Live with covid, state of mind

Originally labelled as a "Stroll out" due to the apparent lack of urgency with the Australian Covid response, the Australian public has responded in tremendous fashion to the draconian lock downs where New South Wales now stands at 82% of the eligible population having received at least one dose of the vaccine. The adoption and willingness to get vaccinated has been labelled as one of the fasted globally. Australia has also abandoned the notion of a "Zero Covid" country and conceded that for the country to move forward it has to adopt a "live with covid" approach, which can only succeed if majority of the population is fully vaccinated. Majority in this case has a number, that number is 80%. If forecasts are to be believed, NSW should reach this milestone by the end of October, with the entire country slightly behind NSW with early November target date. 

Selfishly, this is all very encouraging news for me - those dates, although touch-and-go, do align quite closely with my existing flights. There is also speculation around changing the Australian quarantine rules for inbound passengers, with a new pilot scheme being tested as we speak. Again, it's still early to tell, but things are moving in the right direction. 

I have joined a forum called "Aussie Expats Coming Home", which I will say is an excellent resource for Australians trying to get back home. Lots of posts sharing experiences with quarantine, flights and changes in policy affect Australians overseas. Unfortunately, there are countless stories of people having flights canceled as their flights draw closer. At times it can be difficult to read with some people in less fortunate positions than I. There are some who are desperate to visit sick relatives, or are looking to repatriate back home, terminating rental, quitting jobs etc. Where a canceled flight results in a delay of their plans for up to 2-3 months. 

So I wait here, and will just have to see what happens. As of writing, this week people have posted news of early October ticket cancelations. Two weeks before the flight seems to be the sweet spot when tickets are canceled. For me, that means between now and mid October is when, and if I get that dreaded email. As November draws closer, I am fear the sight of an email from Singapore Airlines with regards to my flight. Fingers crossed!