It’s been over six months since COVID-19 hit Australia’s shores, cutting lives short and devastating businesses and livelihoods from coast-to-coast. Australia is hardly alone, though, and compared to other countries, like the USA, Brazil, Italy and Britain, we’ve got off lightly. Or at least we have so far.
The key to Australia’s comparative success has been a prompt reaction to the crisis, state and federal governments acting as one on sound scientific advice, and a remarkable degree of public cooperation. We’re all in this together, and just a few short weeks ago that conscientious community effort had reduced the incidence of coronavirus to what looked like manageable levels.
Along with our cousins in New Zealand it looked like we’d defeated it and victory was imminent.
But just when we thought we could collectively breathe a sigh of relief, ease the restrictions and get back to something like normal life again, the unseen enemy rose back up again.
Six months into this health and economic crisis and Australia’s early success is now looking uncertain and uneven. Outbreaks of coronavirus in Victoria and New South Wales have the capacity to spread further and before you know it, the whole country’s in lockdown again.
But there’s more than just one invisible enemy at play here. Complacency’s the other one, because the coronavirus thrives when we drop our guard.
WA’s Chief Health Officer, Andrew Robertson, really nailed the problem recently. "Handshaking, hugging, returns to general behaviours from prior to COVID are now evident within the community and within the media," Mr Robertson said. "It's evident that people believe the risk to them is low. Unfortunately this disease has not gone away, and it is not the time for complacency."
Hygiene and physical distance
"Practicing good hand hygiene, physical distancing, and staying at home when you are unwell must be part of our lives from now on to maintain the community safety and the gains currently achieved."
If we fail to heed that sound scientific advice the consequences will be dire. There’s good reason to think that another lockdown will be just as bad, or worse, than the first. Economically speaking, we’re already sailing into unchartered waters.
Small businesses employ a lot of people and in so many ways are the lifeblood of the economy. And many of them are really doing it tough right now. Another few weeks without customers and it will be over for many, many small businesses.
The flow-on effects as millions more are thrown onto unemployment benefits doesn’t bear thinking about. And that’s just small business. Few economic sectors remain unaffected by a virus that has simply shut down normal life for billions round the world.
Prevention
Fleetcare is acutely aware of the risks of this unparalleled crisis to our customers and their businesses. We’ve worked hard to develop products, practices and procedures to reduce the risk of transmission to you, your staff and the rest of the community.
Pool and common use vehicles are a potential source of infection and you’ll find a range of practical cleaning and disinfection advice for stopping the transmission of coronavirus when your vehicles have multiple occupants right here.
We’ve provided many of our fleet-managed customers with the cleaning and sanitising kits they need to keep their vehicles clean. Those kits can also be put to good use wherever hands touch surfaces - whether that’s in offices, playgrounds, on furniture, or anywhere else.
Throughout this difficult time, we’re striving to ensure our services to our customers are still delivered with as little disruption as possible. With this in mind we’ve put in place a range of protocols to reduce the risk of transmitting the disease in our own workplace.
But we’re also conscious of the need to maintain vital supplies to keep your business on the road. We’re constantly monitoring supply chains and doing what’s needed to ensure you get what you need, when you need it.
In the face of all this our best weapons against the disease are vigilance, social distancing and hygiene, all of which can be helped with patience, forbearance and a sense of humour.
Hang in there folks, with a little care and consideration we’ll get through this eventually. But in the meantime the going could get a little rough.
For running updates on Coronavirus fleet news please visit our dedicated Coronavirus Fleetcare page.
IMPORTANT NOTE - This content is current as at 22 July 2020 and provided for information purposes only. The information may not be suitable or appropriate for your organisation’s operations and needs. As such, please undertake your own independent assessment(s) and take into consideration any specific government laws and guidance. Response and advice regarding Coronavirus is changing rapidly and it is important that you keep up to date with all relevant information issued by the Australian Government.