Advertisement

Your views: on medi-hotels, lockdown bans and war crimes

Today, readers comment on SA’s virus crisis and a Defence inquiry ruling that SAS soldiers committed dozens of murders in Afghanistan.

Nov 20, 2020, updated Nov 20, 2020
Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

Photo: Tony Lewis/InDaily

Commenting on the story: SA locked down: Authorities call six-day ‘pause’

Victoria’s second wave started in a medi-hotel, and now so has SA’s.

When will all governments, state and federal, realise that each state needs a quarantine station large and well-equipped enough to accommodate high volumes of returning citizens with a high standard of safety and comfort.

It should be in a location that is both convenient to Adelaide and sufficiently isolated. It should be staffed by professionals who have sufficient PPE, are tested daily and, ideally, are also restricted to the site.

It should NOT involve private contractors, and no staff should need or be able to have other jobs while working there and within the proper quarantine period afterwards.

Outsourcing public health functions to private operators does not work; it never has and it never will. – Allan Robins

South Australians should first and foremost not be angry (Your views, Thursday November 19) at people doing the worst jobs in our society, which they do for pay so bad that they have to take on other badly paid jobs too.

This was never right, but perhaps COVID has done us the favour of making it clear that it has costs for all of us, not just those we force into this situation. When we bring back a system where people have job security and are paid decently, there will be many advantages, economic and social for our State: not least, we will have less issues of this kind. 

The federal government has chosen to bring in Australians and timed it for the height of the pandemic. As a consequence all those working with people in quarantine are in increased contact with COVID and this will likely get worse in the following months, not better.

Events of this sort will happen, probably at an increased rate. They will especially happen if people are paid badly and expected to work too quickly to do their job properly. That is the situation with cleaners and has been for a long time.

If people are quarantined offshore, then those who do our dirty work in regard to that, ie cleaners, should be compensated appropriately. – Cathy Chua

Commenting on the opinion piece: More staff testing, more pay needed after medi-hotel virus breakout

Hold it, hold it! There wouldn’t be any need for this lockdown if these entitled Australians returning to Australia were in controlled 14-day isolation with testing before boarding a plane to Australia, and 14 days isolation with testing once they have arrived in Australia.

If they are so keen to return to Australia then they need to be 100% clean before leaving for Australia. That way 1.5 million South Australians would not be in strict lockdown now.

We would all be safe and going about our daily lives if stricter laws were in place before entering Australia, rather than letting infected people in and dealing with them once they arrive. So we didn’t learn anything from Victoria’s hotel bungle. Poor management. – Wayne Viney

Commenting on the story: Ban on funerals adding to family grief

Totally agree with this article. My father passed away on Saturday and the timing of this could not have been worse.

Although we as a family do agree with the need for the lockdown, we are hoping we get some clarity about how the restrictions will be after the six days as soon as possible so we can plan properly (e.g. attendee numbers, being able to arrange a florist) so we are able to have some closure and send our dad off in the way he deserves. – Jarrod Duncan

I work in the funeral industry and understand better than most the grief that people are going through at the loss of a loved one. 

At a funeral as funeral directors we can tell/advise/recommend mourners and display signs not to hug or kiss and stay 1.5m apart until we’re blue in the face, they all ignore us and do it anyway. It is a natural thing for people to do in a time of great distress or even great happiness. People naturally hug and kiss at weddings and funerals.

This is the easiest way to spread the COVID-19 virus if anyone has it. It doesn’t matter if there are 40, four or just two people at the funeral, if one has it everyone else could contract it from them. If the mourners aren’t carrying the viru,s what if the celebrant or the funeral director are? We are trying to protect everyone at this time.

InDaily in your inbox. The best local news every workday at lunch time.
By signing up, you agree to our User Agreement andPrivacy Policy & Cookie Statement. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

As upsetting as it is to have a funeral cancelled, think about the grieving people who have had, or will have, a loved one pass away during lockdown. Most of these people will not have had the chance to be with their loved ones as they take their last breath or say goodbye to them while they are still alive. These families can’t meet anyone to get arrangements started so their deceased is in limbo as well.

We are set up to do phone arrangements and email paperwork to families but nothing can be booked until the lockdown is lifted. This means celebrants/clergy, funeral chapels/churches, florists, musicians, printers and audio visual people. Nothing at all can be booked. Who knows when this will be able to be done? It could be Wednesday 25th at 12.01a.m. or Thursday December 3rd at 12.01a.m., we just do not know. 

This is a time for everyone to sit back and let this trying period pass. If all goes well it should only be for 14 days. Is this such a hardship compared to what Victoria went through? – Paul Fitzgerald

My sister has had cancer, and chemo, radiotherapy: still under treatment, her immune system is shattered.

She hasn’t been in a shop since January, goes out and walks for exercise as soon as the sun comes up, early enough that there’s nobody else about. She’s  alone with her partner all day, every day. Has seen none of her friends, not her daughter, her new grandson, nobody. She doesn’t answer her door; if her partner’s not there it goes unanswered. All we can do for her is phone her, message her, and include her in our thoughts.

Let’s care about people who have cancer. Let’s get rid of this horrible disease so we can go back to a normal life that  includes those who have risk factors- the sick and the elderly included. – Judith Kellett

Commenting on the story: No new COVID cases in SA as Victoria shuts its border

The ban on doing outdoor exercise, but considering bottle shop workers as essential workers really puzzles me.

So the government thinks it’s better for people to get drunk at home than jogging and having fresh air outside their apartments to stay healthy? Going to church to say a prayer is banned, but going to a bottle shop to buy lots of alcohol is OK? Would people get fined from jogging to go to the nearest bottle shop? – Veronica Soebarto

Commenting on the story: “Profound betrayal”: War crimes report refers Australian soldiers to police over Afghan murders, SAS unit disbanded

As an ex-conscript during the Vietnam war, I am not surprised that Afghans were murdered. When you in the army you are trained to kill, that’s what the armed forces are all about.

However, most members know there are are rules of engagement, but in these cases some soldiers decided not to obey the rules.

Perhaps those officers in charge of training and supervising soldiers need to take responsibility and ensure that their troops know the limits of their actions. – Doug Matthews

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.