Earlier this week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that if Melbourne cancelled the tournament, it would be picked up by another country.

Must do better Australia
2/10

Earlier this week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that if Melbourne cancelled the tournament, it would be picked up by another country.

Must do better Australia
2/10

Yes, if the first F1 race of the year can be postponed here so can the Australian Open.

Earlier this week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that if Melbourne cancelled the tournament, it would be picked up by another country.

Must do better Australia
2/10

Yes, if the first F1 race of the year can be postponed here so can the Australian Open.

Totally agree, it's going to be strange not having to get up early (me), or stay up late (youngest), to watch the first race of the year.

Now that the world has passed 94.3 million infections and 2 million deaths it's time for another case race update.

Uruguay passed Australia and Namibia to claim 101st place while Latvia kicked Afghanistan out of 92nd, North Macedonia displaced China from 82ndas Honduras slipped past Oman for 71st, Slovenia and Guatemala passed Qatar take up 68th and 67th respectively and Malaysia leapt over Qatar, Guatemala and Greece to land in 65th spot.

Lithuania passed Armenia, but still remains in 59th as Ireland passed both of them as well as Kazakhstan to claim 57th, Ecuador took 46th from Azerbaijan, the U.A.E. nudged Georgia out of 43rd while Portugal leapt over Pakistan, Sweden and Bangladesh to land in 28th, Israel also passed Bangladesh to take over 27th and Canada blasted past Romania for 22nd.

In the death race Germany has taken 12th spot from Argentina and is now off after Colombia.

Meanwhile the U.S. has now passed 24.1 million infections while also passing 401,800 deaths and is now less than 1.7 million away from passing the combined totals of India (2nd), Brazil (3rd), Russia (4th) and the U.K. (5th). :-O

So it must be time to see what is actually happening inside the U.S..

Well California has passed 2.9 million cases followed by Texas with over 2.1 million, Florida with over 1.5 million, New York with over 1.2 million and Illinois rounds out the top 5 with over 1 million. Then there's Ohio and Georgia in the over 800,000 club with Pennsylvania by itself in the over 700,000 club while Tennessee, North Carolina, Arizona and New Jersey are in the over 600,000 clubhouse. Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin occupy the over 500,000 club while Missouri, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Virginia and Alabama fill out the 400,000 clubhouse as South Carolina, Colorado, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Maryland, Utah and Iowa make up the over 300,000 club. Washington, Arkansas, Kansas, Nevada, Mississippi and Connecticut round out the over over 200,000 club while Nebraska, New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon, West Virginia, South Dakota and Rhode Island make up the over 100,000 club.

All that makes up several horror stories which I bet makes a lot of countries feel much better.

Anyhow that's it for today.

Earlier this week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that if Melbourne cancelled the tournament, it would be picked up by another country.

Must do better Australia
2/10

Yes, if the first F1 race of the year can be postponed here so can the Australian Open.

Totally agree, it's going to be strange not having to get up early (me), or stay up late (youngest), to watch the first race of the year.

Well the problem has already started with the 1st charter flight of them to land. :-(

Two COVID-19 cases on Australian Open flight, arrivals to quarantine.

The warning came on Friday as President-elect Joe Biden unveiled an ambitious plan to ramp up vaccinations.
To meet his target of inoculating 100 million Americans within his first 100 days in office, Mr Biden said his administration would take a more active role in accelerating the distribution of vaccines.

Good luck Joe
At least a more positive attitude than IQ45.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said closing the travel corridors was the "right step" but called the timing of the decision "slow again", adding that the public would be thinking "why on earth didn't this happen before".

Sorry Kier, actually saying not just thinking
My answer is: Ride the hog in the good times, but you want the taxpayers to save your butts in the bad times?
The rest of the answer is sadly, unprintable.

Earlier this week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that if Melbourne cancelled the tournament, it would be picked up by another country.

Must do better Australia
2/10

Yes, if the first F1 race of the year can be postponed here so can the Australian Open.

Totally agree, it's going to be strange not having to get up early (me), or stay up late (youngest), to watch the first race of the year.

Well the problem has already started with the 1st charter flight of them to land. :-(

Two COVID-19 cases on Australian Open flight, arrivals to quarantine.

A 2nd chartered flight for tennis players has landed with more COVID-19 cases onboard. :-(

Money talks

It said keeping borders open helped businesses to maintain international connections, boosted the economy and meant people could still travel for essential reasons.
It argued that by mid-March there was "significant transmission" in the UK and any extra travel restrictions at that time would have had a "very marginal" impact.

