COVID-19 / Australia / 23rd & 29th December Update

In my blog of 14th December I predicted the removal of Covid transmission prevention regulations the next day was ‘not going to end well’ due to the emergence of the Omicron variant.

And so it came to pass all over the country to the exclusion of Western Australia where restrictions remained.

In our state of New South Wales, cases increased substantially. Today over 5000.

Roughly 80% of NSW Covid cases are now the Omicron variant with more than 70% in the 10 to 39 year old age group.

Testing facilities have been overwhelmed.

Hospitalisation and ICU numbers are trending upwards.

There is a increasing shortage of medical staff in hospitals.

However both the federal and the state governments held their ground on not reinstating even the most basic preventative measures eg. mask wearing and QR check in.

There was substantial disquiet within the population. The government’s mantra of  ‘personal responsibility’ when it came to public health was met with some disdain.

But today some sanity (a rare commodity in this government) prevailed and some restrictions were reintroduced. 

• From midnight tonight, masks indoors will be mandatory until January 27.
• Next year, rapid antigen tests will be provided for free, but how that will be rolled out is yet to be determined.
• QR codes will be brought back in a limited way in low-risk settings.
• People have been asked to work from home if they can.
• The one person per two square metres rule in indoor hospitality will be reintroduced from 27 December to 27 January.
• And people in the state are being asked that, unless they are feeling unwell or they have been specifically told to get a PCR test, don’t get one.

Too little too late?

We’ll just have to wait and see.

But for us it will be self isolating, again, until the end of January.

The farm gate is shut!

Update: 29th December.

The floodgates are well and truly open.

Today 11,201 cases. Hospital admissions increasing.

Cases are now being reported in our local area for the first time since the pandemic began.

COVID-19 / Australia / 18th December Update

We capped off a week when ‘Covid Freedoms’ kicked in with a huge rise in cases in New South Wales and Victoria, jumps in Queensland and South Australia too, plus a fair bit of general anxiety about what the surge might mean and how much case numbers might grow.
Today’s Covid figure in New South Wales, 2482, is the highest daily total of any state in Australia since the pandemic began.
However with over 90% of the population vaccinated, the true test of the success of the state government’s ‘let her rip’ policy will come in one or two weeks time when the hospitalisation figures are released.
In past waves case numbers and hospitalisation numbers have been in step.
Theoretically this should not be the case this time around.
But it’s been noted that being fully vaccinated but without a booster lowers the resistance to the new variant, Omicron, considerably.

COVID-19 / Australia / ‘Freedom Day’ in NSW

As Covid cases in New South Wales continue to rise, the state government has committed to its plan to lift restrictions for unvaccinated residents from tomorrow.

Today, as NSW recorded 804 new cases, the government insisted it had considered all the options but was committed to easing restrictions on Wednesday in order to return the state “back to a full life of normality”.
From Wednesday, unvaccinated people will be allowed back in pubs, cafes, gyms and shops and mask mandates will be eased.
Health authorities are battling to contain an outbreak of the Omicron variant, with a total of 85 cases now confirmed in the state.
From 15th December the following rules apply to everyone regardless of vaccination status: 

• Masks will only be required on public transport and planes, at airports, and for indoors front-of-house hospitality staff not fully vaccinated
• QR check-ins only required for hospitals, aged and disability care facilities, gyms, places of worship, funerals or memorial services, personal services, pubs, small bars, registered clubs, nightclubs, strip clubs, sex on premises, and indoor music festivals with over 1000 people
• No person limit in gyms, indoor recreation and sporting facilities
• Non-critical retail reopens to all.
• No person limit for personal services including hairdressers, spas, beauty and nail salons, tattoo and massage parlours.
• Employers allow staff to work from home at their discretion
• International travellers who are not fully vaccinated still need to quarantine on arrival for 14 days.
• No limit to number of visitors in your home.
• No limit to number of people for outdoor public gatherings.
• All visitors to residents in aged care facilities and disability homes permitted in line with their policies
• No person limit in hospitality venues.
• Singing and dancing is permitted indoors and outdoors for all
• Travel between Greater Sydney and regional NSW permitted for all
• Carpooling permitted for all
• Caravan parks and camping grounds open for all 
• No person limit for major recreation facilities like stadiums, theme parks and race courses
• No person limit for entertainment facilities like cinemas and theatres
• No person limit for information and education facilities like art galleries, museums and libraries
• No person limit for outdoor public gatherings and recreation
• Music festivals reopen with 20,000 person limit
• Amusement centres and play centres open to all
• Weddings and funerals permitted with no person limit, eating and drinking allowed while standing and dancing permitted for all.
• Singing and dancing indoors permitted by all.
• Places of worship open to all.

