For us, Christmas this year is a small event in a very limited circle, but in Australia it works as usual for almost the entire country: Thanks to favorable Corona numbers at the bottom, the party can go almost as usual this year, according to Eveline Masko Who lives in Perth in the west of the country.
“I don’t want to make you jealous,” she says in “De Oorning”, “but the temperature is currently 40 degrees here.” “We’re with friends at a barbecue. Lots of people also sit by the sea or in their pool. The radio makes” jingle bells “and” let it fall “, but for the rest, we’re here in shorts and T-shirts at the Christmas tree. .
“It’s hard to say because the contrast with our family in Belgium couldn’t be greater. We live in Western Australia and it’s been virus-free since May. Christmas can go on here just as it does in other years, almost as it does in the rest of the world The country, except for the Sydney area. ” A new cohort of about a hundred disease cases was identified there for two weeks. To control this, there are restrictions on travel again and there are restrictions on how many people you can be with.
“Interstate travel has not been possible for a long time, but since the beginning of this month it is allowed again. The border remains closed only to people in the Sydney area and in New South Wales. Our neighbors have grandparents who were planning to go to I came here when the borders closed suddenly The people on board took the police with them when they landed. They immediately had to quarantine for two weeks and this is strictly monitored here. As a result, the numbers are also better than in the rest of the world. “
Breaking news
“Even if an Australian returns from abroad, he should be quarantined in a hotel for two weeks. If someone tests positive here during this quarantine, that’s urgent news. Just to say, our outlook is completely different here than in Europe. We have the advantage of isolation,” We are on an island and this makes it easier, at the beginning of the epidemic the borders with foreign countries were closed, but the internal rules were imposed here and were strictly followed. They paid off, we can all have a normal birthday together. “
“Since the start of the epidemic, 900 people have died in Australia from the effects of COVID-19. This is almost a peanut if you compare it to Belgium. The big difference also is that you trace contact very far. Of the total population 25 million people have so far had 11 million tests done.” .
“Our friends here don’t really understand how things work in Belgium. And frankly, they are shocked about what is possible. Doesn’t anyone understand that it only works if everyone obeys the rules, if the rules are strict enough and if there is an understanding of the reason for the rules? . “
Listen to the conversation with Evelyn Masco at The Morning:
Zombie specialist. Friendly twitter guru. Internet buff. Organizer. Coffee trailblazer. Lifelong problem solver. Certified travel enthusiast. Alcohol geek.