AUSTRALIA Weekly COVID Update: 6 Feb 2026 🔹NSW: ⬆️ (+18.5%) 🔹VIC: ⬆️ (+13.0%) 🔹SA: ⬆️ (+11.2%) 🔹WA: ⬆️ (+9.0%%) Avg 20/day in hospital 🔸QLD: ⬇️ (-6.5%) 31 in hospital ▫️TAS: ➡️ (Stable) 🔹Aged Care: The Australian Government ended weekly COVID-19 reporting

🧵(1/3) NSW respiratory surveillance reports: 5 Feb 2026 From 25 Jan to 1 Feb 2026 🔸COVID positivity rate: 3.0% (+0.6%) 🔸Number of laboratories reporting COVID: 3 out of 4 🔹COVID: 505 (+18.5%) 🔹Influenza: 564 (-13.9%) 🔹RSV: 456 (+4.3%) health.nsw.gov.au/Infectious/c...

Headline on The Guardian Australia right now. So - can we now declare that AUKUS was a mistake made by the previous govt. And - can we get our money back? I’ve always said AUKUS rhymes with Orchis & was a complete balls-up. #auspol

I am always amazed by what brainy people can do …

Australian Respiratory Surveillance Report – 30 January 2026 "COVID-19 has been the leading cause of acute respiratory infection mortality across 2023– 2025" Reporting period (29 Dec 2025 to 25 Jan 2026) 🔸COVID: 5,383 (-24.9%) 🔸Influenza: 13,964 (-62.7%) 🔸RSV: 4,252 (-6.6%)

Large study finds COVID-19 shots don’t affect fertility New Swedish study of ~60,000 women (18–45) found no significant difference in childbirth or miscarriage rates between vaccinated and unvaccinated women. About 75% were vaccinated, mostly mRNA vaccines from 2021–2024 in national health records.

www.theguardian.com/australia-ne... I hope this isn’t paywalled - but the headline might be sufficient. We need to wind back negative gearing. Housing should be to live in - not primarily an investment. It should not be easier to buy a 3rd or 4th home than it is to buy your first.

#showmeyourknits - Garter Stitch week. One of the commissions I’m currently working on is a Garter Stitch Shawl - for the opera ‘The Drover’s Wife’. I knitted the shawls for the same character in previous versions of the story too. All costume designs by Tess Schofield. More in the Alt Text #knitsky

"People have become sicker after the pandemic, but without COVID-19 testing it's difficult to understand why." "Many people have had COVID-19 multiple times, and each infection carries a risk of long-term effects. Research also suggests that repeated infections may affect the immune system."

"Mass UK study debunks COVID vaccine myth." "A landmark study of nearly 14 million children in England has revealed that the Covid infection carries a higher risk of heart complications than the vaccination" Source: archive.md/PanVG

#showmeyourknits this week the theme is ‘Hands’. So here are the Trompe-l'œil ‘hands’ I knitted myself a few years ago. I don’t wear a lot of rings & until recently I rarely had ‘nice’ nails - these gloves though - - they have the works ! See Alt Text 4 details #handknit #handknittedgloves #gloves

My knitting companion this afternoon. A young noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) - very common here in a Sydney, a honeyeater. S/he was very noisy and bold - I was at a picnic table therefore I should have food. I only had my knitting & that was just - unacceptable! #birdlife #australianbird

Trump's Morality by @claytoonz.bsky.social open.substack.com/pub/claytoon...

Australia: Be warned, COVID has not gone away. "Is there much COVID around? Do I need the new booster shot LP.8.1? ADRIAN ESTERMAN shares the science." citynews.com.au/2026/be-warn...

#showmeyourknits - is WiPs this week & I have 2 messy bundles that might eventually be Shawls. Sage green mess is a costume commission. Beige & rose pink mess is the Mallorn shawl I started while waiting for yarn & decisions so I could begin the commission. More in Alt Text #knitsky #handknit

Renovated my old ‘Witch’s Hat’ - it still looks witchy but perhaps she’s a more prosperous witch these days. It’s a vintage cellophane capeline - floppy brim turned up and stitched there in 2 places - black trims from my stash. #millinery #hatmaking #recyle #upcycle

2025 in Knitting - 3of3 - batwing jumper & matching beanie for daughter, a Joris toy dragon and a chubby little angel - More in alt text #handknitting 🧶 #knitsky

2025 in Knitting - 2of3 - my Peacock Suit - jacket, skirt, hat & bag. A vest for the Hubby Dear - More in alt text #handknitting 🧶 #knitsky

2025 in Knitting - 1of3 - cotton baby’s blanket, hats - samples for teaching, my pattern & class notes - finished a fancy throw in fancy yarns. More in alt text #handknitting 🧶 #knitsky

Very well explained …

Started a lace shawl using my handspun yarn 🧶 was going to make a conventional lace shawl with a conventional design - ended up choosing one that is all over ‘leaves’. #knitsky #handspinning #handknit Details in the Alt Text

#ShowMeYourKnits theme this week WHITES & BRIGHTS. I don’t often knit in white & when I do it seems that it’s usually a vintage style for a baby! A ‘petticoat’ for my granddaughter, a fancy matinee jacket for a friend’s daughter and … for an adult, a pretty heck-warmer. Details in AltText 🧶 #knitsky

#showmeyourknits theme for this week is cardigans … here are 2 vintage style cardies I made as commissions. Details in the Alt Text 🧶 #handknitting #knitsky

Australia’s TGA has added the new Comirnaty LP.8.1 COVID-19 vaccine, targeting the LP.8.1 variant. It’s recommended annually for adults 18–64 who aren’t severely immunocompromised and is free for all residents. Pfizer says it’s now available.

