Read on Twitter
The second waves in most places in the world appear to be worse, just like the so-called Spanish flu. There has been a lot written about this, mainly putting it down to restriction fatigue, but I can’t help thinking something else is also happening.
Things feel psychologically different to March. In March the virus was an unknown, the idea of isolation & hygiene rituals were new, masks were for a small minority. Most people were more afraid and so more careful, not wanting to make decisions outside a narrow range of options
Now we have been living with the virus for a while & we know more, some of this fear generated from the unknown has diminished. We are not quite as afraid & so not as cautious, thinking we can “get away” with not following all the precautions.
This is why the Andrews government has had to be so strict, if you let people make their own decisions, too many will take risks, especially when weighting up economic considerations. But the irony is what we now know about the virus is all bad.
It’s not “just like the flu”, it does infect children, it does kill people of all ages, herd immunity doesn’t work, the sun doesn’t kill it, if community transmission gets above 100/day it can explode and kill hundreds.
Perhaps knowing more makes us feel more in control & more likely to make decisions that are outside the rules.
How do we deal with this human reality? We need to remove all pressures on people that would make them consider risky decisions by supporting them...
How do we deal with this human reality? We need to remove all pressures on people that would make them consider risky decisions by supporting them...
(paid pandemic leave, Jobkeeper, JobSeeker), create strong social norms and then also have strong enforcement of the restrictions. I’m sure before random breath testing everyone was told not to drive drunk and kill others, but asking people to do the right thing isn't enough.
