UNSW Economics Professor Gigi Foster says wholesale lockdowns, on net, do not save lives and it is frustrating to see this not being communicated to the public.
“This is exactly the issue, that the link between wholesale lockdown and saving lives, even saving the lives of old people, is not entirely clear,” Ms Foster told Sky News host Chris Kenny. “In fact, quite a number of older people are suffering the corollary effects of these lockdowns in the form of crowded out healthcare for non COVID-19 related illnesses.
She said Australia could react to the coronavirus more effectively than Europe if it learnt from its experiences. “And we can do even better than those other countries because we have the benefit of benefitting from all of their experiences and adopting the best innovations to protect the vulnerable populations we have here in Australia,” she said. “It’s extremely frustrating … seeing the protests over the weekend, and obviously the passage of that extension of emergency powers.
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Victorian doctors argue the lockdown is 'causing more harm than good' | Sky News AustraliaVictorian surgeon Dr Geoffrey Wells says a growing number of doctors in the state believe the lock-down is “causing more harm than good”. \n\nMr Wells is one of over 500 doctors in Victoria who have signed a letter to Premier Daniel Andrews concerning the controversial State of Emergency bill which he recently pushed through parliament with crossbench support.\n\nHe said the doctors were yet to receive a reply from the Andrews government. \n\n“What we’re seeing is that the number of referrals from general practitioners to specialists has markedly decreased, it’s probably down about 70 per cent”. \n\nMr Wells also highlighted a study recently published in the Lanced which concluded there could be an increased death rate of about 4,000 people in the United Kingdom because of the delay in specialist medical support.\n\nBecause patients are coming to see specialists at a later date, the disease is more likely to have progressed making it in turn more difficult to treat. \n\nMr Wells said he supported a “two-pronged approach” which protected the elderly while acknowledging those in the general community were at far less risk of suffering a fatal outcome from contracting the virus. \n\n“If you’re under 65 years of age, then the chance of dying from the virus is markedly decreased, it’s about one in 150,000”. \n\nImage: Getty\n
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Melbourne lockdown extended until September 28 | Sky News AustraliaThe Melbourne metropolitan area will stay under its strict stage four restrictions for at least another two weeks until September 28 but will see the evening curfew eased by one hour.\n\nPremier Daniel Andrews made the announcement on Sunday, where he outlined the state’s roadmap out.\n\n“From 11:59pm on the 13 September, we will have to extend out for two weeks the current stage four restrictions that Victorians are living under, this is for Metro Melbourne,” he said\n\nThe curfew will be slightly eased to 9:00pm and people will be allowed to exercise for two hours per day, \n\nFrom September 28 there will be second easing of restrictions.\n
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PM Morrison labels Vic lockdown extension as 'crushing' | Sky News AustraliaA “road to nowhere” is how Victoria’s path out of lockdown is being described as it sparks fury from businesses.\n\nPrime Minister Scott Morrison labelled the restrictions as “crushing” and urged the state to strengthen its health response to the virus.\n
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Melbourne's lockdown 'to be longer than Italy, London and China' | Sky News AustraliaSky News host Paul Murray says Melbourne will have to endure a 112 day lockdown for 661 deaths, while Italy had 35,524 deaths and a 58 day lockdown and London saw 41,549 people die and their lockdown only went for 104 days. \n\n“This doesn’t make any sense,” Mr Murray said. \n\nMr Murray said in France, the health minister announced on Sunday the country’s worst day for cases so far with 8,975 in one day but said there would be no lockdown because a lockdown was just a lid on an overflowing cooking pot. \n\n“Victoria, you have to wait to October for chance to maybe start to get the chance to go outside,” he said. \n\n“Yet the media…have set a false expectation for the people of Victoria.\n\n“You are not leaving your house until the end of October.\n\n“You can’t go back to work until October.”\n\nImage: AP
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'Dan Andrews has restarted lockdown, and the media is helping him lie': Murray | Sky News AustraliaSky News host Paul Murray said to anyone who thought they were getting out of home detention on September 13th and has been told by the media they’ll just have to wait another couple of weeks, well it’s not true.\n\nMr Andrews announced on Sunday tentative dates for the easing of restrictions, should new case numbers remain low. \n\nMelbourne metropolitan area will continue with its stage four lockdowns until at least September 28. \n\nFrom September 28, if cases drop to between 30 and 50 on average across the 14 days, outdoor gatherings will be increased to five people. \n\nFrom October 26 if there are under five daily cases for 14 days, including less than five mystery cases, curfew will be lifted, there will be no restrictions on leaving home, up to 10 people can gather outdoors and five people can visit households. \n\nThe last step, from November 23, if there are no cases for 14 days across the state, will see outdoor gatherings increase to 50 people, home visitors up to 20.\n\n“Daniel Andrews is lying to the people of Victoria and the media is helping him get away with it – no giant surprise,” Mr Murray said. \n\nMr Murray said the media had been incorrectly advertising the lockdown was simply extended for another few weeks, when really, it had been extended until the end of October. \n\n “He has effectively restarted the lockdown, another six weeks,” he said. \n\nImage: News Corp Australia
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Melbourne's path out of lockdown could be brought forward | Sky News AustraliaVictoria Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has flagged the timeline for Melbourne to reopen could be brought forward if case numbers consistently remain low. \n\nHe said while September 26 was “locked in” as a date to move to step one, the dates to move to steps two and three were more flexible. \n\nStep two changes were set to come into effect from October 23 under Premier Daniel Andrews’ roadmap, with step three to be rolled out on November 23. \n\n“I think we should always be in the process of continuous review.”\n\n“We wouldn't say different circumstances shouldn't lead to a relook at how we're tracking and the risk of moving to a different stage.\n\n“I think the clarity is important but I think, as you say, everyone would welcome an earlier opening rather than a later one.\n\nMr Sutton also announced Victoria marked its lowest daily caseload since June, with 41 new infections confirmed overnight. \n\nImage: News Corp Australia
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