Honestly, when I read this I am not surprised at all. I feel the message that Dan Andrews is giving to Victorians is confusing and it needs to be simplified, more direct. It's not people's fault if the message is not clear.
The government has said get tested. We're testing the community. Thanks for your help. There's nothing about isolating after the test. The government has and is failing in it's messages to the public.
Ultimately, whilst the government may fail, it is up to each of us to take full responsibility for our own actions. We know from media reports of people getting tested at Chadstone that half of the people who got tested either went into Chadstone Shopping Centre after being tested, or came out of Chadstone Shopping Centre to get tested. For goodness sake, who came up with the idea of testing people at shopping centres.
The message really is quite simple.
- If you're sick then immediately self isolate to protect your family, friends and work colleagues.
- Get tested as soon as possible.
- Self isolate until you get the test results back. That includes isolating from your own family at home.
The government then has to do their part. After being tested far too many people haven't got their test results back, or got their results back in a timely manner (based on what I've read in the media and feedback from others). Results should be back within 48 hours. No one is going to wait around for test results because frankly, you may never hear anything.
The problem is the government has pushed hard to have a high number of people tested. Quantity has taken precedence of quality. That's pushed out the time taken to get test results back. That's exposed the community and continues to expose the community.
When a family member was tested one weekend because they were sick, they waited a few days and then went out to see family the following Friday. Nearly a week after getting tested. No message about results. The problem we had is we were then going to see the family member they had visited. Because we didn't know if the person was positive or not for coronavirus, we put our visit on hold. With a bit of internet searching I found the following number to call. The person was then able to call and with a bit of redirection got the result that they were negative for coronavirus.
Any system that needs to say "and have been waiting for more than 5 business days" is clearly not good enough. It's terrible. People need to know within 48 hours so they can take appropriate action.
Since the government is failing, if people end up being positive, those people can take action and help those around them. I get that people won't want to inform strangers, retailers, or organisations they may have visited, but just imagine if they did. We don't need government to speed up who knows. We just need to take action and that is in the hands of all of us.
I created a site www.Mapz.com.au/coronavirusvictoria/ which shows all the locations there's been coronavirus exposure across Victoria that I can find in the press online. I know it's not complete, but it's better than nothing. The government has all the data and could let us know all the public exposure locations people have been and keep us informed. They don't and to me that's a failure of the government. If there's a public location I can go to, I should know if there's been an exposure at that location and so should the community. We don't need to know people's private locations because if we know them, I'm sure they'll let us know if they're infected. Don't assume they'll tell you, You need to ask. Sadly that's just the way some people are.
The government is doing what they can and whilst I may not think it is enough, it's what they do. We can then add to what they do with our own actions. Together we can make a real difference.
Kelvin Eldridge
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