It pays to check facts on population
STEPHANIE Pegus (Letters, January 20) would find it helpful to check her facts before bursting into print.
Italy and France do not, in fact, have similar populations to Australia. Each country actually has a larger population than Australia.
France is approaching three times the population, and Italy has double the population of Australia.
Her letter contains a ludicrous distortion of facts.
Obviously, the proportion of Omicron deaths will increase in a country which has many more than twice the number of people per square kilometre.
France is about 14 times smaller than Australia and Italy is 26 times smaller. It is helpful to do your calculations correctly before trying to give the reader false comparisons. Erroneous distortion of facts is not helpful.
Perhaps even a little sympathy for the smaller numbers who are actually suffering in Australia could eliminate the writer’s disgraceful references to “whining” and “negativity”.
One becomes absolutely tired of the “should” police.
Perhaps, before they start to “celebrate”, they could at least get their facts straight.
A. Francis Sandy Bay
WHEN IS THE RIGHT TIME?
WE need to take the hysteria out of the current discussion on Covid.
Most people agree that borders need to be open at some time.
When is the right time? When we are all double-, triple- or vaccinated every six months?
There will never be a right time. From all reports the latest variant is less harmful, similar to the flu.
If borders are opened later over the winter months, what will be the effect of an influenza epidemic on top of Covid?
During a normal flu season there are as many deaths if not more than we are currently experiencing. If they were reported the same way as Covid there would be continual panic.
It is easy to slag off and criticise premiers and governments because you don’t like their colour, but remember the decision to open borders and others were made by national Cabinet, made up of both colours, with advice from better-qualified experts than you or I.
What is happening at the moment is difficult, but it is a stage we have to go through. Life needs to get back to as normal as we can make it.
On the hospital front, enough gloom and doom. We have a great health system that is under pressure, as are all health systems around the world. All states are having problems with ramping
etc, even the “independent” state of Western Australia.
It’s time to stop the blame game we as a country are very good at. It’s time to look for solutions, not sitting on the sidelines and criticising. If individuals can do better, put your hand up and do something constructive.
NO HERD IMMUNITY
John Cleary Lindisfarne
IT would be nice to believe, Les Young (Letters, January 20), that infection with Omicron will lead to herd immunity. Unfortunately, after Covid infection neutralising antibodies have been shown to last as little as three months before reinfection can occur.
In addition, the coronavirus can and does mutate frequently, evading the acquired potential infections. immunity and having the to produce more severe
GIVE US THE NUMBERS
WE are being urged to get a booster shot in order to get adequate protection against the Omicron variant.
Fine, but could we please be given the more realistic vaccination numbers, ie, the percentage of triple-vaccinated adult Tasmanians — and including children aged five years and up who are fully vaccinated. I doubt that figure would be anywhere near 92 per cent. Yvonne Stark
Battery Point
COLLATERAL DAMAGE
Beth Rees Rosny
IT’S a known fact to most Australians that politicians, like everyone else, tell the odd lie now and then, either to make themselves look good, run down other politicians or to save their jobs.
Of all the lies I’ve heard over the years, the biggest one which we hear from the Prime Minister and premiers on numerous occasions is: “Your health and safety is our No.1 priority.”
What a load of crap. We all know a politician’s No.1 priority is keeping their lucrative jobs and staying in power. It is obvious by the inept response and current changes to the fight against Covid by the Prime Minister and certain premiers that the health and safety of the vulnerable, the elderly and our health workers is considered to be collateral damage rather than a priority.
Imagine if Covid killed mainly children, and 50 to 60 of them were dying each day in Australia.
I’m sure the response by the Prime Minister and premiers would have been vastly different.
G. Cooper Sandy Bay
GRAND GESTURE
THE grand Old Duke of York He had 10,000 men.
He had a lot of women too But he can’t remember them. Mark Pearce
Howrah
REFRESHING DRINK
NAH! Sure councillors would be drinking lemonade working from home!
Robert Lovell Bridgewater
THE PUB TEST
SO a councillor having a beer during a livestream meeting is considered to have failed “the pub test’’. I bet it would.
Mark Wilson
Sydney
LONG WAIT
DAVID Bowie has a “back catalogue”, which has just been bought by Warner Brothers for $US350 million ($A484m) (Letters, January 20). We’ll be waiting for a while for a new release from Mr Jones.
David Hurburgh
South Hobart
PRESIDENTIAL PICK
I KNOW who I would rather have as president of Australia if it is to happen in my lifetime and it is not Donald Trump. I would rather have Kevin or Malcolm anything, because we don’t have a gun culture and we also have compulsory voting.
Peter Brain Blackmans Bay
GET TOUGHER
WE need to reintroduce capital punishment in Australia for horrendous crimes and not the normal slap-on-the-wrist punishment that is being handed down.
Stan Armstrong
Cygnet
FEELING BLUE
JELLYFISH expert Lisa Gershwin has described the abundance of bluebottles on the East Coast as “gobsmacking”. Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue perhaps? Peter Gugger
Taroona
IDIOTS EVERYWHERE
SOME balance would be appreciated by the anti-scooter brigade. I appreciate every scooter is potentially one less vehicle clogging the road and pity the anti-everything mindset did not apply this logic. Yes there will be idiots on them, but also idiots drive. Brett Russell
Hobart