This is not going to end well, I fear.

COVID-19 / Australia / 9th December Update

Case numbers are still high and likely to increase with the emergence of the Omicron variant.

However the high vaccination rate is seemingly protecting people the more serious affects of the virus.

Hospitalisations and deaths continue however but at a much lower rate.

Vaccines are now approved for 5-11yo.

Third shot ‘boosters’ are available for the entire population.

The very strict restrictions will virtually all be gone on 15th December. 

The international border is open again but with some restrictions.

You would like to think “it’s all over” but it’s not.

La Niña Is Here / 1st December Update

Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has declared a La Niña weather event is under way in the Pacific, bringing the country in line with other agencies and underscoring the prospect of a relatively cool, damp and stormy summer for much of the north and east.
As if we didn’t already know this!*
It’s been a very wet and cool spring so far.
So what is La Niña?
The atmosphere is full of giant circulations which transport, mix and disperse air and energy around the world.

One of these giant eddies is the Walker Circulation.
The Walker Circulation crosses the Pacific Ocean, rising in the west in the warm waters near Australia, pushing up and over the Pacific and descending near South America before racing back across the Pacific to form the trade winds.
La Niña is the term used to describe when the Walker Circulation is very strong.
The western Pacific is even warmer than usual, the trade winds are stronger and all this moist energetic air is pushed onto Australia.
La Niña is therefore typically associated with wetter than average conditions for northern and eastern Australia, particularly in winter, spring and early summer.
The current model outlooks suggest this La Niña will persist until the late southern hemisphere summer or early autumn 2022.

A full rundown on weather predictions from the BOM for the next 6 months is here.

Update: 1st December 

* NSW has recorded its wettest and coolest November ever with rainfall records spanning more than 100 years tumbling in parts of the state.
The Bureau of Meteorology said overall, the state recorded nearly three times the average November rainfall, breaking a previous record from 1917.

Wine Closure ‘Wars’

Over the years on this blog I have discussed wine closures quite often ie. cork v screw caps.
Because of the high incidence wine spoilage problems associated with cork ie. ‘corking’ caused by TCA ( 2,4,6-trichloroanisole) contamination, the balance has always leant heavily towards screw caps.
Australia was one of the first countries to embrace this technology, first mainly with white wine, then with reds even including expensive top of the range.
It is estimated that around 90% of Australian wine utilizes screw caps.
Other wine producing regions in Europe and the USA were slow on the uptake, even dismissive.
But that has changed considerably over the years. Some imported wine eg. Italian, still use them. Very little French wine in the price bracket I buy in has cork.
Obviously this trend has hit the cork producing countries eg. Portugal, very hard.
And they are fighting back.
I became aware of this when the daughter living in the USA sent me a picture of a bottle of South African wine they were drinking which had a cork twist top closure.
I had never seen one before and did some research.
Obviously I am little behind the times.
The “Helix” cork was developed by the Portuguese cork giant Amorim and is “screw cork” or resealable cork. In practice, these corks are similar to the corks you might find in the top of a whisky bottle as they can be taken out and put back in repeatedly without much effort. But what makes the “Helix” unique is that the cork requires a special bottle with a threaded neck. Matching ridges in the cork allow it to be twisted back into the bottle for an airtight seal after opening. But the “Helix” innovation isn’t new. In fact, Sonoma’s Red Truck Wines became the first U.S. winery to start using the twistable cork way back in 2016. So its rarity in the market place may reflect the uptake of the technology.

Who would be clamouring for a screwcap-cork hybrid?
Probably the biggest argument in support of cork is that it’s supposedly better for aging wine.
However the AWRI (Australian Wine Research Institute) has not examined this specific issue over the longer term but anecdotal observations indicate that red wines develop in much the same manner when sealed with screw caps as they do when sealed with well-performing corks. There are numerous red wines from Australia and New Zealand from early 2000s vintages onwards sealed with screw caps, which invariably demonstrate that this is the case.
There is also the ritual of uncorking the bottle, and the “pop” heard as the cork is released. This was, in the past, considered parts of the wine experience.
The “Helix”does this too.
But is this still part of the wine experience?
I don’t think it is any more, in this part of world anyway.
But more importantly Amorim has achieved a major technological breakthrough to become the world’s first cork producer to deliver natural cork stoppers to winemakers with a non-detectable TCA guarantee*
Known as NDtech, the technology greatly enhances Amorim’s quality control measures by screening individual cork stoppers on the production line to eliminate the risk of corks contaminated with 2,4,6-trichloroanisole reaching winemakers.
Two of the world’s leading wine industry research facilities, Hochschule Geisenheim University and The Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) have been engaged to independently validate the performance of NDtech.
Australian wineries are among the first to be offered corks that have undergone NDtech screening.
Will this all mean a huge resurgence of the cork closure?
I doubt it.

