Listen to this story being read by Gemma Bath, here.
Look, I get it. Talking about COVID-19 in 2022 is... boring.
It's been around for so long now, can't we all just forget about it and move on already???
You and me both. But unfortunately, this isn't a two-and-a-half hour movie that has a beginning, a crisis, and an end. Annoyingly, our friend, the pandemic, doesn't appreciate the simplicity of a narrative arch.
On Monday in Australia, we recorded 30,000 COVID-19 cases nationally and 25 deaths.
On Tuesday, it was 36,440 cases and 44 deaths.
We recently just surpassed the grim 10,000 deaths mark, and every single day we're losing more and more people to this insidious virus.
Watch: A thank you to masks...
Sure, we're not losing as many as we would have done in a pre-COVID vaccine world with case numbers this high.
But our numbers are starting to climb, and climb, and climb. As of Tuesday, there were 3,740 people in hospital with the virus, with 123 of those in intensive care - the highest levels since February during the height of the Omicron wave.
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Also, I'd like to choose where I wear a mask. Up until recently, we had to wear them at our desks at work, even when we were more than 1.5 meters away from others in well-ventilated spaces. I have anxiety and the masks trigger panic attacks quite easily. So while I will put one on for my own safety and the safety of others in a poorly ventilated, crowded indoor area, I don't particularly want to have to wear it all day when there is no reason for it.