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Far from over

An insider take on the pandemic
by
January-February 2024, no. 461

Life As We Knew It: The extraordinary story of Australia’s pandemic by Aisha Dow and Melissa Cunningham

Scribe $35 pb, 325 pp

Far from over

An insider take on the pandemic
by
January-February 2024, no. 461

In October 2014, an article by health reporter Aisha Dow appeared in Melbourne’s Age newspaper titled ‘Deadly flu pandemic could shut down Melbourne’. It began with a dystopian vision of Australia’s second most populous city plunged into a Spanish flu-like crisis:

A deadly pandemic could shut down Melbourne as we know it. Public transport could be terminated, AFL games cancelled and the casino, schools and office towers forced to close. It has been predicted that the first wave of a pandemic could cause 10,000 deaths in Victoria. But families and friends may not be able to publicly mourn lost loved ones, because funeral services could be stopped as part of [a] policy of social distancing.

Life As We Knew It: The extraordinary story of Australia’s pandemic

Life As We Knew It: The extraordinary story of Australia’s pandemic

by Aisha Dow and Melissa Cunningham

Scribe $35 pb, 325 pp

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Comment (1)

  • A number of papers have appeared linking the pandemic to climate change. It's not surprising. The wild swings we are seeing in weather are profound. After seeing the driest September on record just a few months ago, large parts of Victoria are now experiencing a green summer - something unheard of in large parts of the state.
    Posted by Patrick Hockey
    10 January 2024