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For the past few weeks, I have worried more about being stung by a deadly Irukandji jellyfish or attacked by a crocodile, rather than contracting the coronavirus.
Here, in Queensland (where I have been based in recent weeks, mostly in Cairns) there have been just 1,093 cases, and only a handful of those are current. Shopping for groceries, walking along an esplanade, or eating at a busy restaurant, it might be easy to mistake the world here for the one that existed before the pandemic.
But scratch the surface, and the harsh reality of the virus and its global impacts come flooding back. Tropical North Queensland, a stretch of white sand beaches and small towns running from the town of Cardwell to the Torres Strait Islands, may not look like it’s suffering from the pandemic — but it is.
Though cases of the virus itself here are few, the region’s economy has been devastated by the severe (nearly 100 percent) decline in overseas arrivals over the past few months. The people who usually come in throngs at this time of year to visit the largest living structure on earth — The Great Barrier Reef — are nowhere near Australia’s most famous natural wonder nor the businesses that make a living from their free-spending ways.
The result has been a surreal experience for tourism and dive operators, who, already worried about the looming impacts of global warming on the city of Cairns, the gateway to the reef, have now been delivered a hammer blow from the virus.
Even in more festive arenas, the facade of normality can also quickly fall away.
On a recent Saturday night, a line snaked down one of the main streets in Cairns as a crowd waited to get into the only club in town. There, an engineer from Sydney said he had lost his job, and was now on his way to Darwin to pick mangoes, where he had heard he could earn a living wage. A purple neon sign above the club’s entrance told patrons: “The Government Says NO DANCING!”
Inside, the venue (which can usually hold thousands of people ) wasn’t packed — it’s capacity was limited by the coronavirus.
“We have to get everyone to sit down,” said Amy Sully, a bartender working inside the venue, where stranded backpackers and young locals, barred from standing up on the dance floor, had arranged their stools in a tight circle from which they fistbumped and gyrated their hips.
I had to give them credit — they managed to lift chair-dancing to unforeseen levels.
One woman had risen on her toes, her stiletto heels hooked to the stool, her body inches from the seat. Others dragged their chairs around the dance floor with them so that if caught dancing illicitly, they could sit down immediately, as if in a pandemic game of musical chairs.
“It’s not like we want to do that,” Ms. Sully said of the task of forcing patrons to re-seat themselves. She and her co-workers resented the government’s restrictions. They told me the rules felt unfair and piecemeal in a place where cases of the virus itself have been so few, adding that the regulations were a pain “for everyone.”
Many locals share this attitude: though most abide by government guidelines, others are increasingly resistant to rules like social distancing, which in a place where no one is sick, can seem bizarre and almost arbitrary. (Don’t stand up while drinking alcohol. Only the bride and groom may dance at weddings. Check in to venues for contact tracing. Hand sanitize.)
And while some express empathy for Victorians — now under some of the strictest lockdown measures in the world after second wave of the virus — others express a kind of one-upmanship and pride that Queenslanders are not sick, because people in the state did the right thing, as compared with their counterparts further south.
Others go even further with their scorn.
Driving in Cabarita Beach, a sleepy beach town on the border between northern New South Wales and Queensland, I became the unwitting recipient of what I have dubbed “plate hate,” when a man, upon seeing my Victoria license plates, shouted: “I hope you didn’t bring any viruses with you.” (For the record, I had crossed from my home city of Melbourne in accordance with government restrictions.)
The Coronavirus Outbreak ›
Frequently Asked Questions
Updated August 17, 2020
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Why does standing six feet away from others help?
- The coronavirus spreads primarily through droplets from your mouth and nose, especially when you cough or sneeze. The C.D.C., one of the organizations using that measure, bases its recommendation of six feet on the idea that most large droplets that people expel when they cough or sneeze will fall to the ground within six feet. But six feet has never been a magic number that guarantees complete protection. Sneezes, for instance, can launch droplets a lot farther than six feet, according to a recent study. It's a rule of thumb: You should be safest standing six feet apart outside, especially when it's windy. But keep a mask on at all times, even when you think you’re far enough apart.
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I have antibodies. Am I now immune?
- As of right now, that seems likely, for at least several months. There have been frightening accounts of people suffering what seems to be a second bout of Covid-19. But experts say these patients may have a drawn-out course of infection, with the virus taking a slow toll weeks to months after initial exposure. People infected with the coronavirus typically produce immune molecules called antibodies, which are protective proteins made in response to an infection. These antibodies may last in the body only two to three months, which may seem worrisome, but that’s perfectly normal after an acute infection subsides, said Dr. Michael Mina, an immunologist at Harvard University. It may be possible to get the coronavirus again, but it’s highly unlikely that it would be possible in a short window of time from initial infection or make people sicker the second time.
