One Step Forward, One Step Backward

If the past few months have taught us anything, it is that we are in for a long fight. Any thoughts that the pandemic would fly past in a couple of months and then we would be able to return to our previous way of life, now seem like pure fantasy.

We are now about one and half weeks into the latest lockdown. Is is lockdown 3 or 3.1 ? I am not really sure as I seem to have lost count somewhere around the end of July. Over the past week the Premier and his cohorts have tried to bolster morale by telling us that the "worst was over" and that we will now see numbers start to fall.

Last Thursday we were given a new infection number of around 270. This was apparently a reason to celebrate, even though the daily death toll is going in the reverse direction. Buoyed by that news, I was led to make a prediction that the next day's count would have dropped to around 220. I was wrong, it went the opposite way and increased by around a hundred. Every time this type of news is released, you can feel the spirits of the community take a hit. We are all so desparately wanting this to be over, so much so that the daily new infection number has become a barometer of the state's mental health.

Over the past two days, the number has returned to below 300, however the daily death toll rose to 16. This means we have the "good news and bad news" story. I am sure that the daily preoccupation with the new numbers will continue through the coming week. If we don't see a significant improvement by next Friday, I fear that the current lockdown will have to be lengthened, or maybe even tightened further.

Yesterday was memorable for another reason. Being a Melbourne supporter since 1964, I have become very used to being disappointed year in and year out. Moments of celebration are few and far between. Yesterday Melbourne achieved the rare success of beating their arch rival Collingwood. They not only beat them, but gave them a good old fashioned shellacking by 56 points. It was a huge ray of sunshine in an other wise grey day.

Perhaps things are finally on the improve after all.Read more