* A non-detectable TCA guarantee means that if any TCA remains in a cork it is below the detection threshold of 0.5 nanograms/litre.

Our Hydrangeas Are Not Blue

The hydrangeas outside the ‘little house’ (studio) were a mess.
Due to neglect by the resident horticulturalist, they had become tall and straggly. Under pressure from the co driver I gave them a real good haircut, almost a buzz cut, last autumn and this season they have come back bushy and flowering like crazy.

But how come the flowers are pink?

The pH of our soil is around 4.5 ie. acidic which means they should be the more desirable blue. 

Some are trying to be.
The pH scale ranges from 0 to 14. Acid soils have a pH of 6.5 or less. A pH of 7 is neutral. Alkaline soils have a pH of 7.5 or more.
Hydrangeas grow best in soil that has a pH of 5.2-5.5. The soil element that turns hydrangeas blue, is Aluminium. At low pH if Aluminium is in the soil it becomes soluble and more ‘available’ to plants even possibly to the point of being toxic.

Aluminium is typically present in ironstone rich soils and those in which the dominant clay mineral is kaolinite. Sandy soils like ours contain little aluminium so while being strongly acidic, there is little influence on turning the flower colour to blue.
Maybe we could add Aluminium sulphate to the soil but that seems a bit OTT when we are happy with the colour the flowers are.

Another Annoying Weed / Fleabane

We have been inundated with a newish weed, fleabane (Conya spp).
Originally from America, fleabane is usually found invading disturbed sites, bushland edges and roadsides and can tolerate poorly drained areas. But it’s in our pasture and wooded bush land.

There are seven fleabane species naturalised in Australia
Among these species, flaxleaf fleabane, tall fleabane and Canadian fleabane are the three most common, with flax leaf predominant.
They are annual herbs growing up to 2 m in height which form a rosettes first and then erect stems.
Leaves are generally soft, hairy and coarsely toothed with a single stemmed flower stalk with flowering heads. 

Flower heads are fluffy and white around 1 cm wide and seeds are achenes (a hard dry fruit containing a single seed) approximately 5 mm long with a tuft of fine hairs.

Flowers appear in summer followed quickly by seeds which are dispersed by wind and water run off.
Suggested control measures are bagging seed heads and removing them from site and pulling smaller plants or digging out tap root.
Both these are impractical on large properties.

We have resorted to spot spraying with good old glyphosate despite confirmed resistance of the weed to this herbicide.
‘Our’ weeds succumb in two to three days.

This process is a little tedious but good exercise.

Fleabane will reshoot and germinate after fire so follow up is required where seed may have been left in the soil.
This has been the cause of our (and many other properties) problem, even two years after the fires.
Am sure we will have to do more than one pass to get them all.

Australia / Severe Weather Warnings / Flooding

Virtually the whole country is today under weather warnings, many places for severe conditions and possible flooding.

It’s been raining here for a week and it looks like it may get worse.

We don’t need anymore rain thanks.

Temperatures for November have been very low also.

Most unusual.

Renew/Repair of Cattle Yards

The previous owner of our property was in the timber business.

In fact, he had a mill which has since been turned into a very nice guesthouse. It is now on another part of the place as the original property has been sub divided.

So when it came to anything wooden, only the best and strongest was ever used.

This is reflected in many of the long standing strainers and posts used in the fencing but more particularly in the cattle yards, race and loading ramp. The posts and rails and other infrastructure are highest quality.

After 30 years of residence here it was time for me to look at this as weather, soil moisture and white ants had started to take their toll.

I don’t use the race and ramp at all but the yards do come in handy at times.

So I ordered a whole array of posts and rails to do the necessary repair and renew work of the complete complex.

My friend, Stirls offered to help.

Over five days we got the work done, even revamping and repairing the ramp and race.

