https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-59058945

Australia has confirmed it will lift a ban next week that has prevented its own citizens travelling overseas without permission.
Australians have spent 19 months under some of the world's strictest border rules, in an effort to keep out Covid.
From 1 November people will no longer need an exemption to leave the country - provided they are fully vaccinated.
Only Australians are eligible but some rules for foreigners will be relaxed soon, the government said.
"Before the end of the year, we anticipate welcoming fully vaccinated skilled workers and international students," Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said in a statement.

 

Victoria has over 91% for first vaccination (16yo+) (here)

In my experience most people wanted the vaccine, it was just a supply problem.

 

Victoria has over 91% for first vaccination (16yo+) (here)

In my experience most people wanted the vaccine, it was just a supply problem.

How long before the 'other' Australia (WA) accepts visitors from Victoria?

https://www.skynews.com.au/australi...tralia/video/b6b0b3f60aa93bf212195647ba65917a

Western Australia could close its border to jurisdictions planning to ease travel restrictions with New South Wales and Victoria.

 

L

How long before the 'other' Australia (WA) accepts visitors from Victoria?

https://www.skynews.com.au/australi...tralia/video/b6b0b3f60aa93bf212195647ba65917a

I guess that we'll have to wait and see

 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/...d-makes-states-wary-lifting-lockdown-rcna4774

Ian McAllister, a professor of political science at the Australian National University in Canberra, the country’s capital, said the patchwork of internal borders is unprecedented for Australia and unique globally.

Internal border are easier to close in Australia than in countries, like the U.S., he said, because the population is more dispersed. With about 26 million people, Australia has a smaller population than Texas, but it is 11 times its size.

Many Australians who have been largely shielded from the virus are now reluctant to follow the “Covid states” of New South Wales and Victoria in accepting its spread. Both states recently ended monthslong lockdowns after hitting their vaccination targets.
...
For Elliott, an Australia with hard borders between “Covid states” and “Covid-free states” is bizarre, even laughable.

“I was actually laughing with one of my girlfriends here the other day,” she said. “We were saying that she will be able to travel to her home country of India, but I can’t travel to Perth,” the capital of Western Australia.

“She can go home and see her family, but mine are in Australia and I can’t see them,” she said.

 

Things are getting back to normal.
https://www.weatherzone.com.au/news...ghtly-concerned-by-flash-flood-outside/535369
Melbourne diners not even slightly concerned by flash flood outside

 

hi nsa,
I would say that photo image has been doctored, enlarge and check the intersection of the water and building, obvious signs of pixel editing, faked.??

E

 

hi nsa,
I would say that photo image has been doctored, enlarge and check the intersection of the water and building, obvious signs of pixel editing, faked.??

E

What's your evidence for that bold accusation?

"was taken by photographer Alex Coppel (he's a pro snapper for News Corp Australia)"
https://www.walkleys.com/award-winners/alex-coppel-2/
https://mobile.twitter.com/coppelheraldsun
Ask him about the photos.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Ale...=img&ei=IgSMYbnvD6ii-gSfqLww&bih=950&biw=1920

There is a obvious eddy of water pouring into the building door on the original picture. The curl of the vortex is exactly what you would expect to see. The guy is using the board as a deflector to slow the speed of entering water, not to stop it completely.
If it's been faked then it's one of the best I've ever seen with complex water boundaries.

Other angles.


At a lower level.

 

What's your evidence for that bold accusation?

"was taken by photographer Alex Coppel (he's a pro snapper for News Corp Australia)"
https://www.walkleys.com/award-winners/alex-coppel-2/
https://mobile.twitter.com/coppelheraldsun
Ask him about the photos.
https://www.google.com/search?q=Ale...=img&ei=IgSMYbnvD6ii-gSfqLww&bih=950&biw=1920

There is a obvious eddy of water pouring into the building door on the original picture. The curl of the vortex is exactly what you would expect to see. The guy is using the board as a deflector to slow the speed of entering water, not to stop it completely.
If it's been faked then it's one of the best I've ever seen with complex water boundaries.

Other angles.
View attachment 252325
View attachment 252323
At a lower level.
View attachment 252324

Yep, the rain came down very hard that day and just seemed to keep going! (From someone in Melbourne)

I'd say that the photo was a little deceptive, as it looks a lot higher than it is with him kneeling, but you can see from the other angle that it was real.

 

Yep, the rain came down very hard that day and just seemed to keep going! (From someone in Melbourne)

I'd say that the photo was a little deceptive, as it looks a lot higher than it is with him kneeling, but you can see from the other angle that it was real.

Saying it was doctored or faked to a profession photographer is really an insult.

Zooming in and picking dramatic angles is standard stuff when you need to 'sell' the picture.

 

I wonder if he could have kept more water out if he had simply closed the door.

 

Saying it was doctored or faked to a profession photographer is really an insult.

Zooming in and picking dramatic angles is standard stuff when you need to 'sell' the picture.

That being said, all professional images get modified a little before being published - Colour balance, chroma, sharpness, ...

I wonder if the edge is just an effect from sharpening the image?

 

That being said, all professional images get modified a little before being published - Colour balance, chroma, sharpness, ...

I wonder if the edge is just an effect from sharpening the image?

I don't see the problem (there is a watermark of dirt on the door casing on the first angle picture that hints to a higher previous level) and there is no time reference to when water levels are decreasing or increasing in the photos but the process of converting to formats for web publication usually involves composition modifications but that's a far cry from an intentional 'photoshop'.

 

https://www.khon2.com/coronavirus/h...omes-first-australians-to-hawaii-since-covid/

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Hawaiian Airlines once again welcomed visitors from Australia to Hawaii on Wednesday, Dec. 15, for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

A welcoming ceremony greeted the passengers after they touched down at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport at 11:29 a.m.

 

 

Good.

 

https://www.news.com.au/world/coron...s/news-story/da5f23dca8060b6c17fc535c59294a7d
‘Do not defecate in gardens’: Toilet troubles in strained testing queues

In another post, one woman claimed the lack of bathroom facilities had led to her being hospitalised.

“Had to hold for seven hours … ended up with a kidney infection and subsequent sepsis with a trip to hospital,” she wrote.

“If you’re in the car bring vomit bags or sealable waterproof stuff you can go in and towels for privacy and spillage … and if you’re standing in a line alone … good luck.”

 

A lot of people are becoming sick because of needless testing. The madness continues.

 

This was a bit horrifying to read...

Holding urine in can cause UTI due to build up of bacteria in urethra. Women are much more prone to UTI than men due to physiology.

I have not been able to understand why people are willingly lining up to get tested for this. It really is starting to look like Milgram experiment.

 

Vaccines are vital but testing (using tests designed for the delta variant) everybody with the sniffles is pointless. It's pointless to isolate otherwise healthy people since this is so widespread a huge number of tests will be positive. Reserve the tests and hospital beds for those at health risk.

https://www.statnews.com/2022/01/05...-early-days-after-infection/?utm_campaign=rss
Study raises doubts about rapid Covid tests’ reliability in early days after infection