Who are they? Where do they live? Where have they been? Who are their close contacts? Have they been vaccinated?
The answers to these question will not protect you from getting COVID. Yet these seem to be the questions asked by many people whenever a COVID positive case is identified in their community. I can't help but feel that too many people are caught up in the need for a witch hunt rather than a need to take responsibility for their own actions.
The questions they should be asking are: Where have I been? Did I check in with a QR code? Did I social distance? and most importantly, am I vaccinated?
Quite simply we need to be aware and responsible about our behaviours because COVID-19 is an invisible enemy. You never know where it is or where it could be. As is the situation with the current Delta outbreak in NSW, this insidious virus is being largely passed on through loved ones and in the work place.
The state of NSW is expected to open up to some degree in about a month's time, the Monday after vaccination rates hit 70 per cent.
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With this in mind we need to be more aware than ever of the things that we can do to help our loved ones, our community, young people who have not yet been able to get vaccinated and those who are unable to be vaccinated for health-related reasons.
We also need to be mindful of our individual actions for the sake of those working on the front line - doctors, nurses, paramedics, hospital cleaners and the like - who risk their own wellbeing on a daily basis so that we can all have the best care and protection.
Without a doubt there are some who will dismiss the rules in place. You need only note the daily update on Public Infringement Notices (PINS) and other charges issued by police to people breaking COVID safety regulations.
The rumour mill will also play its part in undermining our confidence. Most definitely some of these rumours may be closer to the truth than we realise, but others will be completely unfounded. Discerning fact from fiction on social media or through messages that get lost in translation as they pass through the lips of many, is not where we need to focus our attention. Such information, more often than not, undermines our sense of safety and impacts our mental wellbeing.
Again, knowing the whereabouts, behaviours and actions of others may not be enough to protect you from exposure to the invisible enemy that is the coronavirus in its many mutated forms.
Your very best defence is your behaviour and actions.