It’ll probably see me out now. 

COVID-19 / New South Wales / 2nd November Update

It is obvious that our state, New South Wales, is progressing to opening up faster, due to our vaccination rates, than other states so will concentrate on that situation more in the future.
In NSW 93.7% of people eligible have now had at least one dose of the vaccine, while 88.3% are fully vaccinated.

Today the New South Wales government has brought forward, to the 8th November, a raft of freedoms for fully vaccinated residents, while delaying when unvaccinated people can exit stay-at-home orders.
Under the original roadmap, restrictions were supposed to ease from 1st December. 

The NSW premier said today’s changes were due to the state’s high vaccination rate, with authorities pushing NSW to hit 95% double dose coverage.

The changes also delay the mooted 1st December restrictions ease for unvaccinated people to either when the state hits the 95% fully vaccinated rate or by 15th December, whichever occurs first. 

Obviously this will cause some disquiet among the anti vax crowd but who cares. Their selfishness shouldn’t be rewarded.
The mask mandate will also remain until the state hits 95% fully vaccinated or 15th December.

In other news the NSW international border is open to fully vaxed people who can now arrive without quarantine and depart without ‘permission’.

There have been some pretty emotional scenes at Sydney airport as families reunite, some after nearly two years separation.

Our 2022 USA trip plans are back on the table.
Also everyone is now eligible for a Pfizer booster shot 6 months after their last inoculation no matter the initial vaccine taken.

So it’s certainly all happening!

A Big Spring Wind Storm

On Friday morning we awoke to a weather bureau severe weather warning of strong winds for our area.

The storm had caused havoc in Victoria overnight with multiple power outages and damage across the whole state.

We were to be on the edge of the system as it moved east.

Nothing much happened until around 9am when gusts from the north west signalled the approach.

By 10am we were in the midst of a howling gale.

A particularly savage gust snapped off one of our liquid amber trees about 3m from the base and it fell, bringing down branches of other trees nearby.

There was a huge bang!

Luckily there was no property damage and it fell short of our power lines.

The wind didn’t let up until late afternoon.

Our power went out twice during the day for a few hours each time which is always inconvenient. 

Today dawned still and sunny.

Our local tree man came to have a look and will be able to mulch most of the branches and will cut up the thicker pieces into manageable bits which we can burn off, when dried out, at a later date.

Some Spring Flowers in the Garden

 

Storm Season

Spring is storm season.
We are regularly under a severe weather warning here during this time.
The storms come from the west gathering intensity as they head east.
We have had some pretty severe thunderstorms with huge down pours over the last weeks.
Lightning struck the ground just behind us with one. A blinding flash and a clap of simultaneous thunder shook the place. 

Thankfully in this case there was no power outage issues or ‘blown’ appliances. 

We make sure we are never outside as the storms approach (internet weather radar is a blessing). Lightning strikes seem to occur a the edge of storm cells rather than within.
But we did get a nice rainbow after one of them.

Around the Sydney area huge hail was reported.

Up north, another tornado ripped through a large rural town causing lots of damage.
That’s four over the last few weeks.
What is going on?

These do not seem normal for us.

However the weather bureau says tornadoes in Australia are not as rare as people might think, with about 60 occurring in Australia each year, although many are in rural areas so may go unwitnessed.
This pales in comparison to the approximately 1200 tornadoes that can sweep through the USA in a year.
We had a short storm with a heavy downpour last weekend.
After it was over the afternoon light was very pretty.
But suddenly there was a rice sized hail storm while the sun was still shining.

We needed the rain, just not the wind gusts that accompany them causing power outages plus trees and branches down over fences.

But now the tanks and dams are full and the water table is up. 

With the warmer weather the grass in the paddocks will be jumping out of the ground.

No more hay needed for the cattle.

COVID-19 / Australia / 18th October Update

I have started a number of blog posts updating our covid situation a number of times over the last 12 days but things, especially the reduction in restrictions, seem to change on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis making any discussion quickly obsolete.

So below are the latest figures that concern us on the east coast.

Queensland has had virtually zero cases.

Double vaccination rates of 80% have been achieved in our state of New South Wales and the neighbouring ACT.

As of the 18th October fully vaccinated New South Wales residents now have considerable ‘freedoms’ details of which are here.

It also means a rapid move forward to opening up intrastate and overseas travel.

Other states have their own plans.

Full details of NSW Opening Plan can be found here.

