A teacher told me yesterday that his school had spent $1 million so far this year on casual relief teachers. My first thought was surely the fuck not.

Then I saw this: Victorian government schools spent $1 million *per day* on relief teachers in the 12 months to May. That’s almost $366 million in one year.

It’s a 54% rise on pre-covid relief teacher spending, in 2019.

On top that, many schools maxed out their CRT budget months ago and now just jam entire classes of kids into other classrooms every time a teacher is sick.

Some handy context re the Queensland CHO’s new study, which claims among other things that giving Long Covid a title spreads fear.

Prof Steven Faux, from St Vincent’s Long Covid clinic:

“Well, I don't think that's the case.” Faux: “Most of the people who come to our Long Covid clinic come because they want to get better and they're not coming because they want to stay sick or focus on their symptoms.

“There's a small percentage of people …

Can I just say how utterly refreshing it is to hear somebody talk honestly about the pandemic, and the fact that ignoring it won’t make it go away?

@Mon4Kooyong talking so much sense on #afternoonbriefing today. Some highlights: Importance of financial support for people infected. “The last thing we want to do is to force people back into the workplace when they are still actively infected with Covid-19. That is not in anyone's best interests.”

Polarising paediatrician Fiona Russell is addressing the Communicable Diseases and Immunisation Conference in Sydney today.

If you didn’t manage to grab a $1045 ticket, don’t despair.

Here are some shining examples of her thought leadership:

#CDIC2022 @_PHAA_ When she forgot kids under 5 exist and proposed an interesting exercise in ethics

#CDIC2022 @_PHAA_

Still waiting for someone to explain why Tommy from #masterchefau isn’t my best friend and next-door neighbour. Oh my god I cursed him

This is a perfect example of a visionless, unambitious, “sucks to be you” approach to dealing with a pandemic.

Here’s why we cannot ignore this kind of rhetoric. 🧵 Big problems require big thinkers. People who want to make things better.

44 deaths a day, overflowing hospitals and workplaces and schools hamstrung by absence and uncertainty isn’t business as usual, or ‘getting on with life’.

Last night I tweeted a bunch of increasingly-ridiculous David Brent quotes instead of live-tweeting the PM’s 60 Minutes interview and barely anybody could tell them apart.

That’s impressive, @ScottMorrisonMP. For the record, the Prime Minister of Australia didn’t dismiss Dolly Parton as “just a big pair of tits”.

https://twitter.com/daryltractor/status/1492796634408755203?s=21

I know many are steering clear of Scott’s puff piece on #60Mins.

I’ll live tweet a couple of his best quotes. On increasingly unflattering opinion polls:

“Statistics are like a lamp post to a drunken man - more for leaning on than illumination.”

Strap yourself in. Tractor has some questions for @BradHazzard and @NSWHealth.

So, NSW has suddenly stopped reporting how many Covid patients are being treated via Hospital in the Home. The last reported figure (to Sep 14) was nearly 3912 people - nearly four times the number of people being treated for Covid as hospital inpatients.

Now, that info has vanished from the report. The new report has some important fine print.

Someone needs to start a thread of the best earthquake tweets. My favs:

https://twitter.com/_kvlt_/status/1440465033209671684

https://twitter.com/jonburton89/status/1440464765990555656?s=21

The Vic journos interrogating the police commissioner about why particular tactics were and weren’t used yesterday.

Now Richie is asking the Premier if “there’s any chance you will change your view on mandatory vaccines in construction” in light of the protests. The exact journos who have undermined the public health response and done their best to create division in Victoria are now screaming at the Premier about what eventuated yesterday.

“I think it’s time to inject a little more optimism into discussions around Covid-19,” @nick_coatsworth has told the Senate Select Committee into our Covid response.

The hearing is being chaired by @SenKatyG, whose own daughter has been sick with Covid. Coatsworth has been asked to explain what happens when a patient needs to be ventilated.

“They’re heading to ICU where they get one-to-one nursing,” he says, no doubt aware that those ratios are about to be watered down because hospitals in NSW and Vic are so overwhelmed.

Scotty is in full spin mode. Reckons we told France months ago we had issues with the submarine deal.

“I made it very clear a conventional submarine would no longer be meeting our strategic interests and what we needed those boats to do. That was communicated many months ago. “To suggest that somehow, this decision … could have been taken without causing this disappointment, I think would be very naive.”

An interesting thing happened last week. 

Here’s a brief 🧵: While the media was fixated on freedoms and roadmaps, Australian ICU experts made an eye-opening call to the government:

Indemnify healthcare workers who’ll be forced to deny people admission to overflowing ICU wards.

935 new cases in NSW.

Four more people have died.

“While four is a great number I do think it will go up,” Casey Briggs observes.

“Great.” Cowra is going into lockdown. I think Kerry Chsnt said a 9-year-old went to school and various other places while infected but she wasn’t clear. Source of acquisition unknown.

1083 new cases in NSW.
13 more people have died. 1,238 cases in hospital
234 people in intensive care
123 require ventilation.

Restrictions to ease …

1331 new cases in NSW
Six more people have died
1219 in hospital
233 in ICU
123 on ventilators

No presser today but here’s an alarming account of where things are at via @SatPaper

thesaturdaypaper.com.au/news/politics/…

Dr Richard Totaro, co-director of Intensive Care at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, is talking about the burden of Covid patients in ICU. They’re typically in ICU 3+ weeks rather than 3 or 4 days. #nswcovid19 By the time Dr Totaro sees the patients in his ICU they’re typically too unwell to speak.

Reporter: What might happen post Aug 28?

@GladysB: “We are tracking well to hit our 6 million target. We are now in our 40s, in terms of the percentage range, in terms of people with two doses in New South Wales, or at least one dose.”

Umm what? Pathological inability to answer a question.

Compare the pair:

“Is the hospital system overwhelmed?”

Gladys Berejiklian: Oh here in NSW we have the best medical care etc etc etc

Dan Andrews: “If any Victorian is unconvinced and comes to a conclusion that I am fit and healthy and won't get COVID-19: (cont) “It is not just COVID-19 patients who will struggle to find the machine to breathe or a nurse who isn't furloughed to care for them or a hospital but is open to care for them.

Well well well, Scotty isn’t his usual blustery self. Sombre voice has been deployed. And he’s got the CMO and military man on board to help him run down the clock