REMEMBER when a Sunday afternoon state of disaster was simply a case of over-indulging on a Saturday night?
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Woody chardonnays in the 1990s have a lot to answer for. Struggle Street in a bottle.
Anyhow, they were the good old days!
As of the weekend, a Sunday evening state of disaster is an actual thing with far wider implications for Victoria.
And if you thought you were already in a state, that was more of an emergency, and less of a disaster!
Victoria had been in a state of emergency since March 16.
This is a declaration that is made under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008, where there is a serious risk to public health.
A state of disaster addresses matters beyond public health issues.
It deals with emergencies such as natural disasters, explosions, terrorism or sieges, but it can also be used to deal with "a plague or an epidemic".
Interestingly, a state of disaster was last used in Victoria in January during the bushfires, but the declaration was limited to specific areas that were in danger from the spread of bushfires.
Technically, Victoria moved from a state of emergency to a state of disaster at 6pm on Sunday.
With Melbourne residents now subject to stage four restrictions, regional Victorians will be subject to stage three restrictions from tomorrow; only allowed to leave home for work, essential shopping, exercise and care. Gyms and eateries will close unless the latter offer takeaway.
With no active cases of COVID-19 on the Border or the North East, this can be frustrating for those living a stone's throw over the Murray River in Wodonga.
In times like these, those of us north of the border would do well to put our heads together to come up with a plan to let our neighbours know we're thinking of them.
MORE MATERIAL GIRL:
As of the weekend, a Sunday evening state of disaster is an actual thing with far wider implications for Victoria. And if you thought we were already in a state, that was more of an emergency, and less of a disaster!
Here's some food for thought over the next six weeks of stage three and four lockdowns throughout regional Victoria and Melbourne, respectively:
- Keep calm and do not Karen on: This is officially out of hand, people! (For those who have missed the Karen movement, it's a meme that came onto the scene in the past couple of years to describe white women perceived as acting entitled in public.) Last week my youngest was afraid the "School Karens" would comment on her half-down, hair style for school photos. "The School Karens will say something because, well, they always do!" she explains. "When my friend and I sit on the Buddy Bench after school while we wait for her mum to pick her up, a School Karen always says: 'That's a Buddy Bench. You can't sit there ... together'!" "Wow!" I say. "But wait go back: There are School Karens?!!" Enough, already!
- You've Got Mail: Send care packages over the border like you mean business! Border retailers were stocked up when the NSW-Victorian border closure 2.0 cut them off from half of their customers with next to no notice. Tourism North East is already offering a Look on the Bright Side Box while Essential Ingredient in Albury has taken the leg work out of choosing foodie hampers. Almar Organics is delivering fruit and vegetable boxes on both sides of the border while Arnold's Fruit Market offers a Self-Isolation Box among its myriad selections.
- Piece By Piece: Done your jigsaw puzzles to death? Send them south of the border. This also goes for Jenny Morrison, who sparked a rush on puzzles before the national lockdown
- TikTok: Make a TikTok to check in with your Victorian nieces and nephews, who will surely be fluent in the app. I was never a fan of it until Donald Trump decided he wanted to ban it! Of course, TikTok users are obsessed with "saving" Barron Trump, 14, from the White House. The #SaveBarron hashtag page on TikTok has 27.2 million views and a petition to "free Barron" has 15,000 signatures.
- Phone a friend: Reach out to your network often in the coming weeks.
Stay safe and sane everyone. This state of disaster, too, will pass soon enough.
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