James Campbell: Victorians are scarred from lockdown trauma
Our state is still reeling from lockdown trauma and a short flight interstate reveals the extent of the hangover and what it could be costing us.
James Campbell
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It’s hard to grasp how badly the long lockdown has traumatised Victorians until you get on a plane interstate.
When you land in Queensland you’re greeted by coppers who ask in a half-hearted manner where you have come from.
Aside from the requirement to sign in when you walk into a cafe, that’s the only reminder COVID-19 exists.
It’s like being on another planet.
Weeks after the premier relaxed the rules around masks, they are still a common sight in the centre of Melbourne and the inner city.
In Queensland you’d feel like a weirdo and it takes a few days to stop checking your pockets every time you go out to make sure you’ve got one in your pocket.
Restaurants and bars are packed up there. People are going to the office.
There are no restrictions on how many people you can have to your house.
After the winter we have been through that all feels weird.
Even weirder is no one seems to be talking about the pandemic.
It’s not just front of people’s minds in the way it is here.
In contrast, the rules Victorians are stuck with until at least January under Dan’s “COVIDSafe Summer” are designed specifically to make sure we can never forget about the pandemic.
Not that there’s any real danger of that happening while Daniel Andrews and Brett Sutton are around.
If we’ve learned anything in the past few months it is how slow to relax restrictions those two gentlemen are once they have imposed them.
Which explains the out-size public interest in the revamped hotel quarantine program.
We’ve seen how the Andrews Government screwed this up the first time around and we know what the consequences for us will be if things go wrong again.
So fingers crossed.
So far so good, though it wouldn’t be Victoria of course if there weren’t an extra layer of pettiness.
In Sydney quarantining travellers can have booze delivered to their rooms, ours are restricted to what is available in the hotel minibar at hotel minibar prices.
The best thing that could happen of course would be for hotel quarantine to work so smoothly that we almost forget it’s there as is the case in Sydney which has so far managed it without unleashing a second wave on the country.
The longer that takes to happen, the longer the sense of crisis will linger in Victoria, the longer our economy is going to take to recover: and the more chance that people will leave. It’s fair enough that people are feeling better after the lockdowns we have endured.
Compared to three months ago things feel normal.
But they’re not normal.
Things here are still really weird.
A plane ride to Sydney or Brisbane will quickly teach you that in a way that no amount of reading can ever do.
WHY MASKS WON’T DEFEAT THE VIRUS
Let’s not forget that just about every public health official from Anthony Fauci to Brett Sutton was adamant that masks should not be worn by people who are not sick.
That opinion was firmly held for several months during the pandemic until June when mass mask wearing suddenly became crucial to the fight to combat COVID-19.
Since then the face panty has become a symbol, that for some, inspires religious-like fervour. Even now with Victoria’s mask rules relaxed you’ll see folks wearing one when walking the dog in the park or driving alone in the family car.
I was in NSW two weeks ago and it was rare to see anyone in a mask, whether at Coles, a café or at a crowded sporting event.
NSW outdoor stadiums and theatres can utilise 100 per cent capacity while Victoria’s Health Minister Martin Foley still wrings his hands about how many fans will be allowed at the Boxing Day Test, in just three weeks time.
They at least have a start date – we still can’t even confirm when the Australian Open will actually be on.
For some masks are seen as the answer to defeating coronavirus but the US and European experience challenges that notion.
One misconception we have about the US is that no one wears masks.
Well, after spending three weeks in Pennsylvania and New York last month let me assure you that everyone wears masks indoors and outdoors from Pittsburgh to Manhattan and yet it’s done little to curb the rate of infection.
— Rita Panahi
OTHER STATES DON’T SPEAK THE SAME LANGUAGE
The apprehension is palpable on flights out of Melbourne right now.
Wedged in six to a row, it’s the closest most of us have been to strangers in months.
Masks are only lowered for a quick snack and a cup of water.
Landing in Canberra is like landing in a foreign country.
Masks are the exception, not the rule.
Waiters rarely bother reminding diners about QR code check-ins.
People shake hands.
The Victorians stand out because we don’t speak the same COVID-safe language.
We’re awkward about greetings — should we bump fists, tap elbows, or just wave?
We debate whether etiquette dictates sitting in the front or back of a taxi.
We avoid coughing in public.
Canberra’s relative freedom is experienced cautiously, with the knowledge that the capital’s defences are relaxed and its public health system is not match-fit.
In parliament, visitors from other states all want to know what life was like in lockdown. They’re empathetic and sensitive.
It’s hard to explain how Melbourne has changed.
While Canberra has not had a locally acquired case for 150 days, federal MPs are following the rules. In the last parliamentary week of the year, raucous Christmas functions have been replaced by smaller get-togethers with per-room limits.
Those from interstate are planning trips around the country for their summer break.
The Victorians, finally freed to fly to the capital, just seem to want to go home.
Everyone agrees on one thing: the end of 2020 can’t come soon enough.
— Tom Minear
IT’S TIME TO STOP LIVING IN FEAR
Being in Sydney felt like being a million miles away from Melbourne.
What’s COVID? Does it even exist?
Leaving Melbourne Airport travellers are warned over the loudspeaker not to hug anyone and maintain social distancing.
No overexcited greetings at the arrivals gate please.
Some cafes even demand customers pay by card not cash to avoid the transmission of those nasty germs.
It’s fine for the barista to massage my coffee cup but it’s not okay to hand them a $10 note.
On arrival into Sydney’s domestic terminal it was immediately time to rip the mask off.
And that was pretty much the extent of worrying about COVID.
Walking down the street or in the supermarket no-one gives you a wide berth like they do in Melbourne, it’s business as usual.
Swimming at a packed Coogee beach on a hot afternoon felt like pre-COVID life, everyone enjoying the sun, sand and salt water without a worry in the world.
As for the Sydney restaurants and pubs, they were heaving and many at capacity, bustling as they should in the final weeks before Christmas.
Yet back in Victoria the State Government has failed to hand over the $200 vouchers it promised 120,000 Victorians, designed to make people spend and give tourism and the regional economy a much-needed financial boost.
Many Victorian restaurants and pubs remain quiet when they should be at their busiest and it remains to be seen if many will survive.
Life in Sydney is pretty much normal and a far cry from the mayhem that millions of Victorians endured during the months and months of lockdown.
I lost count of how many times Sydneysiders asked me about the Victorian disaster – they immediately felt empathy.
Victorians have been institutionalised to live in fear of what Premier Daniel Andrews constantly refers to as this “wildly infectious” virus.
But if it’s so dangerous then Sydneysiders certainly aren’t worried – after catching busy modes of public transport including light rail and buses virtually no-one wears masks.
It’s time Victorians were able to start living like the rest of the country instead of being taught to live in fear.
— Sophie Elsworth
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