Rhubarb

When I was a kid everyone grew rhubarb in their back garden. Stewed rhubarb or crumble was a standard dessert.

But with apartment and inner city living, its domestic cultivation waned. Plus it was easier to pick up a bunch in the supermarkets albeit at $1/stick!

We have relied on our neighbours for supply but occasionally splashed out for a commercial bunch.

Neighbour Jude’s crop had expanded to a point where she had some winter dormant crowns and rhizomes to give away.

I planted a crown in the garden where we compost all our vegetative kitchen scraps and the rhizome in a bucket of potting mix as I wasn’t so sure how that would perform.

As the weather warmed up away they both went quite vigorously.

So I guess we’ll give them a year to mature before harvesting.

It’s good when a horticultural project comes together.

COVID-19 / Australia / 6th October Update

Cases in New South Wales are falling due to the very tight ‘stay at home’ regulations.

The same can’t be said for Victoria unfortunately but there have been quite a number of super spreader events in that state over the last week or so eg. protests and alleged numerous football parties related to the grand final of the AFL competition, albeit held 3000km away in Perth.

Other states, apart from the ACT, have been virtually cases free.

Vaccination rates are now reaching a point where certain states will begin a stepped opening up.

NSW reached its initial goal of 70 % fully vaccinated today and restrictions will ease next Monday.

At 80% another relaxation of restrictions will occur.

It is estimated that the state will be fully open by the 1st December.

A full rundown of ‘exit plan’ can be accessed here.

Other states and territories have their own plans, some more conservative than others.

COVID-19 / Australia / 27th September Update

In NSW there have been 53,865 locally acquired cases and 309 deaths reported since 16th June 16, 2021, when the first case in this outbreak was reported.
Cases are now dropping.
Across the state 85.5 per cent of the over-16 population has received a first dose of COVID-19 vaccine, and 60.1 per cent are fully vaccinated as of 11.59pm on 25th September 2021.
A three stage re-opening for the state is planned.
70 per cent of the population over 16 years of age is expected to be fully vaccinated in the next few weeks with the first easing of restrictions on October 11 for those who are fully vaccinated.
The 80 per cent rate is expected to be hit just two weeks after the 70 per cent vaccination rate is reached.
That is when fully vaccinated citizens will be allowed to travel throughout the state, stand and drink, have 10 vaccinated guests to their homes and community sport will also recommence.
It will be interesting to see how the government will administer the fully vaccinated requirement. I assume we will have to carry documentation, either digital or hard copy.
There will be no caps on funerals or weddings or at hairdressers at 80 per cent for vaccinated people, while places of worship will be open for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.

The state is set to hit 90 per cent of the population being fully vaccinated by 1st December.
From that date masks won't be required indoors and nightclubs will reopen.
That’s also when unvaccinated people will be subject to the same rules as the vaccinated.
There is indeed light at the end of the tunnel.
Our nearest big city, Canberra in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), is also moving to open up.

Meanwhile in Victoria, the situation is much more fluid. Still under lockdown, patience had worn thin and violent clashes between police and citizens occurred.
It is disconcerting to see police in full riot gear and even the terrorist squad deployed attacking members of the population. 

However there has been some easing of regulations in that state as of tomorrow.
When it finally emerges from stage four restrictions, the capital, Melbourne will have experienced one of the world’s longest and strictest lockdowns.

COVID-19 / Australia / 19th, 21st, 25th September Update

Daily cases are still at a high level in both states of concern ie. New South Wales and Victoria.

Deaths have also increased as have hospitalisations, ICU and ventilator patients.

In other news, very violent anti lockdown protests erupted in Melbourne yesterday.

A considerable number of police and protesters were injured, many needing hospital treatment. There were around 235 arrests.

Police managed to thwart similar protest gatherings in Sydney.

For us, it is of concern that cases are now starting to appear in major towns north and south of us.

None however have been reported in our community.

 

Update: 21st September

Well, it’s here!
A local medical practice has closed for face to face consultations after a patient who visited the centre last week tested positive to COVID 19. 
The patient was wearing a mask and had followed all required precautions.
So now we need to be extra vigilant.

Update: 25th September

Five new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded in the Shoalhaven on Friday, with the source of infection for two of these cases under investigation.
This brings our LGA’s total number of cases since the Delta-variant outbreak to 66. Of these, 34 are under investigation.
One of our local supermarkets has now been declared a covid hotspot.

