Covid Life in Adelaide

[DavidIII]

Hello,

I'm sure anyone living in the UK right now wishes they were somewhere in Asia, Australia or NZ where the Covid rates are lower, or zero and however tough the decisions, they are led by leaders who put party politics aside and put the safety and health of the nation first...Unlike Mr Johnson and his dithering. 

I'm due to move to Adelaide and I just wondered from anyone that's there, what the day to day life is like in this new world that we're all living in and whether the restrictions that are in place do make you feel safe?  Being an asthmatic I find it very stressful in the UK and recently have become a hermit and I just hope that living in Adelaide, even with the restrictions, it will be a place where I can venture out and relax, but obviously still be wary of the virus. 

Any comments would be appreciated.

 

[rammygirl]

Hello and an advance welcome to Adelaide.  Where are you heading. We are up in the Adelaide Hills and despite being 35 degrees yesterday this morning is cool and drizzly! (I’ll need my cardi).

People are still aware here and people do still keep a wary distance.  Venues are limited capacity so it pays to book ahead. From mid November we will be able to stand up at the bar too! Theatres and live music events are going ahead (with some restrictions like chequerboard seating). Mask wearing isn’t a thing, although some do wear them on public transport etc. The most visible thing is the screens and stickers on the floor everywhere! Oh and how clean everything is and sanitiser at every door.

The Tour Down under will not be going ahead in January but we may have a local cyclist event instead.  The Adelaide Fringe and WOMAD are still on the cards for next Feb/ Mar although they will be smaller and very different this time, with no international acts.

Cross border travel is being eased gradually. My son is flying in from Canberra to visit this weekend, he had to register for approval but he doesn’t have to isolate.

You will not be able to leave Australia though. Once here you need approval to leave and it isn’t easy to get. Having said that I think some travel to NZ may be possible without isolation soon.  The only overseas destinations we can consider ATM are Tasmania and KI.

The job market is tight and that will be your main issue I would think.

You will find it a bit strange that people stress over 2 new cases of COVID here, even though they are people in quarantine from overseas! And there has been no community transition for months now.

Our benchmarks are very different to the UK. We are all very conscious that things could change for the worse though.

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by rammygirl

[NicF]

Unless you want to go to the Apple store* life here is pretty much normal and difficult to really believe the world is in the grip of a major pandemic.  The main things that are different are tables are further spaced apart in venues, there are signs on floors reminding you to socially distance and most stores and malls have hand sanitizer at the entrance.  The number of people allowed in to Adelaide Oval is also restricted to about half capacity and some organisations still have people working from home, if not all the time then a day or two a week.  Community and school sports are being played with a few minor adjustments (cricketers can't use saliva to shine the ball and they have to provide their own afternoon tea rather than sharing food for example).  If you hadn't been to Adelaide before you would be hard pressed to see where life isn't normal at the moment.

(* The Apple store requires everyone to check in before they are allowed in store, everyone has to answer questions about health, have a temperature check and wear a mask to enter and they have security guards to enforce the rules.)

[rammygirl]

The apple store does love it when they can make people queue outside on the mall. I’m sure they see at as free publicity. It is just so over the top compared to other places. Are they doing in I. The USA?

[NicF]

40 minutes ago, rammygirl said:

The apple store does love it when they can make people queue outside on the mall. I’m sure they see at as free publicity. It is just so over the top compared to other places. Are they doing in I. The USA?

I believe Apple have a corporate approach to dealing with the virus and they do the same in all stores in the world.  But that could just be what we are being told, I have no idea whether they actually are doing the same thing everywhere.

[Dusty Plains]

2 hours ago, NicF said:

I believe Apple have a corporate approach to dealing with the virus and they do the same in all stores in the world.  But that could just be what we are being told, I have no idea whether they actually are doing the same thing everywhere.

If its any indicator,  one of Australia's largest sporting events is the interstate Rugby League "State of Origin" between Queensland and NSW. Its absolutely huge and the first game will not be played in either state, but at the Adelaide Oval.  The decision to take the first match to the AO was at a time when there were still Covid19 outbreaks in NSW and Victoria.  There were other factors of course but primarily Adelaide ticked most of the boxes.

 

Edited November 4, 2020 by Dusty Plains

[Bulya]

1 hour ago, Dusty Plains said:

If its any indicator,  one of Australia's largest sporting events is the interstate Rugby League "State of Origin" between Queensland and NSW. Its absolutely huge and the first game will not be played in either state, but at the Adelaide Oval.  The decision to take the first match to the AO was at a time when there were still Covid19 outbreaks in NSW and Victoria.  There were other factors of course but primarily Adelaide ticked most of the boxes.

 

Cane Toads vs the Cockroaches.  “Mate against mate, state against state”.  Basically legalised war on a playing field.  Bring it on!

[Dusty Plains]

2 hours ago, Bulya said:

Cane Toads vs the Cockroaches.  “Mate against mate, state against state”.  Basically legalised war on a playing field.  Bring it on!

Geez Bulya... I think you have scared off the original poster

[Ausvisitor]

10 hours ago, rammygirl said:

You will not be able to leave Australia though. Once here you need approval to leave and it isn’t easy to get. Having said that I think some travel to NZ may be possible without isolation soon.  The only overseas destinations we can consider ATM are Tasmania and KI.

This isn't quite true. For settled PR and citizens it is the case, but for newly arriving PR and those that have a proven history of "flitting between" the new country and the old country it is still permissible to leave Australia without permission. You just need to be able to show that on the balance of recent living you are ordinarily resident elsewhere.

So for someone just entering the country as PR, for the first 6 or so months they can easily show that they are ordinarily resident elsewhere.

Someone who habitually does 5 months in Oz and 7 months in the UK every year can do the same

[Paul1Perth]

51 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

This isn't quite true. For settled PR and citizens it is the case, but for newly arriving PR and those that have a proven history of "flitting between" the new country and the old country it is still permissible to leave Australia without permission. You just need to be able to show that on the balance of recent living you are ordinarily resident elsewhere.

So for someone just entering the country as PR, for the first 6 or so months they can easily show that they are ordinarily resident elsewhere.

Someone who habitually does 5 months in Oz and 7 months in the UK every year can do the same

Someone who does that needs loads of money.

Don't think someone who is looking forward to arriving in a new country would be wondering when they can leave. 

[Ausvisitor]

26 minutes ago, Paul1Perth said:

Someone who does that needs loads of money.

Don't think someone who is looking forward to arriving in a new country would be wondering when they can leave. 

At present they do because of the "user pays" rules on hotel quarantine - which is $2,500 per stay; once/if the quarantine morphs into "isolate at home" (which they are begining to investigate but are miles away from adopting) then the cost is just the airline tickets - which really aren't that big an outlay (the bigger issue here is whether or not they get bumped from the flight)

However if you are the type of (generally) UK pensioner that does half and half between the UK and OZ then they typically have the money to do exactly this ($2,500 for two weeks to then spend the next 5 months in their home - or family home) 

 

You are correct most people thinking about starting life in a new country aren't thinking about when they can leave, but they will surely take some comfort in knowing that if after 3 months they are sure they've made a mistake they aren't barred from leaving...

[Bulya]

3 hours ago, Dusty Plains said:

Geez Bulya... I think you have scared off the original poster

I gave Qld a rev up at half time.