609 建立網絡社交生活對抗病毒We need social networking in coping with the virus

每一個人抗疫，都是為著個人健康。勤洗手、保持與別人的社交距離、不參加群聚活動，降低被病毒感染的風險，是每一個人的責任。香港、台灣、南韓等地，推行人人出外佩戴口罩，成績全球可見，值得澳洲政府參考。不過，現時在澳洲採取的隔離方案，成績也不錯，整體感染個案，不管是從外輸入，或是由已知病患感染，又或是不知名傳播者傳出的社交感染，都在大幅減少。因此總理莫里森、州長們及聯邦政府的支持度，在這時期都有大幅提升。

                為推動社區同心抗疫，本刊為讀者提供免費的洗手液，並且推出DIY口罩制作配件，提高社區的防疫意識。有人問我澳洲社會並沒有像香港一樣，人人在出外時都會戴上口罩；又不像新加坡政府，最近立例要求人民出外時戴上口罩。很多人對應否戴口罩，產生不少疑問。

                每一個國家都會有適合自己社會的抗疫政策，抗照當地疫情，在不同階段實施。對於口罩，現時澳洲政府建議應先留給醫護人員使用，普通巿民在生活中，只要保持足夠的社交距離，就不必使用。澳洲政府不反對個人使用口罩，不過專家說明戴上口罩，能防止患病者的飛沫落在空氣之中，卻無法保障佩戴者不受到外來病毒的感染。所以除非像香港這樣絕大部份人都佩戴口罩，互相保護，不然成效不大。當然，澳洲亦沒有足夠一次用的口罩，供所有人長期使用。因此我們相信，推動澳洲人使用可重用口罩，能在不影響供應醫護人員口罩的情況下，增強社區抗疫。

                我相信抗疫不單是個人的事，也需要社區同心。在疫症猖獗，人人自我隔離情況下，我們無法與親朋戚友見面，大大令人不安及情緒低落。因此，我們推介大家使用社區會議軟件，多與朋友溝通，彼此鼓勵，能夠在疫境中互相支持，是長期抗疫的好方法。

                年紀稍長者，大都很少使用社交視像軟件，為此，我們與一些社區合作，推動長者學習使網絡社交溝通軟件，使大家可以在網絡世界，能建構構一個能彼此溝通的平台。我覺得這是在我們社交生活受到限制時，我們可以主動走出局限了的生活的途徑。我相信這也是有趣的的事，盼望能得到大家的認同和支持。

周偉文 社長

We need social networking in coping with the virus

Everyone of us is fighting against COVID-19 for the sake of health safety. We always keep our hands clean, practice social distancing, avoid group gathering… all because of our responsibility to contain the spread of the virus. Australia government should also encourage the wearing of face masks in public, which has proved to be effective in Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea etc. The isolation measures adopted by Australia are working well too in significantly bringing down case count through border entry and community infection. So governing popularity of PM Morrison and the State Premiers has been uplifted.

To support our community in fighting COVID-19, Sameway is offering readers hand sanitizers for free and DIY materials for face masks. One common query remains unclear is the need of wearing masks or not, as people are querying why we are not following the good practice in Hong Kong or even in Singapore where compulsory order is legislated just.

Every country at different timing would have the corresponding measures depending on the state of the pandemic. Australia for now is advising that the use of masks should be a priority for health care workers where the public can rely on social distancing. Expert advice is not against the use of masks but only for the purpose of preventing spread of virus from the infected through the air rather than protecting one from breathing in some. So it cannot serve you well unless bulk of the community is doing it mutually at the same time like in Hong Kong. Indeed we do not have stock to support such extensive coverage and usage here. So we believe it will work better for the health carers if the community can rely on reusable masks.

This fight is not just for the individuals but for the community as one. During this isolation time we are all feeling down for being able to get together with our ties. The use of group conferencing software may help us to stay in touch for some mutual support that we all need during such difficult period.

Yet not many of the seniors are used to social video conferencing. Hence we take the lead in holding some software learning sessions for more seniors to be able to participate in cyber talk. I think this is an avenue for us to break out of our social isolation life. This is fun too, looking forward to your support!

Raymond Chow, Publisher