Happy New Year!

We have started a week earlier than scheduled when we see that the number of Covid-19 cases exploded to over 30,000 per day in Australia. To keep you informed about the present situation is our mission. This explosion is the combined result of implementing the reopening policy after Australia reached over 90% of the vaccinated population and also the high transmissibility of the Omicron variant.

Fortunately, Omicron has proved to be less severe but a significant proportion of the current infected are still from the more aggressive Delta variant. Hence it is still important for people to maintain social distancing, wear masks, observe isolation protocols, and use contact tracing apps to protect themselves from being infected. Also, vaccination has proved to be effective in protecting people from severe Delta infections. It is now clear that the responsibility of a person to protect himself is through getting vaccinated.

A booster is found to be effective in preventing infection by Omicron. The government has sped up the schedule for booster vaccination. The 5-11 years old will be able to get vaccinated from January 10 onwards. Parents are encouraged to vaccinate their kids once eligible.

Yes, the presence of Covid-19 in our society is inevitable. It is our own responsibility to get ourselves being protected by avoiding attending events that super-spreaders may be present. Meeting people outdoors or in highly ventilated locations will be a better choice.

We hope that in this year, everyone will be safer through lowering the infection rate as soon as possible. The governments need to launch a large scale education campaign to help Australians to live with Covid-19. Merely sending out information of the virus and policies is not enough. The threat of the virus today is clearly different from that two years ago. We need to accommodate our understanding of Covid-19 to face the challenge ahead with hope and courage.

Mr. Raymond Chow,  Publisher