Blog Day 291 - Tuesday 12 January 2021

So much for what should have been an exciting day of test cricket yesterday.  Yesterday was day five of the third test between Australia and India at the SCG.  What should have been a win for Australia turned out as a draw with India batting for the entire day to end the day at 5 wickets for something or other.

As it stands at the moment both teams have a win and a draw and go into the crucial fourth test on 19/01 at the GABBA.

Talking about sports, about 1,200 players and their entourages are due to arrive shortly in Melbourne for the Australian Open tennis tournament.  There is a fair amount of disquiet around the community with this many people arriving in Melbourne from overseas virus hotspots.  Although the tennis players and their support teams are going into hotel quarantine and subject to a strict regime of testing they will be moving around to attend practice, gym sessions and physio etc.

Of course once the tournament starts the public will be in attendance, albeit in limited numbers and hopefully a virus safe environment.  But remember we had a scare with the virus at the recent test game played at the MCG.

Of even more concern, it has been reported that two tennis players playing in a preliminary competition in Doha have tested positive to the virus, with one of them being advised during the middle of a match.

Little wonder us Melbournites are a tad nervous about the AO going ahead in Melbourne.

Australia wide there has been 19 new cases of the virus reported in the last 24 hours, of these 16 were reported in NSW with 11 of them being returned overseas travellers; 3 new cases were reported in Qld and 2 of these were returned overseas travellers.  The one Qld community transmission is the spouse of the quarantine hotel cleaner recently reported as infected.  There were no cases reported in Victoria in the last 24 hours.

In the last 24 hours Victoria received the results of 18,000 tests, NSW 15,000 tests and Qld 13,500 tests.

Currently Victoria has 38 active cases including 16 returned overseas travellers (ROTs), NSW has 200 active cases excluding 83 ROTs and Qld has 28 active cases all of whom are ROTs.  Australia wide there are 317 active cases plus 83 ROTs in NSW.

After the decline in the worldwide figures over the weekend they are creeping back up again.  There were 636,000 new infections reported in the last 24 hours and 9,729 deaths.

In the last 24 hours the UK reported 46,000 new infections and 529 new deaths.  Remember in the entire pandemic Australia has reported 28,000 infections and 909 deaths.  The UK has a population about 2.7 times the population of Australia. 

On Saturday 9/01 the USA reported 270,000 new infections and 3,655 deaths.

Even taking into account the population differences between Australia and the UK and USA it is obvious that the pandemic is still out of control in these countries, no wonder they are trying to fast track their vaccination programs.

These figures are reasonably representative of many European countries and countries in the Americas and where are the tennis players and their entourages coming from?

Corona Virus Daily Stats – Day 12 – New Year 2021 – Covid Normal (as much as possible)

Date	Aus Infected	Aus Increase	Vic Infected	Vic Increase	Aus Death	Vic Death	Aus Hospl	Vic Hospital	Aus ICU	Vic ICU
01/01	28,421	13	20,376	8	909	820	21	0	0	0
02/01	28,441	13	20,388	12	909	820	19	0	0	0
03/01	28,483	14	20,391	3	909	820	26	0	0	0
04/01	28,499	16	20,395	4	909	820	30	0	0	0
05/01	28,518	14	20,399	4	909	820	26	0	0	0
06/01	28,533	10	20,402	3	909	820	36	0	0	0
07/01	28,544	8	20,402	0	909	820	35	0	0	0
08/01	28,658	21	20,403	1	909	820	40	0	0	0
09/01	28,582	12	20,404	1	909	820	40	0	0	0
10/01	28,595	13	20,410	6	909	820	41	0	0	0
11/01	28,611	16	20,411	1	909	820	47	0	1	0
12/01	28,633	19	20,411	0	909	820	43	0	1	0

Date	World Infection	Daily Increase	World Deaths	Daily Increase
01/01	83,771,040	1,448,870	1,824,387	28,095
02/01	84,342,947	571,907	1,834,255	9,868
03/01	84,984,546	641,599	1,843,112	8,857
04/01	85,489,462	504,916	1,850,209	7,097
05/01	86,041,606	552,144	1,859,179	8,970
06/01	86,834,551	792,945	1,875,519	16,340
07/01	87,619,457	784,906	1,889,556	14,037
08/01	88,495,963	876,506	1,906,630	17,074
09/01	89,331,906	835,943	1,921,160	14,530
10/01	90,077,029	745,123	1,934,801	13,641
11/01	90,662,902	585,873	1,942,390	7,589
12/01	91,298,922	636,020	1,952,020	9,729

Covid Safe Summer Reminders;

Remember; stay safe and sober for the new year, I know I will be; no hugging and kissing strangers on new years eve!; don't sweat the petty things and don't pet the sweaty things; as the captain of the Graf Spee said "you have to be bigger than anything faster and faster than anything bigger"; to wear your mask indoors (again); if you have a tickle in your throat, get tested (again); to add Brissie to your list of places to avoid; at a 1st birthday party be first in line for the fairy bread.