It seems you have similar decision making fools over there. :-(

I've often stated that a well run country will have a superb logistic infrastructure & still believe that.
However, I believe they have got it totally wrong about prioritising the elderly for the vaccines.
Sorry, I disagree. Here's why...
Vaccinate ALL essential workers 1st
...otherwise...

I've often stated that a well run country will have a superb logistic infrastructure & still believe that.
However, I believe they have got it totally wrong about prioritising the elderly for the vaccines.
Sorry, I disagree. Here's why...
Vaccinate ALL essential workers 1st
...otherwise...

I think the argument goes
1. Vaccinate the most vulnerable and the number of serious cases will drop significantly, therefore the medics will not be put under stress.
2. Or vaccinate the medics and then they can handle the increase in cases without risk of catching it themselves.

Option 2. Does not take into account the stress on the mental health of the medics. Covid-19: 'One medic saw eight people die in a single shift'

I've often stated that a well run country will have a superb logistic infrastructure & still believe that.
However, I believe they have got it totally wrong about prioritising the elderly for the vaccines.
Sorry, I disagree. Here's why...
Vaccinate ALL essential workers 1st
...otherwise...

I think the argument goes
1. Vaccinate the most vulnerable and the number of serious cases will drop significantly, therefore the medics will not be put under stress.
2. Or vaccinate the medics and then they can handle the increase in cases without risk of catching it themselves.

Option 2. Does not take into account the stress on the mental health of the medics. Covid-19: 'One medic saw eight people die in a single shift'

Spending my days at work, only having to deal with the paperwork of Covid patients who didn't make it, is stressful enough, especially when it means the other paperwork can't get done. Knowing that some jerk likely infected them because he wanted to be a jerk ...
We have reached the point we are now refusing cases -- absolutely unheard of -- and every other place is also over maximum capacity as well.
Put in another 100+ place cooler, filled it in less than four days - got a call from a hospital to please pick up 60, had to tell them best we could manage was 10.
County morgue is adding 500 places to its already 500 place overflow
Every hospital has a couple of refrigerated trailers full
Doctors so swamped they don't have time to sign death certificates
Can't dig graves fast enough -- crematory running 24/7

And we have a political party that claims it is all fake to produce an election result not favorable to them.

That is a lot of stress.

If it wouldn't generate more work, I'd suggest open season on refusal to mask up
.
Mind you I do like what the overtime is doing to the bank account, but not this way.

excuse the vent but it only dropped a couple of PSI off

Vent all you want.
I'm sure we all understand and sympathise, and will support you.

Okay, support them, but on one condition only...
Safeguard Eurostar
...10% of gross annual profits payable to H.M.Treasury.

After all, we have to insure life, home, car against unforeseen events, so why not, considering their greed in the good times.
Apply the same to all private companies receiving taxpayer funding.

Could you please explain and expand on the comment below?

If it wouldn't generate more work, I'd suggest open season on refusal to mask up

RubeWorld thanks you in advance fo your reply.

yep

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May we All have a METAMORPHOSIS. REASON. GOoD JUDGEMENT and LOVE and ORDER!!!!!

72 tennis players and support staff now in hard lockdown after a 3rd chartered flight arrives down under with coronavirus on board and they're breaching the rules and whinging already.

Third Australian Open charter plane with COVID-19 positive revealed.

Novak Djokovic reportedly issues six Australian Open proposals after quarantine chaos.

They should've just stayed at home.

A good reason to stop a lot more sporting events - there are very few that don't involve close contact either between the participants or their trainers and other supporting personnel.

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Now if it wasn't for a previous dubious republican president (Bush jr.) and those stories about non existent WMD's that destablised the middle east with the Iraq war back at the time and the current wacko president and his just as wacko secretary of state Pompeo maybe this story would've been more believable much sooner when it was 1st suggested.

America’s ‘proof’ COVID-19 leaked from Wuhan lab.

Wuhan virus lab scientist thought to be COVID-19 ‘patient zero’ still missing despite year-long search.

If you have a credible story then have credible people to deliver the evidence, but make sure that all are credible. ;-)

Which sand heap have they had their heads buried in for the last year?
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-partygoers-claimed-they-had-not-heard-of-the-pandemic-as-police-reveal-breaches-over-the-weekend-12191416

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Bob Smith
Member of Seti PIPPS (Pluto is a Planet Protest Society)
Somewhere in the (un)known Universe?

Oh Man, I just realised how close I came to getting a very lengthy unpaid holiday. Read the report & wrote a comment. Thank god I did not post it.
Use your imagination to guess what that comment said!

Mark Drakeford said one of the reasons more of the supply had not been used at once was to prevent "vaccinators standing around with nothing to do".

FFS!