I lost at Yarn Chicken 🐓- but it’s a dish cloth so it’s not a big deal. Borders and a loop for hanging it up next. Crochet 100% cotton from stash / left overs 🧶 #crochet

Korean study finds how COVID-19 affects memory, suggests a possible treatment. Korean researchers found the COVID S1 spike protein disrupts nerve cells, harming memory and causing anxiety in mice. Metformin restored nerve function and reduced toxic proteins, suggesting a possible treatment.

"A landmark new study shows COVID-19 isn’t ‘just a cold’: One infection left people with long-lasting immune damage, and those with heart disease lost up to 70% of key immune cells. Reinfections may worsen this. The message is clear: protecting ourselves still matters."

#showmeyourknits this week the theme is Holiday knitting. I used to knit Xmas Elf hats for Blythe dolls & sold a few thru the Etsy shop I had. And I’m showing off a ‘snowflake’ jumper I made my grandson. More info in the Alt Text 🧶 #knitsky #handknit

"No one's going to build a factory based on a tariff that's on on Monday, off on... Tuesday, the president's changed his mind by Wednesday, he gets hormonal by Thursday and someone says something nasty in the middle school cafeteria on Friday and they're back on again."

CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1965: 20-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio in 1990: 75-1 CEO-to-worker pay ratio today: 280-to-1 Trickle-down economics was always a sham. Nothing has ever trickled down.

#showmeyourknits This week is for gradients, minis etc. Here is a slightly adapted ‘So Faded’ I made myself about a decade ago - my fav Indie fibre person - Charly of Ixchel Fibres - hand dyed the 4 skeins I used for it. More in Alt txt

Wonderful news and let’s not forget that the hypocrite BeetRooter was actively campaigning against this vaccine because ‘it would make teenage girls more promiscuous’. (that is about an Aussie politician - apologies to folks from elsewhere).

#showmeyourknits - this week the theme is favourite INDIE DESIGNERS & DYERS. My fav indie designers both do toys - Zij Maakt Het & MochiMochi Land. My fav indie dyer is the Charly of Ixchel Fibres … more in Alt Text 🧶 #knitting #handknit #handspinning

Worth a watch - and I like that, at about the half way point, Gartner acknowledges that Trump is a danger to all of us - not just America.

#MannequinMonday summer is round the corner (I’m in the southern hemisphere) - time to get ‘bikini ready’? These 12” wooden mannequins are working out in their ‘active wear’ … #handknit 🧶

Wow.

#showmeyourknits this week’s theme is the fluffy fibres - such as mohair. Here are 2 - a big cowl / ringscarf & a loose-fit jumper with a wide falling collar. More in Alt Text

#FinishedObjectFriday 🧶 #knitting actually finished a few weeks ago but I forgot to show him off. A ‘Joris’ dragon toy, knitted for a little boy. Details in the Alt Text

Notice how he says COVID and not covid vaccines... Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong warns that COVID may suppress P53—the “guardian” gene that protects against cancer. Elephants have 8 copies of it; Humans only 1. Full interview here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqxC...

France: "Wearing a mask is once again mandatory in Paris hospitals" "Faced with a rapid rise in respiratory infections, several hospitals in the Île-de-France region have decided to reinstate mandatory mask-wearing for healthcare workers, visitors, and patients over the age of 6." archive.li/ZeKtJ

#showmeyourknits it is WiPs this week. I’ve had to interrupt the WaterDrop jumper for my daughter in favour of test knitting patterns and writing up class-notes for a workshop I’ll be running (in Sydney - comment if you are interested). More in Alt Texts #handknit

Accept the conceit that Trump is running the country "like a business." A private equity firm executed a hostile takeover of the biggest and most powerful business ever imagined. Their business plan? Do racism. They get in and immediately begin to scrap everything for parts. And do racism.

Dementia Heightens COVID-19 Risks in Sweden’s Seniors. "A significant study conducted in Sweden has revealed alarming insights into how dementia not only affects the risks of contracting COVID-19 but also influences the outcomes for those infected." Source: archive.li/BVzwv

#showmeyourknits this week’s theme - Cables. I love cables but haven’t done a cabled garment for a while … next project perhaps. Meanwhile here’s a selection of cabled knits from years past. Details in the Alt Text #handknit

The “CONCLUSION: Maternal SARS-CoV-2 infection in pregnancy was associated with increased risk of adverse neurodevelopmental diagnoses by age 3 years, with effects most pronounced after third-trimester exposure and in male offspring.”

Why over 50s need to 'rethink' COVID and how it can impact them The It Only Takes Five report urges Australians to reassess COVID risk as cases may rise later this year. Over 50s should consider overall health, not just age, since poor health can worsen illness and slow recovery. archive.li/3zeuy

#showmeyourknits Theme this week is HORROR KNITTING STORIES - Lost, Shrunk etc I’ve many! All the knitted gifts - not even a polite thanks 🥴 The vintage patterns I’d knitted myself, that my teenage daughter sold! All the hats & scarves my hubby has lost - even this one, designed not to fall off

🇦🇺Australian Respiratory Surveillance Report – 6 October to 19 October 2025 In the last fortnight, COVID cases decreased (-22.2%), influenza decreased (-34.9%), and RSV decreased (-29.6%) Reported cases: 🔸COVID: 3,196 🔸Influenza: 13,429 🔸RSV: 3,598 Source: www.health.gov.au/resources/pu...

#wipWednesday I’ve interrupted the raindrops, batwing jumper for daughter - to knit a toy dragon from one of my fav patterns … details in the Alt Text #handknit #handknittedtoy