Warning: Explicit language is present in this article.
As the 6 weeks are coming to an end, the one thing that has been on every Victorian’s mind is: ‘when will this end?’.
On July 9th, the lockdown conditions were reintroduced after an unfortunate spike in the total number of cases of COVID-19. We all thought after the first lockdown in March, we’d be able to roam free, and hopefully, slowly return to our normal lives. But Corona really said ‘no ❤️’ and turned the tables on all those living in Melbourne.
A month later, on August 2nd, Victoria was declared as a state of disaster and new lockdown measures were implemented as an effort to try and decrease the rising numbers. Some of these new precautions included:
Mandatory face masks
A curfew from 8 pm to 5 am
Only allowed to travel within 5km of your home
1hr of outdoor exercise
Daniel Andrews announced that these new restrictions were to remain in place until the 13th of September- and hopefully will be eased after that. The reason why such strict precautions were implemented was due to the fact that Victoria accounted for 75% of Australia’s total infections and 90% of all the deaths.
The weeks went by, and Victorians spent the majority of August locked inside. The new restrictions were being followed and the number of positive cases slowly decreased. September 13th was just around the corner, and with the improvement in numbers, it felt as though the lockdown was surely coming to an end.
On Saturday, the 5th, the day before Daniel Andrews announced the new roadmap for Victoria, more than 300 birdbrained people had the audacity to gather at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance and Albert Park.
‘Why?’ you may ask; they were protesting for ‘freedom’ defying the stage-four lockdowns while not wearing any masks. The rally was organised by multiple coalitions of conspiracy theorist groups. The anti-lockdown protesters caused multiple riots and violent clashes with the police. At least 15 were arrested; 14 of those captured had broken lockdown rules while 1 assaulted a police officer who ended up with lacerations to the head. Along with the arrests, 150 fines were also handed out for breaching lockdown.
Do you know what amazes me the most? For some bizarre reason, people really believed that chanting ‘freedom’ and gathering in a space with over 300 people did something to help us get out of lockdown early. To add some sprinkles on top, they decided to not wear masks because fuck masks and fuck corona, right?
The day after, on September 6, Mr Andrews revealed that Melbourne’s lockdown would be extended for another two weeks. So, does it look like their plan worked? Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t see much improvements.
‘It is not safe, it is not smart, it is not lawful. In fact, it is absolutely selfish for people to be out there protesting’ as stated by Mr Andrews during the press conference. Did he stutter? I don’t think so.
If we take a deep look into this situation, I kind of get it. I mean it’s tough and this virus is annoying. We all just want to break free from this lockdown and go on about living ‘normally’ like we did just a few months ago. But take a look at the statistics. Is this really something worth taking to the streets? Can we just say thank you to everyone- yes including the police. As mentioned previously, these rallies were planned online through Facebook. It initially had more than 10,000 people planning to attend but some decided to back out and many tried to call it off.
In the wise words of the former My Kitchen Rules host, Pete Evans, ‘we must be logical, put our community first and postpone this event. This is about strategy and thinking ahead’.
I wear glasses sometimes, but even if I wear them I can still see. If I could, and I would, I’d give my glasses to the less fortunate- so that they can see that wearing a mask does not place you under subjection. In fact, wearing masks does wondrous things! Did you know that it protects people and prevents the spread of bacteria? So amazing! No, it does not take away your freedom. It does not revoke you from your basic human rights. Please, for the sake of everyone, open your eyes and realise that we are living in a global pandemic- it is not a joke. People are suffering and lives have been taken away from families. Nurses and doctors are risking their lives on a daily basis to protect people like us from this deadly virus. Do your job and maintain social distancing. Don’t be selfish, wear a mask.
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