In the past month we saw our city rocked by the kind of violent anti-vaccination protests few expected in Australia. There are fears for vulnerable communities as we open up. Victoria had its highest number of Covid deaths just yesterday. Now, it feels like there’s so much to worry about. Maybe this is just hindsight talking, but coming out of our first lockdown felt simpler. After so many months of uncertainty, and so many times plunging in and out of lockdown, my brain hasn’t quite caught up with the fact that this is the reopening that’s going to stick (hopefully). But I’m also having trouble planning or committing to anything further than a week away. I’m looking forward to visiting my family interstate and seeing friends I haven’t seen for months. I feel like I’m hoarding experiences, making the most of it when I can - just in case everything changes again at a second’s notice. I’m going out to restaurants and pubs, but I’m still exhausted. People I know seem to be split between rushing out to do everything they could all at once, and being overwhelmed by the idea of sitting in a crowded restaurant after so many months of isolation and distance.įor me, it doesn’t quite feel real yet. Drivers did burnouts at a spontaneous street dance party that reportedly had to be dispersed by police.Īfter spending so long counting down the days until reopening, it somehow took me by surprise how quickly everything is happening - hitting the 70 percent fully vaccinated mark, then 80 percent and then the reopening of our borders all happening in quick succession. People screamed from their balconies and set off fireworks in their backyards. Surreal, like when you’ve been awake for too many hours and exhaustion turns into a strange kind of manic energy. This time, when Melbourne reopened, it felt different. Of course, that was all before we locked down for another 151 days. We’d all get vaccinated as soon as a vaccine was available, and everything would be back to normal. Concerns abounded about Victorians’ mental health, and there was a feeling that friends in other states might not understand what we’d gone through.īut it had been worth it, everyone agreed. I ended up in a pub with a group of hospitality workers worried that it could take years for the sector to rebound. The article we wrote had the headline “The Lockdown That Felt Like It Might Last Forever Has Finally Ended” - which is very amusing in hindsight.Įven then, in the early hours of the morning, people were already talking about their fears of the long-term impacts of lockdown. Attendees dressed up in suits and cocktail gowns and reveled in how we’d triumphed over the virus. Bars threw midnight reopening banquets and sold out of tickets days in advance. One year and one day ago, as the clock ticked past midnight, I was in Melbourne’s central business district to report on the end of the city’s 111-day coronavirus lockdown. The Australia Letter is a weekly newsletter from our Australia bureau.
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