Posted by alexandra_k on April 7, 2020, at 23:50:24
In reply to Re: UVC, posted by alexandra_k on April 7, 2020, at 22:20:53
We are 2 weeks into a nation-wide 4 week 'level 4' lockdown.
A county of 4 million. A city of around one a a half-million then a lot of 'small towns we like to call citys' of 400,000 (Christchurch), 200,000 (Wellington), 165,000 (Hamilton)...
Around 1,000 cases. A couple clusters. An Auckland school. A wedding in Bluff. A residential home in Christchurch. Most cases are people coming in but some cases of community transmission...
It does seem to be being contained.
But if the schools were to open up, I don't think it would remain that way. Our classrooms are very over-crowded and our kids aren't taught to wash their hands / cough into their elbow / maintain social distancing.
We are in the Autum / Fall. Our flu season hasn't arrived, as yet. Heaters haven't needed to be turned on, yet. We usually get first frosts at Easter Weekend (Hamilton, anyway).
Our MInister of Health is mostly done.
Our... Manger General of Health is playing a much more promanent role. Ashley Bloomfield.
Went to Medical School married a doctor has a tertiary aged kid. Around that age when his kid likely wants to go to Medical School... Seems to be about when people come to the political fore in the Health Sector.
He keeps saying that we have enough x and y and z.
Then doctors say 'but we only have 4 of those and 5 of these and that isn't enough'.
So then the issue is 'where are all the supplies? Who is stockpiling all the supplies?' and the various hoardings that there are in our supply chain.
There are discrepancies between what is technically available (e.g., the number of flu vaccines that we have) and the number that are actually administered (they keep track of each dose administered) and... Most of them are just kept hoarded by some clinics while some other clinics are forced to go without.
And then other supplies, too.
We are having trouble getting gowns, now, because gown producers have turned to production of masks, instead. So we are having gown shortage problems.
Hand sanitiser shortage problems.
It's... Unenviable. Being there for the discovery of all this. In an election year.
But it seems to be being worked through. Which is progress.
GPs are saying that moving to online consultations has resulted in about 10 years of progres to GP services in only a couple weeks. It was the catalyst for change.
However you feel about abortion... Our rates are very high... Our rates of youth / teen pregnancy is very high. Our rates of domestic violence and sexual abuse are very high. OUr rates of incest is very high. YOU need to udnerstand abortion rates in that context. Not so much as adults choosing to have abortions instead of using birth control. Teenagers and tweens and even 9 year old girls... Can get pills now. Apparently it isn't supposed to be as safe as having suction. But so very very very very very much less invasive (psychologically at least). I think that is good progress for NZ. IN conjunction with other things.
I don't know how it's working in practice... But they seem to be saying 'your bubble (household you are in lockdown with) is supposed to be safe. Let us know if you need a new bubble'. So partners of domestic violence may have this opportunity to leave (go into hotel accommodation when tourism isn't happening) and of course they can't be pursued. Not right now.
The schools were at breaking point with overcrowding. Literally at breaking point. They had not enough classrooms. Literally couldn't pack any more of them in. Unheated spaces. Not developed world conditions.
Things are... BEtter now. In so very very many ways.
I don't know how our education system will turn out.
I see England is not going to externally examine their school leavers this year.
It's potential for the kids of the elite to be given everything that was their birth-right since there is no objective indepenent blind grading or examination by people who don't know whose kid it is and who doesn't know how long the kid has been laboring.
poster:alexandra_k
thread:1109408
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/poli/20191212/msgs/1109464.html