many disabled children with poor health outcomes in this system) and prisons (80% of prisoners have disabilities including complex medical conditions/ chronic illnesses). Services that have led in covid-safety (with least cases) should be funded to lead reform work in this area and trainings e.g. StVincent’s aged care facility in Eltham developed covid-safe protocols stricter than department of health’s mandated minimum standards.
13. Stop people going overseas for wedding's and other non essential reasons , cos even delta strain previously got out of hotel quarantine from a family who went to a wedding overseas.
14. Anyone who needs to travel to Melbourne or Sydney hotspots, from regional areas, when able to, should carry a vaccination certificate. Those who need to travel for essential reasons should be allowed to, and prioritised for vaccination immediately if they want to be vaccinated. Until they are vaccinated, they should be mandated to wear gloves and N95 (quality airtight masks) in public places, to not spread covid if they catch it from Melbourne, until they get fully vaccinated. This will prevent further outbreaks in regional areas.
15. People who work in high-contact jobs like tradies, truck drivers, removalists, taxi and ride-share drivers, hospitality, should be mandated to wear gloves and airtight N95 masks at work, unless they are fully vaccinated. Hold taxi and ride-share drivers accountable to doing covid19 cleaning protocols properly, by having random CCTV reviews, rewards for them doing covid-safe cleaning, and penalties for those who don’t do it. Give them free alcohol spray, gloves, N95 masks, and sanitiser to make covid cleaning easier.
16. Regulate sale of n95 masks in Australia, sanitiser and cleaning products, to have a covid safe tick, so people know if the products they are buying will actually protect against covid19 or not. Most masks being sold are not air-tight OR N95 filtered.
17. Make vaccinations easier for disabled and other disadvantaged groups to access, make appointments easier to make. Make all information accessible to disabled people, Auslan and people of other languages.
18. Make it easier to get covid19 tested, invent a text to be added to the que system, so peoples mobiles can be texted 30 mins before being ready to come in.
19. Do more to help the insecure workforce not spread covid (paid sick leave from getting sick from vaccines or covid tested or sick) and more to help small business survive.
20. For the anti-vaxers who are scared of dying or severe adverse reactions, create a nursing assistance hub (with a nurse and nurse assistants) to watch over them for days after being vaccinated, for those who live alone and anyone scared of adverse reactions, or history anaphylaxis. Have consultations and workshops with anti-vaxers; work with them to address their fears and concerns. Have information from these available in videos translated to different languages. Giving people choice over which vaccine they get will increase uptake.
8. The biggest way covid is spread is surface contact, and 80% young healthy people who get covid have no symptoms, and everyone has no symptoms at the start of catching covid anyway, but is still infectious. Please encourage (NOT mandate) everyone in hotspots to wear gloves in public places, sanitise their gloves and mobile phones before and after shopping. Create a reward system for those doing this (e.g. 10% off food from Coles or Woolworths). For those who don’t want to wear gloves should be encouraged to use their tops/jumper’s sleeves as a barrier when touching things in public places.
9. Make people register their bubble buddy on a database, to ensure people are not breaking rules having multiple bubble buddies or 10 bubble buddies. For people who need more social support for mental illness reasons, can apply for exemptions, which are already being granted with supporting GP letters.
10. Prioritise systemic work to support countries who have too many vaccines, to better share these globally, to prevent covid further mutating in other countries globally.
11. Shared air ventilation in apartment needs to be legally mandated to be fixed, to become covid-19 safer and reduce spread for current and future pandemics, if not for whole apartment complexes at least tenancy and body corporate law reforms to allow ventilation to be shut off for people high risk of dying. Body corporates could lead this work.
12. We need state and federal leadership in reforming covid safety in the residential care systems, disability and aged care, youth residential care (many disabled children with poor health outcomes in this system) and prisons (80% of prisoners have disabilities including complex medical conditions/ chronic illnesses). Services that have led in covid-safety (with least cases) should be funded to lead reform work in this area and trainings e.g. StVincent’s aged care facility in Eltham developed covid-safe protocols stricter than department of health’s mandated minimum standards.
13. Stop people going overseas for wedding's and other non essential reasons , cos even delta strain previously got out of hotel quarantine from a family who went to a wedding overseas.
14. Anyone who needs to travel to Melbourne or Sydney hotspots, from regional areas, when able to, should carry a vaccination certificate. Those who need to travel for essential reasons should be allowed to, and prioritised for vaccination immediately if they want to be vaccinated. Until they are vaccinated, they should be mandated to wear gloves and N95 (quality airtight masks) in public places, to not spread covid if they catch it from Melbourne, until they get fully vaccinated. This will prevent further outbreaks in regional areas.
15. People who work in high-contact jobs like tradies, truck drivers, removalists, taxi and ride-share drivers, hospitality, should be mandated to wear gloves and airtight N95 masks at work, unless they are fully vaccinated. Hold taxi and ride-share drivers accountable to doing covid19 cleaning protocols properly, by having random CCTV reviews, rewards for them doing covid-safe cleaning, and penalties for those who don’t do it. Give them free alcohol spray, gloves, N95 masks, and sanitiser to make covid cleaning easier.
16. Regulate sale of n95 masks in Australia, sanitiser and cleaning products, to have a covid safe tick, so people know if the products they are buying will actually protect against covid19 or not. Most masks being sold are not air-tight OR N95 filtered.
17. Make vaccinations easier for disabled and other disadvantaged groups to access, make appointments easier to make. Make all information accessible to disabled people, Auslan and people of other languages.
18. Make it easier to get covid19 tested, invent a text to be added to the que system, so peoples mobiles can be texted 30 mins before being ready to come in.
19. Do more to help the insecure workforce not spread covid (paid sick leave from getting sick from vaccines or covid tested or sick) and more to help small business survive.
20. For the anti-vaxers who are scared of dying or severe adverse reactions, create a nursing assistance hub (with a nurse and nurse assistants) to watch over them for days after being vaccinated, for those who live alone and anyone scared of adverse reactions, or history anaphylaxis. Have consultations and workshops with anti-vaxers; work with them to address their fears and concerns. Have information from these available in videos translated to different languages. Giving people choice over which vaccine they get will increase uptake.
