What coming days look like depends on our actions now

THE catchcry at the beginning of the COVID 19 pandemic was, “We are all in this together”.

Apparently, we are not. Despite the risks of rising community transmission there are those who view the death toll as acceptable collateral damage while they selfishly go about their own pursuits.

For those in the most vulnerable category, exposure to COVID-19 is no different than playing ‘Russian roulette’ with three chambers loaded and someone else holding the gun. The question is, why should they be faced with this risk?

News coming out of Victoria tells us that one in four people in self-isolation were not at home when health workers checked. People who went for a test returned to work before knowing the result instead of self-isolating.

And then we have those three infected women who snuck back into Queensland and went about spreading their virus far and wide.

This is no time for the “I’m alright Jack or Jill” syndrome. Our health, loved ones, economy and very lives are at risk.

Sure, our lifestyles have been turned upside down. All those freedoms have been quarantined and none of us particularly like it.

But contemplate this. If this complacency or to my mind, criminal contempt continues, we could potentially face stage 5 quarantine. That’s by far less freedom than we have now.

More job losses, less government revenue, more borrowing, tighter financial control, less government support and longer to pay back those loans.

It’s time for a reality check. Hitting the dancer floor at a nightclub, going to a protest, forgetting about hygiene, social distancing and isolation are not good ideas.

No one is bullet proof in this, and the payback will fall on those who think they are. Science tells us that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

Our actions today will determine how our future turns out. If we are not all in this together, act as a cohesive society, that future looks grim. We must each take responsibility for ourselves because ultimately that responsibility will affect others and whether we fully understand it or not our very lives and existence depends on it.