Just when we thought the carnival was over, the rollercoaster started all over again with a Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria. Allegedly the outbreak was caused by a person exiting hotel quarantine in South Australia while being Covid-positive.
If hotel quarantine is to work, surely we shouldn’t be letting people out unless they supply a negative test result before they can exit into the public domain. Now we have the situation again, where the cases are increasing but instead of just closing down the hot spots or Greater Melbourne, they’ve decided to lock down the entire state of Victoria and put businesses and jobs in jeopardy once again.
Surely common sense would show that if we close our international borders completely, we will not have to continue to stop/start our economy and these new outbreaks would not occur. We cannot seem to successfully manage the Covid virus or to ensure that no Covid-positive person leaves quarantine or infects anyone else while they are in quarantine. The alternative of course to closing our international borders is using dedicated quarantine stations outside the cities where the people undergoing quarantine have no contact with anyone else until it is ensured they’re Covid-free.
We keep blaming everybody that the vaccine is not rolling out fast enough and not enough people are getting vaccinated but seriously, from what I have read, it’s a vaccine that doesn’t stop you from getting Covid, doesn’t stop you from transmitting Covid, and it doesn’t stop you from carrying Covid. It doesn’t really convince you to subject yourself to rushing in to get the vaccination unless you are in a high-risk situation. It has been rushed through testing, and we still live in a country that has freedom of choice, just barely.
This continued rollercoaster of opening and locking down and Covid/no Covid caused the postponement of the long-awaited Transport Women Australia Limited Driving the Difference Conference that was to be held in late May. It has now been rescheduled for the October 22-24, 2021. TWAL is promising that, Covid-permitting, it’ll be back bigger and brighter than ever.
The sponsors, supporters, members and attendees have been very supportive, and Hyatt Place Essendon Fields allowed us to postpone with no loss of funds, which enabled us to change things very quickly and reschedule.
TWAL is going ahead with a Learning Initiatives Breakfast in Perth in July. We will announce the date next week. This will be followed up by Learning Initiatives Breakfasts in other states too.
We are also calling for mentees and mentors, especially mentors for our Creating Connections Mentoring Programme, as there is a great need for this programme in these uncertain times.
For further information regarding the conference or any of TWAL’s programmes, please contact chair@transportwomen.com.au or phone 0417 422 319.