Victoria past grim Covid peak ‘for now’, says Brett Sutton as state records 1656 new cases, 10 deaths
A sense of normality has returned to the city as shoppers browsed stores in Chadstone and the CBD searching for early Christmas presents.
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A sense of normality has returned to Melbourne as shoppers wandered around Chadstone browsing clothes and searching for early Christmas presents.
While Covid marshals flanked each shop entrance to check customer’s QR codes, the atmosphere was relaxed with no disturbances seen by the Herald Sun.
Target customer Kristie said she came in on the first day of trading because she was sick of purchasing online.
The young mum wasn’t worried some of her fellow shoppers were unvaccinated.
“I’m double vaxxed and I’m wearing a mask. It’s time we returned to a normal life,” she said.
Hundreds of people descended on Kmart at Chadstone Shopping Centre and Bourke St Mall ahead of 6pm Friday.
In a matter of minutes shoppers were swiping credit cards, while in David Jones many made their way to the beauty and accessories department, stocking up on products they’ve missed during lockdown.
As the clock ticked over to 6pm, the first customers at Chadstone were welcomed in and were met with applause and cheering.
By 7pm, traffic outside Australia’s largest shopping centre was brought to a standstill as carparks reached capacity.
Security guards directed the steady stream of cars to overflow parking areas.
Melbourne’s weather made a turn for the better with shoppers, many maskless, making the most of the sunshine sitting on steps and benches outside.
Customers made their way back to their cars with shopping bags full of purchases.
There was no rush inside, as staff checked each customers’ QR codes.
Friends Nina and Michelle were among the first through the doors and said they “couldn’t wait” to get inside.
“I’m picking up stuff for my puppy because I just got one,” Michelle said.
“I’m a teacher so I’m just picking up supplies for classroom,” Nina said.
The pair said they wanted to visit Kmart first because it was the “place to be” but would do the rounds to Zara and Myer as well.
Orderly lines formed outside big name retailers including H&M, Zara and Culture Kings as shoppers got their first taste of retail therapy in nearly three months.
A mix of families, school kids and elderly Victorians made up the crowd with one reveller calling it a “good atmosphere”.
Some stores along Bourke Street Mall will be implementing extra health and safety measures on top of the government requirements, as they welcome back shoppers for the first time in months.
Young friends Annabelle, 13 and Lucia, 14 said Zara was their first pick because they wanted to pick-up some denim.
“We just missed it so much, couldn’t be more excited to get back in here,” Lucia said.
Lucy and Adrienne Schaefer, of Northcote, and Annie Breene, of Port Melbourne, waited outside David Jones ahead of the reopening.
“I haven’t bought anything in over a year because I can’t be bothered buying it online,” Ms Breene said.
Lucy Schaefer said she’ll be paying Mecca, Zara and David Jones a visit to indulge in some long-overdue shopping.
A marching band played as the doors to David Jones opened, with shoppers triumphantly following behind them as Melburnians celebrated the return of shopping in the city.
Many shoppers removed their masks after exiting stores as the outdoor mask mandate was lifted at 6pm on Friday.
Density limits and QR code mandates may cause long lines into the evening.
Shoppers will be required to scan a QR code to check-in before they enter a store and must wear a fitted face mask while inside.
Physical distancing will be encouraged and while there are no capacity limits, the one person per four square metre rule does apply.
Unvaccinated people are allowed inside general retail stores from Friday but come November 24, all retail staff and shoppers must be double jabbed.
David Jones is asking shoppers to sign in using their store visitor system, as well as check in using the Vic Health QR code.
Dedicated door welcome staff and instore social distancing monitors will be set up at their Bourke St store to ensure all health and safety measures are carried out.
Lines have already formed at Myer’s Bourke Street store. Shoppers have told @theheraldsun they are so excited to shop in stores again. pic.twitter.com/5b3E7cpFKo
— Alexandra Middleton (@alexandraamidd) October 29, 2021
Hundreds of shoppers lined up outside Kmart at Chadstone for retail reopening at 6pm. @theheraldsunpic.twitter.com/Itepy3w8Dg
— Miles Proust (@MilesProust) October 29, 2021
David Jones regional manager Magda Combrinck said she was thrilled to welcome Melbourne customers back in store, especially with Christmas fewer than 100 days away.
