news, national,

We’ve been watching daily COVID-19 news conferences from nearly every state and territory for nearly two years now. You’d think they’d be a well-oiled, choreographed machine now, right? Wrong. It is a universally recognized truth that invariably the unexpected will happen. And when the unexpected happens, luckily for us, it’s not just filmed – it’s broadcast live to the nation. Here are some of our favorite press conference bloopers from the past two months: When the Queensland press conference on January 21 was interrupted by a mock evacuation, there was little to do but wait for the situation to pass. Our most valuable player award has to go to the Auslan interpreter here, who continues through it all, even playfully interpreting the automated evacuation message! Give this man a standing ovation! You must really feel Dr Kerry Chant, NSW Director of Health. She had very few days off during this entire two-year ordeal. So absolutely, we can forgive him a few verbal missteps throughout this time. But, in saying that, his attempts to define “close contact” as those “boyfriends or girlfriends or sleeping partners” and his advice to avoid “vigorously dancing” with strangers, are nothing short of cringe. teeth. So cringe, we can’t stop watching it on repeat. Perhaps the best thing about it is that no one notices the spectacle unfolding behind them right now. These are very important things we’re talking about, but honestly, could we have a few more antics at the press conference? That would definitely liven things up a bit. IN OTHER NEWS: Queensland’s Yvette D’Ath is a cool woman under pressure. She’s not only dealing with a pandemic, she’s also fending off hunter spiders at her press conference. We can only assume that the spider is trying to turn on the mic. He has a very important announcement. While Dr. Kerry Chant gave us a few cringe-worthy moments (see above), this one, in our opinion, is a bit more endearing. In setting out close contact rules, NSW’s health director advises residents to be careful who they ‘hang out’ with. As soon as the words leave his mouth, however, Dr. Chant berates himself for apparently trying to talk cool. “A middle-aged person should never use this language,” she said both to herself and to the media gathered around her. It’s been a few years, Dr. Chant, you may use whatever language you feel is appropriate in the situation. We will not judge you. We’ll just put you on our growing list of bloopers. Please. Organizing an outdoor press conference in front of a hospital makes perfect sense. The backdrop is appropriate for the subject matter and the exterior is COVID safe. But, you run the risk of interference. In this case, from one of the hospital’s mid-air helicopters. While outside Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital on January 24, NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard was forced to take a break of more than two minutes as an emergency helicopter took off behind him. It’s like they say, health emergencies wait for no minister.

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