Andrew Bolt: Farcical bans are now one sick joke

For months our politicians have treated us like fools, but now the fraud of some of their restrictions have been exposed.

The fraud of some virus bans is now exposed.

When will our politicians stop treating us like fools or children?

Example 1: Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has finally lifted the lockdown of country Victoria, other than for Greater Shepparton.

He imposed this lockdown three weeks ago when there were 386 infected Victorians and 61 new cases, but lifts it now that there are 1920 active cases and 221 new ones.

So why was it too dangerous three weeks ago to let country Victorians out of their homes, even in towns that had never known an infection, but fine now when there are five times more sick people?

Answer – because this ban was stupid to start with, and Andrews scraps it only after making life needlessly tough for 1.5 million country people.

Daniel Andrews on Wednesday freed most of regional Victoria. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Example 2: All Melbourne and part of Sydney have curfews that Deputy NSW Premier John Barilaro now admits “don’t work” and were imposed in Sydney because “there was a lot of media push” to do something.

Example 3:

Closing schools turns out to be almost pointless, too, to judge from new research into the 51 outbreaks in NSW schools and childcare centres between mid-June to July.

Professor Kristine Macartney, of The Children’s Hospital at Westmead, said on Wednesday this research showed most infected children had few or no symptoms, and only 2 per cent got hospitalised, but usually just for “social reasons”, like having their parents in hospital.

What’s more, very few transmitted their infection to other children or their teachers.

The teachers were more likely to infect them.

So reopen schools now, with vaccinated teachers in class. This in-school ban is hell on children.

How many other virus bans are more pain than gain?

Here’s a short list – bans on going to the beach or a park, where infection risks are near zero; bans on walking outside without a face mask; bans on walking outside for more than an hour or two; bans on fully vaccinated people meeting up or travelling overseas.

But what of the lockdowns themselves? They look like dragging on for a month or more – unless our leaders admit they’re no longer worth the pain, either.

Don’t be surprised if they buckle.

For one, vaccination levels are now high enough to take a chance. They’re higher than many European countries had when they opened up.

And now that so many useless bans have been exposed, odds are our politicians must admit to more.