ABOVE: The covid testing clinic at Casino was located next to a graveyard. It is now closed.
Susanna Freymark
It’s rare these days to see people wearing face masks in Casino or Kyogle.
A year ago, covid cases were reported every day and people were isolating for 14 days when they tested positive.
We got used to doing RATs at home.
Now, the months of lockdown are a blur.
In Casino, the covid testing clinic, oddly located next to a graveyard, has closed. Lismore is the closest testing clinic.
From Friday, October 14, people who test positive for covid will no longer have to report it on the State Government website or on the Service NSW app.
Previously, residents who failed to report a positive RAT faced a fine of $1000.
The state’s chief health officer Kerry Chant said people should carry on reporting positive covid cases voluntarily.
Two weeks ago, National Cabinet announced the end of mandatory isolation for those who test positive for covid.
From this Friday, people can go out in public even if they have tested positive for the virus but wearing a mask is recommended.
The covid numbers haven’t gone away, but we no longer react to the number of deaths or cases in the way we did before.
For instance:
In NSW there were 10,767 covid cases in the seven days up to October 6. There were 41 deaths and 23 people in ICU.
Closer to home in the same time period there were 23 covid cases reported in Clarence Valley, 22 in Richmond Valley and two covid cases reported in the Kyogle LGA.
In the past these numbers would have caused alarm.
NSW was the first state to reach a 80% vaccination rate for covid in October 2021.
As the nation hit peak vaccination, Australia opened up and we began to resume ‘normal’ life.
Guardian Australia reported millions more vaccines were due to arrive in Australia before the end of the year with the first Omicron-specific version of the Moderna shot available to the public next week.
“After a slow start getting the vaccines into the country, there is now a lag in getting boosters into arms. More than 95% of eligible Australians have had two doses of a Covid vaccine since the rollout began in February last year, while 72% have received a third shot and only 40% a fourth,” the Guardian reported.
Have we become complacent about covid? Or are we simply living with the virus?
Time will tell. With new strains a real possibility, the lessons from covid may not yet be over.
We will, at least, know more about how we respond to a pandemic, what we need and that the great toilet paper rush we saw early on in the pandemic really wasn’t necessary.
