By Dominique Tassell
I’m incredibly torn on how to approach reporting on Covid-19 at the moment.
On one hand, I don’t want to incite panic, I don’t want to be a fear-mongering journalist. But on the other hand, I’m frankly very scared.
Members of my family have Covid now. One of them had asthma as a kid and picked up another member of my family from the airport, while wearing a mask, when they were already infected. The latter doesn’t even count as a close contact because they didn’t spend four hours together, so hasn’t been tested.
Yes, they’re all vaccinated. Yes, their symptoms are mild and the likelihood of them getting extremely sick is low. But it’s still scary.
We are inevitably going to hit 300 cases (let’s be honest, it will be well over) tomorrow on Wednesday 12 January. And we know the numbers are much higher because of a RAT shortage and a frankly ridiculous reluctance from the government to do PCR testing on everyone who wants it.
I understand that the demand in a city like Brisbane is incredibly high and they’re trying to ensure they test the people who need it most.
But frankly, I think they could do better in rural areas like the Southern Downs. We had an influx of people getting tested months ago and we dealt with it. To tell people that they don’t need to be tested is irresponsible in my opinion.
I also take issue with the lax approach I see some people in the region having towards Covid-19.
I hear a lot of people saying that we’re all going to get it and that we should just “let it rip”.
Frankly, I find that a very selfish view.
There are so many people who would get very sick from Covid. Immunosuppressed people are everywhere. It feels incredibly ableist to assume everyone will be okay if they get Covid.
We still don’t know what to expect in regards to long Covid. “Letting it rip” could mean we have a portion of our population dealing with chronic illness as a result.
I still remember the absolute terror I felt when we had hotspots a few months ago and I had to be tested. I was horrified that I might have given it to someone else.
Yes, I might be okay if I get it. But someone else might not.
It’s that, the not caring about other people, that frankly pisses me off about other people.
It’s the people wearing their masks under their noses.
It’s staff not enforcing the vaccine mandate.
It’s people not socially distancing.
They might not mean it this way, but to me they may as well be holding up a sign saying they don’t care about other people.
That’s what pisses me off.
-Mini Tassell