Pikes Wines 2021 New Vintage Virtual Tastings

Due to the covid situation in Australia, Pikes Winery in the Clare Valley, South Australia had to abandon, for the second year in a row, their new vintage wine tasting road show in the various state capitals.
Instead they sent a selection of wines, whites, reds and premiums to potential consumers on request.
Then, via Zoom, they offered a virtual tasting with the winemaker and other company staff.
I did all three. They lasted over an hour each and were informative and good fun with some enthusiastic and humorous participants.
We didn’t open all the bottles. 16 over 3 nights would have been too much for just two of us given wine in open bottles only last 3-5 days. But we had the tasting notes and relied on others’ opinions. Plus, we have never had a bad Pikes.

The wines sent plus those available for order on the night were offered at very attractive prices.
We ordered a mixed dozen, a rose and whites (marked in pink), as we already have a big collection of Pikes reds. Their Rieslings, as normal, were special.
I was a bit puzzled however at the Zoom numbers. The most participants on my sessions were 15.
But it was revealed that Pikes had sent out the maximum 500 tasting packs and most had taken advantage of the good prices but not the tasting.
They company was apparently happy with that.
Hopefully next year we can return to in person tastings.

COVID-19 / Australia / 9th September Update

COVID-19 / Australia / 3rd September Update

Locally transmitted Covid cases continue to climb on a daily basis in New South Wales and Victoria.

The ACT has 255 active cases.

All other states and Territories are free of local transmissions.

Lockdowns have been extended in the states affected. State borders are closed.

Thanksgiving in August

We, apart from American expats, obviously don’t celebrate Thanksgiving in Australia.
I’d only experienced the holiday once in the USA and really enjoyed the day and especially the meal.
A week or so ago the co-driver had a covid lockdown induced brain surge and decided to cook a Thanksgiving dinner for us.
Better to do that now than in the heat of late November.
We had to special order a turkey from our butcher as they are not a regular item on Australians’ shopping lists apart for maybe Christmas. Getting one that fitted in our oven was another consideration as generally our ovens are not as big as the ones over there. So we ended up with one around 4kg (9lbs) which is about as small as they get. 

The bird was dry brined before it defrosted over 3 days in the fridge. Brining poultry, both dry and wet, is the latest cheffy trick to keep the flesh moist.
Corn bread muffins were also prepared. You can’t get corn meal easily here so that was substituted with polenta. But it seems they are virtually the same thing. Polenta is a dish made from corn meal, so apparently, we here mislabel the raw material.
The dressing (stuffing) was made from scratch. We generally can’t get that ready to go ‘in a box’ here apart from the USA Foods in Melbourne and they were out of stock. Australians usually make their own with bread and herbs and ‘stuff’ poultry in the cavity, so it’s unusual to have it on the side. But I like it much better the USA way…..more texture and flavour and it’s safer!
Then to finish off we had golden syrup puddings for dessert, the only Australian contribution.
We ate it all with a nice bottle of Tasmanian Pinot Noir given by friends for whom the co-driver had organised some sort of group mystery quilt exercise.

All the recipes used, including cooking method for the turkey, were from a Japanese born chef who lives in the northern beaches region of Sydney.
https://www.recipetineats.com/genius-easy-juicy-roast-turkey-dry-brined/

https://www.recipetineats.com/best-stuffing-recipe/

https://www.recipetineats.com/cornbread-muffins/

And I learnt how to carve a turkey from a Jamie Oliver video on YouTube so didn’t make too much of a mess of that……well not that much.

And it all turned out great!

COVID-19 / Australia / 30th August Update

As of yesterday there had been 18,792 locally acquired COVID-19 cases and 89 related deaths in NSW since 16th June 2021, when the first case in this latest outbreak was reported.
Today there were another 1290 cases and 4 deaths.
Our lockdown has been extended to at least the 10th of September despite there being no cases in our Local Government Area (LGA).
LGAs in greater Sydney have had their lockdown extended to at least the end of September.

New cases in other states/territories: Victoria 75, QLD 2, WA 0, SA 0, Tasmania 0, ACT 12.

If you have the patience for it, the list of rules we're are living under is here.
It becomes more difficult to comprehend as each new regulation is announced.
Some have called it legislative diarrhoea.
Meanwhile the pics below show how our lives have become.
-Social distancing and mask wearing.
-Long lines at covid test centres.
-Under police surveillance, even at the beach.
The light at the end of the tunnel is pretty dim.