“Our teams are excited and prepared for customers to return and explore all the new product and experiences we have to offer,” Ms Combrinck said.
Myer is also keen to reopen their doors.
Chief customer officer Geoff Ikin told the Herald Sun reopening would help accommodate the fashion demands which come with the Spring Racing Carnival.
“In the past few weeks Myer has sold over 110,000 dresses and as our social calendars continue to fill up, we expect to see more summer dresses and footwear flying out the door, with suiting and accessories also in high demand with the Spring Racing Carnival kicking off this weekend,” Mr Ikin said.
“It is great to have retail therapy back in metro Melbourne and we can’t wait to open our doors with physically distanced arms on Friday.”
Meanwhile, Chadstone Shopping Centre is gearing up for a busy night as thousands of eager shoppers receive their first dose of retail therapy in nearly three months.
The event will look more like a New Year’s Eve party than a retail reopening with a countdown clock to 6pm and live music performances.
“We’re kind of going to treat this a bit like a party, we’ve got some great entertainment coming along tonight,” Chadstone Centre Manager Michael Whitehead said.
“It’s certainly going to be very exciting as retailers open the shutters.”
Covid-safe measures will be implemented with all shoppers required to check in using QR codes and wear masks.
“We’ve extended trading hours right way through to midnight tonight to make sure we can accommodate everybody in the safest way possible,” Mr Whitehead said.
TRAFFIC SET TO SURGE
Melbourne’s traffic is expected to sharply rise this weekend, with arterials predicted to reach almost pre-pandemic levels.
Data analysed by technology company Intelematics, owned by RACV, looked at the same time last year when restrictions were lifted and expects the number of cars on the road to increase by 60 per cent.
The Nepean Hwy southeast bound is expected to return to 95 per cent of its normal traffic volume, the West Gate Fwy westbound (94.6 per cent) the Princes Fwy westbound (88.7 per cent), and Hume Fwy northwest bound (78.5 per cent).
Lockdown fatigue, a faster opening time and the long weekend are the main contributors behind the surge.
WILD STORMS CLOSE TOURIST PARK
A popular holiday park has been forced to close hours before the state reopens due to severe storm damage.
Queenscliffe Tourist Parks told its guests via social media significant debris and tree damage had closed the cabins and camping area until further notice.
Golightly Park is open for pre-booked guests and permit holders only.
The holiday park is also without power.
Meanwhile, Barwon Heads Road is closed in both directions between Bluestone School Road, Connewarre and Golf Links Road, Barwon Heads due to fallen trees on the road.
Visitors to the region should use the Bellarine Highway and Grubb Road to access Barwon Heads via Ocean Grove. There will be limited local resident access available.
Crews are working to clear the fallen trees and debris as quickly and safely as possible, but the clean-up is expected to extend into the weekend.
We ask locals and holiday-makers to carefully plan their travel, with storm damage widespread across the transport network.
Real-time traffic conditions are available at traffic.vicroads.vic.gov.au or via the VicTraffic mobile app. The latest public transport information and network status is available at ptv.vic.gov.au or in the PTV mobile app.
VIC PAST GRIM COVID PEAK
Victoria has likely hit the peak of its coronavirus outbreak “for now” but chief health officer Brett Sutton has warned cases will climb as the state opens up.
Ten lives were lost to Covid in the past 24 hours, including a man in his 40s, a man in his 50s, a man and a woman in their 60s, a woman in her 80s and five women in the 90s.
Victoria recorded a total of 1656 new cases and 10 coronavirus deaths in the past 24 hours.
The state now has 23,730 active cases.
Prof Sutton on Friday told reporters, “for now we’ve hit the peak”.
“I think as we open up, we’ll get an increase in cases and that will bring a few more people into hospital and a few more people into ICU.
“We’re on a somewhat stable trend at the moment, but it could pick up again.
