The Eternal Dying

The grossly irresponsible scaring of the population continued apace; increasingly more surreal and more utterly absurd with every passing day. 

This was a year on. This was a time when if there was an issue, it should have been resolved. 

Instead the nation's destroyers just continued apace; and with amazingly little opposition.

Stand here. Sit there. Scan your code. Wear a mask. 

People alone in their cars were wearing masks. People out walking alone were wearing masks. 

People looked askance if you dared to disagree with the narrative. 

All will be well. Or all will be lost. 

Death; there was a lot of death around at that little conjunction in Alex's life. 

His mother: the eternal dying. Every day his daemon, his inner voice, speaking in the third person, would tell him: "His mother died overnight."

And it was never true. She was still pottering around, not robust by any means, but still teetering around in her own little world. 

The shock of it all; that we should be here. 

He wasn't happy; and he wasn't impressed. Every single day rolled through to another. Every single moment saw history awake. They crawled through the trees, through the enemies; they altered as they moved, a technology which had entirely outflanked those who thought they might be able to prevent that which was about to happen. 

We came we saw we conquered in an entirely different context. 

And so, in these murmuring states, he found if not purpose the driver; and as for the dying, it was simply interminable. Damn bloody interminable. The Good Son routine had rusted away. 

Mustn't whinge. People go through all sorts of shit. People mostly live boring lives; and the fact that he was temporarily bored should not have been a source of complaint but relief. 

He didn't see it that way; and could only gather grace as best he saw it. 

An old friend, Dr Stephen, was also dying; and for this, in the "abundance of caution", the language the politicians were using to destroy another swathe of the economy ... wake up, wake up, whenever are these people going to wake up!!!???

But it never came to pass. 

A blizzard of bullshit continued to drift through their daily lives. And he, an old news hound, had become like everybody else, couldn't bear to turn the radio on, couldn't bear the endless propaganda and scare mongering, was utterly scandalised by the sheer unadulterated irresponsibility of government actions. 

The suck-a-lots who had sucked the country dry. 

So we slept in mere slumber; under cover, a devious rorting to get behind the picket fence, to uncover the corruption that ate through the country at every level, to warn, if only anyone would listen, that this was not going to end well. 

An illiterate population seemingly couldn't have cared less. 

Instead the race to the bottom was everywhere; for greater reliance, greater stupidity, a rank heart mouldering on the galactic rim, ballooning across unimaginable expanses. 

And we came to you. And were shocked by what we saw. 

The peak of evolution. Well, we hadn't got there yet.

THE HEADLINES

Australia news live: NSW considers easing Covid restrictions as vaccine information campaign launches

Limits on gatherings could be lifted in Sydney as Victoria and NSW record no new community cases, but sewage testing in Liverpool shows the virus could still be circulating. Follow live

• NSW hotspots; State-by-state restrictions and lockdown rules explained
• Lucky break or gold standard? How NSW got Covid under control

Household gatherings, weddings, and other events to increase capacity from Friday

Household gatherings will increase to 30 people, including children, from Friday morning.

Outdoor gatherings will increase to 50 people.

Weddings and funerals will be allowed to have 300 guests, so long as they comply with the four square metre rule for whatever venue they are held in.

All other hospitality, corporate, or other events, as well as places of worship, will not be capped but venues will have to comply with the four square metre rule. So, the maximum number will be determined by venue size.

All of these restrictions will ease from midnight on Friday.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was left less than impressed by the Australian government's decision to suspend flights after the country recorded one COVID-19 case.

On Monday, Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt announced a 72-hour pause on quarantine-free travel for New Zealand residents coming to Australia after one case of a highly-infectious mutant virus strain was discovered in the country.

Ms Ardern said she called Prime Minister Scott Morrison and expressed her “disappointment” over the decision.

“I certainly shared my view (with Mr Morrison) that this was a situation that was well under control, that we have had experiences in New Zealand with these situations in the past,” she said.

“If we are to enter into a trans-Tasman bubble we will need to give people confidence that we won’t see closures at the border that happen with very short notice over incidents we believe can be well-managed domestically.”

Household pets may need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to curb the spread of coronavirus and reduce the risk of transmission. The concern comes after 17 million mink were culled in Denmark after hundreds of local cases emerged from a strain found in the animals. While dogs and cats can contract coronavirus, there are no known cases of them passing it on to humans and some scientists suggest it's not necessary until there is evidence of transmission from animals to humans.