IN his daily COVID message yesterday, Hunter New England Health's COVID spokesperson, Dr David Durrheim, gave a blunt assessment of the coronavirus clusters emanating from The Argyle House nightclub, NEX Newcastle and other Newcastle nightspots.
Dr Durrheim said the "record" case numbers showed that Omicron had "really arrived" in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, that it "really likes" gatherings of unmasked people, and that it was "spreading like wildfire".
This is not the message that the Hunter - or indeed, the rest of Australia - wants to hear on a day that further COVID restrictions have been unwound.
But it's the reality of the situation, and it's somewhat at odds with the changed political messaging coming from the Prime Minister and a number of state and territory leaders.
Yesterday, Mr Morrison said: "We've decided as a country to live with this virus and Australians have worked so hard for that. Australia can now open up.
"This Christmas we're about to have is a gift Australians have given to themselves by the way they've worked together with the settings that we've put in place."
From the time restrictions were first introduced early last year, governments justified them on the grounds of "expert advice".
To say that Australia has now "decided as a country" to reopen implies it's the general public, and not the politicians, who have changed their tune.
If the various COVID vaccines - with or without boosters - were a complete and effective barrier to coronavirus, then Mr Morrison's message might be unassailable in its logic.
But they are not a complete protection.
The 650 people in The Argyle House last Wednesday night had to provide vaccination proof to enter, yet almost 130 of them have already tested positive.
More cases are expected.
Regardless of the strain, so many breakthrough infections mean this is not simply "a pandemic of the unvaccinated".
We need to know more about the severity of any resulting illness, but as things stand, we would be well advised to follow Dr Durrheim's advice by avoiding non-essential events so as not to "wreck Christmas".
The public should also be told about any new health advice in light of these outbreaks, and whether it is being followed by our governments.
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