“I think the modelling is reassuring and as much as it says it doesn’t get to 300-400 mark that would be enormously challenging for our ICU and hospital systems.
“If we can keep it below 200 (in ICU) even as we open up that would be terrific.
“That’s really substantial. It’s more than a third of our normal ICU capacity to be able to deal with the numbers we’re dealing with now.
“I would hope that hospitalisation can stay below 1000 as we’ve maintained up to this point in time.”
Almost all Victorian Covid patients in intensive care on Friday were unvaccinated, Cabinet Minister Danny Pearson revealed.
Mr Pearson said there were 738 people in hospital with the virus, of which 130 were in intensive care, including 85 on a ventilator.
“Of the cases in hospital, 86 per cent were not vaccinated, and of those in the ICU, 94 per cent were not vaccinated,” he said.
More than a third of Victoria’s new coronavirus cases reported on Friday were aged under 20, chief health officer Brett Sutton has revealed.
Professor Sutton said there had also been a significant increase in cases in the 20 to 40-year-old age group.
“Of yesterday’s new cases, 37 per cent were aged under 20,” he said.
“Essentially in that under-vaccinated but rapidly higher vaccine coverage population of the 12 to 17 year olds, but also those not yet eligible for vaccine aged under 12.”
Prof Sutton said higher cases were again reported in Casey and Greater Dandenong, while decreasing numbers continued in the west and north of Melbourne.
He said there were 46 cases in Latrobe in regional Victoria, 35 in greater Geelong and 49 in Wodonga, where both NSW and Victorian authorities are battling a significant outbreak in the cross-border community.
“We’re sending two more testing teams to Wodonga to assist over the weekend,” Prof Sutton said.
“It’s been a really strong response to testing. They’ve been more than 14,000 processed across Albury Wodonga in the past week, which is really tremendous.
“And we’re supporting Albury Wodonga Health to further expand their testing capacity in the week ahead.”
TESTING SITES SHUT AFTER WILD WEATHER
More than 30 Covid testing sites and six vaccination clinics have been closed across Victoria after wild weather swept the state.
Prof Sutton said the sites had been temporarily closed and urged people to check the health department’s website before venturing out.
“We’ll be contacting people who’ve got a vaccination schedule that has to be deferred for a little bit longer,” he said.
“We’re obviously working very hard to get those sites back online as soon as possible. But we do appreciate your patience as we do that.”
He said some of the sites closed included the Cranbourne Turf Club, Sandown drive through clinic, Frankston Bayside clinic, Melbourne Showgrounds, the drive thru component at Melton and Wyndham Eagle stadium.
VICTORIA NUDGES VACCINE TARGET
Victoria is set to hit the 80 per cent vaccination target on Saturday, with eased restrictions being introduced from 6pm on Friday.
Cabinet Minister Danny Pearson said the state had reached 78.5 per cent of people aged 16 and older with their second dose.
“We expect that we’re going to hit the 80 per cent double dose milestone tomorrow,” he told reporters on Friday.
“Either way, the eased restrictions will be coming in at 6pm tonight to ensure Victorians can make the most of this great long weekend.”
Prof Sutton said it was “immaterial”.
“We’re opening up tonight, that’s a great thing and we’re not going to stop at 80 per cent double dose coverage, we’ll go by 1 per cent each day until we get to 85 and beyond.”
At least 92.3 per cent of Victorians aged 16 and older have now had their first dose of the vaccine.
EXCITEMENT GROWS FOR ‘FREEDOM FRIDAY’
The state will be whole again from Friday night, as the border between Melbourne and the regions comes down, retailers throw open their doors and the state celebrates its first true taste of freedom.
With the state on course to reach its key 80 per cent vaccination target, the regions will finally open up to metropolitan Melbourne up again from 6pm.
Thousands of Melburnians are expected to flock to regional Victoria to celebrate the unofficial Melbourne Cup long weekend.
Shopping centres, retail stores, cinemas, entertainment venues and gyms will also reopen, while pubs, restaurants, hairdressers and beauticians can host more patrons.
