Winning the battle, losing war

THE struggle out there is real.

It is now 16 days since the Bulletin front page highlighted the appalling hidden cost looming from the economic fallout

RYAN KEEN of unprecedented clamps on society aimed at warding off the coronavirus pandemic.

It feels like we are long past the point of winning the battle on keeping the virus at bay in

the great state of Queensland and its tourism hub engine room of the Gold Coast. But it’s not so clear about the war being waged on livelihoods.

This newspaper’s front page made for sobering reading on June 11: mental health advocates feared the number of suicides would jump by 50 per cent as businesses and their staff try and limp their way out of the economic devastation

being wreaked by restrictions.

According to some in the community, the body count has already started.

One hospitality figure yesterday revealed they knew of a young staffer known to be struggling with the burden of car, house and other payments.

That same figure said operators were ignoring patron limits out of desperation to cover their bills, and adopting a

“to hell with the fines” attitude.

It has been clear for weeks from the increasingly anxious language of the Prime Minister that the opening up of the economy by bringing down state borders and easing social distancing clamps is the focus.

He radiates confidence in the ability of the now well-prepared health system and contact tracing systems to handle localised outbreaks of a virus