Andrew Bolt: Political games have made crisis worse for everyone
If our leaders had got the basics of this pandemic under control — keeping the infectious in quarantine and the old safe — the rest of us could have got on with life, but political games have destroyed trust and sent us into a new wave, writes Andrew Bolt.
Andrew Bolt
Don't miss out on the headlines from Andrew Bolt. Followed categories will be added to My News.
I am sick of the politics being played with this virus.
It destroys trust and leaves Australia battling a second wave.
As early as April, I warned that governments weren’t tough enough on the basics — keeping the infectious in quarantine, and keeping the old safe.
Fix that, and the rest of us could get on with life, as long as we washed our hands and kept social distancing.
But Victoria did almost the opposite.
It was criminally slack with its quarantine hotels — the origin of almost every infection in our second wave — and also with aged care homes, 63 of which now have infections.
Almost every government has played politics.
Remember Queensland closing its schools?
Only later did its Chief Health Officer admit there was little real danger to children and shutting schools was more about marketing: “Closing them down would help people understand the gravity of the situation.”
Remember Victoria banning even golf?
“No round of golf is worth someone’s life,” declared the Premier.
In fact, this coronavirus is rarely transmitted in the open air, according to Chinese research, which is why Victoria has since dropped the ban, even with infections worse than ever.
Then the Morrison government’s coronavirus app would save us by helping to trace anyone who’d been in contact with us for 15 minutes, if they’d been infectious.
But $80 million and six million downloads later, the app has not traced one person exposed to the virus who hadn’t been found already.
No surprise.
This app couldn’t trace anyone infected by, say, droplets left behind by someone sick, and who among those most likely to die — people over 75 — would download an app, if they even had a mobile phone?
All that politics!
Victoria banned even fishing, but did not fine any of the 20,000 people who went to a Black Lives Matter protest.
Queensland let pop star Dannii Minogue serve quarantine at some private property, whereas Joe Blow must stay in a quarantine hotel.
Victoria handed security of one of its troubled quarantine hotels to a company that was not a preferred tenderer but boasted it was “indigenous owned”.
We cannot have rules made to seem so optional or political.
It is killing us, when we must all follow basic rules — wash your hands, keep your distance.
And for God’s sake stay home when sick.