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I’m a small-business owner. Can I get relief?
- The stimulus bills enacted in March offer help for the millions of American small businesses. Those eligible for aid are businesses and nonprofit organizations with fewer than 500 workers, including sole proprietorships, independent contractors and freelancers. Some larger companies in some industries are also eligible. The help being offered, which is being managed by the Small Business Administration, includes the Paycheck Protection Program and the Economic Injury Disaster Loan program. But lots of folks have not yet seen payouts. Even those who have received help are confused: The rules are draconian, and some are stuck sitting on money they don’t know how to use. Many small-business owners are getting less than they expected or not hearing anything at all.
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What are my rights if I am worried about going back to work?
- Employers have to provide a safe workplace with policies that protect everyone equally. And if one of your co-workers tests positive for the coronavirus, the C.D.C. has said that employers should tell their employees -- without giving you the sick employee’s name -- that they may have been exposed to the virus.
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What is school going to look like in September?
- It is unlikely that many schools will return to a normal schedule this fall, requiring the grind of online learning, makeshift child care and stunted workdays to continue. California’s two largest public school districts — Los Angeles and San Diego — said on July 13, that instruction will be remote-only in the fall, citing concerns that surging coronavirus infections in their areas pose too dire a risk for students and teachers. Together, the two districts enroll some 825,000 students. They are the largest in the country so far to abandon plans for even a partial physical return to classrooms when they reopen in August. For other districts, the solution won’t be an all-or-nothing approach. Many systems, including the nation’s largest, New York City, are devising hybrid plans that involve spending some days in classrooms and other days online. There’s no national policy on this yet, so check with your municipal school system regularly to see what is happening in your community.
This kind of state tribalism is raising new and sometimes ugly questions about the reality of living in a pandemic world.
What happens when some places seem to be randomly and unfairly struck by the virus, while in others, life can go on as normal? When authorities escape blame, say for breaches in quarantine, will frustration fall unfairly on individuals? What about when they task citizens with policing new rules — in dance clubs for example — that other states have deemed to be too draconian or ineffective?
Are you experiencing moral and public health conundrums in a place hit hard by the virus, or not at all? We want to hear about your experience navigating pandemic rules around Australia. Write to us at nytaustralia@nytimes.com.
Now, on to our stories of the week.
Australia and New Zealand
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‘A Bit Surreal’: The Lonely Plight of the Great Barrier Reef
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He Wants to Save the Present With the Indigenous Past: Bruce Pascoe’s book “Dark Emu” sparked a reconsideration of Australian history. Now he hopes to use his writing to revive Aboriginal community.
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Why Did a Chinese Diplomat Walk All Over People on a Pacific Island?: The dispute over a welcome ceremony in Kiribati has put concerns about Chinese diplomacy and colonialism front and center.
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Australia’s Prime Minister Announces Coronavirus Vaccine Deal: Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia signed a deal with the drugmaker AstraZeneca to manufacture a coronavirus vaccine and provide it free to 25 million Australians.
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New Zealand Election Delayed Amid New Coronavirus Outbreak: Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said the September national election would be postponed by four weeks, citing voter safety and a lockdown in Auckland that would make it difficult to campaign.
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From New Zealand, a Succulent Smoked Salmon: Regal’s new line of King salmon is hot smoked over wood and comes in four flavors.
Around the Times
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Democrats Nominate Harris for Vice President, as Obama Lashes Trump: Senator Kamala Harris became the first woman of color on a major party ticket, while former President Barack Obama condemned President Trump by name and issued a grim warning about the durability of American democracy.
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California Fires Live Updates: Blazes Threaten 25,000 Structures: Fast-moving fires are spreading across Northern California, with wind-whipped flames sending people out of their homes.
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Tokyo Now Has Transparent Public Toilets. Let Us Explain: Using “smart glass,” a Pritzker Prize-winning architect created colorful toilet stalls to allay fears about safety and hygiene. The toilets were set up in two public parks.
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Final Meals at Closing Restaurants: ‘I Will Dream of Those Dumplings’: New Yorkers, losing their favorite spots because of the pandemic, are returning for one last burger, one more bowl of ramen.
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How Much Is an Album Worth in 2020: $3.49? $77? $1,000? Maybe $0. : It depends who’s selling. As some artists release records that feel like footnotes to bigger businesses, others double down on their value.
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