So as someone who's just been to the doctor ...
I've had a sinus infection for a few weeks. I thought it went away, but it hasn't, so it must be a bacteria not a virus. There's a new bulk billing practise near me (FINALLY), which means there's no doctor's fee to pay - so I've registered as a patient there and had my medical records transferred. The practise is in a building that's adjacent to the old practise, but since my doctor retired a few years ago I no longer go there - they charge a huge fee, AUD $90 I believe it is. The rebate is $36.30, so that means it's still more than $50 to see the doctor there. So the great news is that I've now finally got a permanent practise I can go to that's local - I no longer have to dick around going to other practises (my preferred option was the walk-in centre that's a little further away - they bulk bill but you can't make appointments).
I had to wear a mask, even though I don't have Covid 19 and I don't believe I'm contagious. Like I said bacterial, not viral. Also, you know surgical masks are at a shortage because healthy people think they need to wear them! At least though it's not as bad as Europe, my understanding is that Czech was the primary producer of all surgical masks in Europe and they banned or limited exports (Germany, France, Indonesia, India, China, and Thailand have all also banned or restricted surgical mask exports). So I don't like having to use something I didn't need to - but let me say I don't think we're going to have a significant shortage in Australia, the domestic producers will easily pick up the slack from the import restrictions. Anyway I've got some drugs now to knock out my infection, and my medical certificate says I do "not qualify for a Covid 19 test".
Unless you're a
deeply rural person, we'll all come into contact with Covid 19 eventually - especially people like me that ski in the winter. I think Covid 19 will hit hardest then here in Australia (assuming that it's seasonal), it won't stop me skiing that's for sure. We had a 9-month long flu season last year and that didn't deter me in the slightest (plus I had the flu vaccine haha). I'll be getting the flu vaccine again this year.
Yes people have been panic buying, and frankly I think it's stupid. There's literally no reason to do it - you can buy everything online from the comfort of your home if you need to, and for people that genuinely can't do that - for example they don't have internet, or they're blind/disabled - the government has a service to provide that stuff and you don't need to resort to charity.
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