The first clue Melbourne was set to enter an extreme lockdown came via text message last Saturday. But as the toll of coronavirus on aged care homes became clear days before, and case numbers soared, a “state of disaster” was inevitable 72 hours before Victoria entered one of the strictest lockdowns in the world.
As Melburnians struggle through the city’s crippling coronavirus crisis, the second wave has brought a new breed of rule-breaker eager to disrupt. Here’s how we can save ourselves from their chaos, writes Patrick Carlyon.
Lessons should have been learned from Sydney’s fatal coronavirus cluster, but too little may have been done too late to protect Melbourne’s frail mothers, fathers and grandparents stuck in nursing homes. Why weren’t we ready?
All Ivan Rukavina wanted was answers on where his mother was, but day after day his calls to St Basil’s aged care home went unanswered. Then just days after finally learning his mother was in hospital, she passed away — robbed of spending her precious last days with family.
When Steve Bracks called for Victorians to band together and stop debating blunders made during the coronavirus crisis, he misread the mood. Melburnians are angry at their leaders at a time when they most need our trust, writes Patrick Carlyon.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has been the face of the pandemic response five days a week since March and his calm way has brought comfort in uncertain times, but as the numbers soar, he may now be sagging with the burden of grim tidings, writes Patrick Carlyon.
Victoria has adopted a suppression approach to tackling the coronavirus pandemic but some experts are calling for a tougher lockdown similar to New Zealand’s. But is elimination still possible in Australia?
Guards trading sex for hotel guests’ freedom. Shocking frontline scandals. Blunders and buck-passing. This is the must-read inside story on a catalogue of coronavirus failures that let a silent killer creep back into Melbourne.
AFL boss Gillon McLachlan and his team have responded nimbly to unknowable permutations during the coronavirus crisis but it’s hard to barrack for your team when you don’t know where they will be playing, who they play against, and if the game will go ahead at all, writes Patrick Carlyon.
The federal government plans to lift fees for humanities subjects and lower fees for more employment-oriented pursuits. Does this mean that reason, perspective, analysis, books and art works are not useful, asks Patrick Carlyon.
Original URL: https://www.heraldsun.com.au/journalists/patrick-carlyon/page/31