Unpopular Opinion: I’m Glad We Had Covid Restrictions in Australia
Australia faced some pretty tough restrictions since March 2020. We had face mask mandates, intermittent lockdowns, daily cases and death counts, and even local travel limits.
And it all depended on which state you were in.
In my home state of New South Wales, there was a time when we weren’t able to travel more than 5km from our home. Oh, how our eyes watered for those who were lucky enough to be near the beach on those warm days. And this was fueled by the media as they shared images of busy Bondi, Manly, and Coogee beaches.
I was a few kilometres short of the coastline…
Sticking with travel limits, because restrictions were dealt by state governments (I have reservations about this), we all faced isolation from the rest of the country. If you had family across the border, you most likely spent Christmas alone — even if ‘across the border’ meant the next suburb over.
It was also a pain having to wear masks everywhere, mostly because we sometimes forgot it when leaving the house and had to backtrack. We’re used to wallets, phones, and keys, but not accustomed to face masks.
The wearing of them came with its own challenges, too, like having the suffer with watering eyes or fogging glasses upon every breath you take.
Despite this, most of us complied, and that was humbling.
And then there were the lockdowns themselves, which was different for every state, and even between metropolitan and regional.
They would come and go, depending on case trajectories, which meant that oftentimes we were free to roam about. I remember the enjoyment of witnessing Sydney’s Mardi Gras with crowds in 2021.
We had our Eurovision entry Montaigne sing her song for the crowd, with the video used officially by Eurovision through its YouTube channel, broadcasted across its European-heavy fan base. Every second comment was “look at that crowd!”
But mixed within that were the intermittent lockdowns. In those times, our only ventures outside were either to the shops or for a socially distanced walk. We were restricted on how many visitors we could have to our homes, and at one point, picnicking was a trend. It felt like the good old days before television and phones overloaded our eyeballs.
Lockdowns were tough, especially if your hobbies involved the great outdoors. For me, my blogging kept me sane, and I was house sharing. But I’m glad we had our phones in these moments, allowing us to keep in contact with distanced loved ones.
Indeed, the rest of the country has to give our utmost respect and admiration to Victorians who faced 246 days of ongoing lockdowns across the state. It was one of the longest lockdown stretches in the world.
It goes without saying that battling Covid-19 in Australia was a feat in itself. Yep, we went through all that!
But, deep down, I’m glad we did.
In times of uncertainty, it’s good to feel as certain as one could be. And there is nothing more uncertain than a virus that is killing people by the millions across the globe. For the first year and a bit, we had no vaccines or viable treatments for it, and reports around long covid were growing.
Was there a point in making goals?
Was there a point in planning togethers?
And will this ever end?
2020 was by far the toughest year for so many. But knowing that my state chief health officer was doing everything they can to limit the spread and suppress the death count was humbling. Despite the uncertainty, there was a certainty that someone cared. That there were plans in place to curb the death toll.
Even the Australian federal government got involved, doubling the amount of government subsidised mental health practitioner appointments through Medicare. We even got paid by the government if we had to stop work due to restrictions, which gave many people one less thing to worry about.
I would hate to think what it would have been like under a government that doesn’t care about its constituents. Or one that didn’t have a plan.
I think about what America went through under the leadership of Donald Trump, who downplayed the virus and lacked strong plans to curb the spread. Sadly, well over a million Americans died.
I never understand how people can be against any kind of government control. As if all government control is bad — which sounds rather silly, considering that’s precisely what governments do. They are elected to choose our destiny, to forge our futures, to (if for a better word) control us somewhat. Yes, having total control is not right, and we must stand against any kind of dictatorship, but I would think that when it comes to health, it is best to follow the experts. You know, the same ones that many governments were following.
I hope that many of us learned to trust science more throughout this ordeal.
In the end, while I am not super keen on the restrictions we went through, we didn’t have a choice. We had a virus on the loose, and we had to adapt. So, I am thankful that we went through these restrictions.
It gave us hope in a world that felt hopeless. It gave us certainty during an uncertain time. It grounded us.
And we are better for it.
