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Just when it seemed Victoria was returning to something like normal it happened again - another outbreak.
It just proved appearances really can be deceiving.
The "education state" seemed to be rebounding pretty well, but danger was only a South Australian quarantine hotel away.
Regular readers will know this author has recently returned south after a long stint in the Northern Territory where COVID-19 is as far away as the chance of a cooling swim in the sea, crocs 'n all.
No community transmission in the NT, not one case, remarkable.
With three kids living in Melbourne it was time to come back, especially after the lockdowns - that second 12-week closure last year was brutal.
On our return we saw some changes, people weren't smiling as much, they were on edge.
Now we can see why.
There is something very surreal about taking the dog for a walk in our country town, to enjoy the fresh air and alone time, while wearing your face mask of course.
We had observed some worrying changes about people's behaviour in the weeks leading up to this fourth lockdown.
Few were wearing face masks as required on public transport, the government had noticed the same thing and was about to launch a crackdown.
A lot of the hand sanitising stations had been removed.
G-code sign-ins at stores for tracking seemed to be a thing of the past.
Social distancing? We have been to a few footy games at Marvel Stadium already, rubbing shoulders with strangers in the terraces.
All that has changed now, with a crash.
What no-one around Australia will forget is the television news pictures of grief stricken family members farewelling dying parents in aged care homes in 2020, some from the outside street.
Yes, what we have seen around the world, India most recently, has been shocking, but at home, it was the aged care deaths which hit me most.
This was Australia, a global success story in warding off coronavirus, but our failures were still terrible.
Having two loved ones in aged care at the time, both thankfully in country Victoria, what was happening in Melbourne was a horror too great to imagine.
COVID-19 has taught us a lot about how we in the lucky country care for our elderly.
The folk who have worked hard, paid their taxes, raised families, even gone to war for us. It took a Royal Commission to discover their final homes are chronically understaffed, many are not fit for purpose, and it's all a bit of an embarrassment really.
But most of us would have thought with the vaccine rollout we would have learned the lessons from Melbourne in 2020.
I must admit, I didn't check the priority lists too closely.
It just made sense didn't it, the folk who are supposed to be in charge would make sure the elderly and those who care for them would be close to the front of the queue.
Sadly we now find that was not the case.
First jabs, second jabs, some with no jabs, poorly paid carers working across multiple sites, a real shemozzle.
I feel guilty all over again about jumping the queue as a 60-year-old for a vaccine when I had presumed these folk would have all been catered for.
Now there is to be a blitz in Victoria to fix it up.
Priority access for aged care workers at vaccination hubs.
Let's hope it hasn't come too late.
Some people need a good kick up the backside.
Others have compared the pandemic to a war.
In war-time you often find great leaders - Winston Churchill, of course but Sir John Monash in Australia, as well.
Sadly, aside perhaps from NSW Premier, Gladys Berejiklian, we have seen little evidence of great leadership during this emergency.
Lots of blaming between the Feds and state governments at who should have done what and when.
Yes, it could be a lot worse, but don't worry, there's still time - COVID-19 is not done with us yet.
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