ZemJan 3, 2023
StarkRG

The quality of journalism seems to be at an all-time low right now.

Headline: "Chief Medical Officer says no 'sufficient public health rationale' for COVID testing of Chinese travellers"

Me: That's an interesting take, let me read the article to find out why he thinks that.

The article: Professor Paul Kelly said any additional measures on Chinese travellers would be "inconsistent with the current national approach to the management of COVID-19 and disproportionate to the risk".

Me: That explains nothing, unless he's admitting that the "current national approach to the management of COVID-19" is to do absolutely nothing whatsoever, in which case, yeah, I guess that makes sense.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/chief-medical-officer-says-no-sufficient-public-health-rationale-for-covid-testing-of-chinese-travellers/6c31pbpc9

#covid #covidisnotover #covidisairborne #publicpolicy #health #auspol

Chief Medical Officer says no 'sufficient public health rationale' for COVID testing of Chinese travellers

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly has told the government he sees no need to impose restrictions on travellers from China but is still monitoring the situation.

SBS News
Jan 3, 2023 at 5:03amWeb
Show threadStarkRGJan 3, 2023

Oh, and, for the record, it's not just that one article that fails to do any investigation to explain why he said that. I looked at many articles and couldn't find a single one that attempted to find out. Journalists really need to take control of their profession to bring back some of the integrity and trustworthiness they've lost over the last few decades.

https://www.mandurahmail.com.au/story/8035425/china-travel-testing-not-needed-kelly/

https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZjbmt0TXpZd1NoRUtEd2k1MzVxMEJoRUlSU1kyVWJFNE15Z0FQAQ?ceid=AU:en&oc=3

#journalism #news

Minister defends COVID travel advice snub

The health minister is defending his decision to require travellers from China to record a negative COVID-19 test...

Mandurah Mail
Show threadGrandalf 𝘸π˜ͺ𝘡𝘩 𝘒𝘯 π˜™Jan 3, 2023

@StarkRG

I find myself unusually happy that the Government has bypassed Kelly and gone for "more is better" when it comes to public health and #Covid19.

Show threadStarkRGJan 3, 2023
@aenesidemusoz Me too, generally speaking. But, at the same time, he must have a reason for having that opinion and a reason for saying it out loud. A good journalist would find out what those reasons were and would include them in the article. Why someone says something is at *least* as important as what they've said but, it seems, nobody gives a shit about "whys" only "whats".
Show threadGrandalf 𝘸π˜ͺ𝘡𝘩 𝘒𝘯 π˜™Jan 3, 2023

@StarkRG

Delving into the "Why" takes effort. It's much easier just to be a stenographer.

Show threadkbkorbJan 3, 2023

@StarkRG @aenesidemusoz

You're right about the media.

About Kelly, he should be sacked. He and Murphy were worse than useless dealing with covid. AHPPC was a little better; state officials better still. But, collectively, public health officials + politicians + media + covid = public health disaster.

Not as bad as the UK or US, but that's largely down to geography and luck.

Show threadkbkorbJan 3, 2023

@StarkRG

To be sure, Kelly's beeen a strong backer of inaction on #Covid in Australia. He's the worst CMO since Brendan Murphy, who wasn't even an epidemiologist and, yes, was worse.

State public health officers have been better, but are now effectively muzzled. #auspol

Show threadJudeπŸ‡΅πŸ‡ΈJan 3, 2023
@kbkorb @StarkRG Absolutely!