Outdoor events including weddings and funerals are now able to host 500 fully vaccinated people, and masks will no longer be mandatory outdoors.
Community sport will also resume.
Despite Melbourne’s world-record lockdown ending last week, business groups are heralding the day as the real “Freedom Friday”.
Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said: “Let’s pop the champagne corks, hug our loved ones, and finally close the door on this chapter that, thanks to everyone’s incredible efforts and dedication, we will never have to revisit again.”
Australian Industry Group Victorian head Tim Piper said the weekend would provide the “release valve” that so many people had been desperately waiting for.
“The past week it has felt like we were on parole, still being watched over and questioned, “ he said. “In fact, freedom day last week was virtually an apparition, but this week, it’s for real.
“You will hear the valve open all over the state.”
The suffering retail industry, which has been closed for 12 weeks, is preparing for a flood of shoppers, with many precincts set to trade past 9pm.
Victoria’s largest toy store, Toymate, will open two new stores – in Nunawading and WaterGardens – for the first time on Friday. “It feels like the rainbow after the storm,” CEO Danny Bloom said.
Fleur Brown of the Australian Retailers Association said: “Many retailers in Melbourne have been shut longer than anywhere else in the world, but there’s a lot of pent-up demand, so we’re optimistic of a strong bounceback.”
Bunnings is gearing up to welcome back its famous sausage sizzles in a bid to boost community fundraising activities halted by the lockdowns.
Meanwhile, with highways out of the city set to be bumper-to-bumper with holiday-makers, Victoria’s top cop Shane Patton said police would show discretion if people were caught fleeing Melbourne before 6pm.
Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief Felicia Mariani said: “This day, which is a vitally important and firm step in our recovery, was not supposed to come for some time, so it was perfect timing as we are heading into a self-made long weekend.”
LOCKDOWN IRKS INMATES
Prisoners fed up with being locked down in their cells are threatening to take Premier Daniel Andrews to court if they do not get a “road map’’ out of their harsh Covid restrictions.
Growing frustration within the prison system in the past month has been blamed on a cell fire at Port Phillip Prison and a fracas at the Metropolitan Remand Centre leading to a 14-day unit lockdown.
Inmates are demanding to know when contact visits will resume and want better access to Zoom meetings with family and legal calls.
SUBSIDY CALL ON RAPID TEST
Small and medium businesses should have access to free rapid antigen testing to ensure they remain open as the virus spreads.
An alliance of peak business bodies, unions and the transport sector has demanded state and federal governments fund the rapid tests.
They argue that the move could boost business confidence for struggling industries, protect supply chains already under severe pressure, and help maintain high testing numbers.
“Rapid antigen tests are an essential tool for workplaces to identify Covid-19 before it enters the workplace,” the alliance said.
Pathology Technology Australia modelling suggests the cost of supervised rapid antigen testing will be between $18-49 per test, while unsupervised testing could cost $20 per test.
WHERE TO GOGH ONE STARRY NIGHT
Melbourne’s latest cultural coup – a permanently-housed fully immersive digital art gallery – opens on Monday.
The Lume Melbourne, a 3000sq m gallery space soaring four storeys high, is based at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. It will launch with van Gogh, a study of Dutch postimpressionist Vincent van Gogh.
The multi-sensory gallery, similar to venues in Paris and Tokyo, is the only permanent art house of its kind in Australia.
John Brumby, chairman of the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Trust, and former Victorian premier, said: “The Lume is a big, fresh, new major event for Melbourne. It’s a big feather in our cap. It will complement the other great assets and attractions we’ve got in Melbourne, such as the NGV, and it’s going to excite a lot of people about art.”
Port Melbourne company, Grande Experiences, created The Lume Melbourne and the van Gogh event.
The company has staged more than 200 experimental art events including Monet and Da Vinci in 150 cities, to 18 million visitors.
“Melbourne gives us such a huge canvas to work on,” Gary Moynihan, the company’s head of creative design, said. “It puts Melbourne … at the forefront of immersive art shows.”
The van Gogh show will match the painter’s works to music and scents.
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