Macarthur Square in New South Wales, Australia is one of the largest malls in the southern hemisphere. One day before all businesses in New South Wales open to everybody, with no mandated COVID-19 restrictions on vaccinated and vaccine free alike, I decided to see whether restaurants would allow an unvaccinated person to dine in.
As I walked through the Macarthur Square courtyard towards the train station, I noticed dozens upon dozens of people crammed into the more popular restaurants and coffee shops. People have started to arrive in social groups to Macarthur Square. There is a definite summer vibe in Australia now.
A restaurant across the courtyard had a bunch of people all wearing red Christmas shirts. Work Christmas functions seemed to be in vogue today at Macarthur Square. It was good to see.
Crossing the courtyard towards the entrance to Coco Cubano, the venue had a dozen square, metal tables in the sunshine outside, as well as the usual, cushy chairs inside, behind the folding glass door.
A big group of older mostly female office workers were seated on the tables outside. It looked like they were having a Christmas function. Knowing that most employees in Australia have been double vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine in order to keep their employment, the scene of a dozen vaccinated people was confronting to me.
“Maybe the staff are going to treat me a bit differently today,” I felt nervous thinking they might ask me for my vaccination status simply because other diners seemed to have presented their vaccine passports.
Groundhog Day With COVID-Safe QR-Code Check-Ins
A young, enthusiastic gentleman with a button-up black shirt greeted me at the entrance to Coco Cubano. I was not wearing a face mask at the time. He also did not wear a face mask. The boss of this company was wearing his face mask, walking around, smiling at me, because he knows I am a regular customer.
“Could you scan the QR code to sign yourself in,” he pointed to the poster stand.
I squinted with amusement, “I thought QR code sign ins were over now that everybody is allowed to dine out in New South Wales? We don’t have to check in anymore from tomorrow.”
“Oh no. Venues still are required to ask customers to check in, so that the government has a record,” he shared
We both agreed that face masks will cease to be enforced by the New South Wales government from tomorrow.
As I shaped to scan the COVID-Safe QR code, I wondered, “Can I use manual sign in? my WI-FI is sketchy sometimes.”
“Sorry. We don’t keep a manual record. If you can’t check in, that’s all right. It doesn’t matter. You can just come sit down,” his attitude to enforcing COVID-19 vaccine mandates was quite relaxed.
I got in without having to scan a COVID-Safe QR code.
Shared Cynicism Towards Mainstream News
As the waiter showed me to the tables, we continued to chat about the rules around the COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions.
I said, “I don’t really watch the news, so I’m not sure what’s going on.”
He commented, “You can’t listen to everything that they talk about on mainstream news.” His remark was a knowledgeable takedown of how mainstream news media twists the truth in Australia. To me, it was telling.
I smirked to myself thinking, “The owner is a savvy guy. He’s probably been telling his staff not to watch mainstream news, and had a conversation about the coercive role that the COVID-19 vaccine mandate has played on the public.” It was heart warming to hear the remark about mainstream news coming from the young gentleman that served me.
The Decline Of Medical Segregation
Three months into a ban prohibiting unvaccinated Australians from dining in at restaurants, pubs and clubs, here I was, one day before the official easing of COVID-19 restrictions, seated at a table in the corner of two walls, looking directly outside through the folding glass doors, having defied all requests to get vaccinated.
I ordered vegetarian nachos and a large cappuccino. It was a beautiful view of all the young Australian females skirting around outside the doors.
I got out my laptop. I felt quite comfortable. I missed being able to come out of a day and sit down away from everything, so that I can get my own peace of mind. I stayed in Coco Cubano for over an hour, relaxing, once again, with all the small pleasures in life. The decline of medical segregation in Australia is a small Christmas gift.
Diary Of A Mad Chaos is a daily diary written from March 1996 until today, of which individual books and book series have been created, namely “The Lost Years” an exploration of young, entwined love, the “Wubao In China (猎艳奇缘)” book series which provides an extensive comparative analysis of the cultural differences between Eastern and Western societies, and the book titled “Foreigner (华人)” an exploration of race relations in Australia.
