Rolling Coverage: Victoria’s return traveller cap could increase

Eager holiday-makers were quick to snap up the latest round of regional travel vouchers.

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Victorians have rushed to secure $200 travel vouchers, with 30,000 coupons snapped up in half an hour on Monday.

The extra vouchers for people to holiday in regional Victoria were added by the state government as a good-faith gesture after its website crashed as soon as it launched last Friday.

Eager holiday-makers jumped back on the updated site at 12pm Monday, and at its peak it attracted 72,000 page views per minute.

All 30,000 available vouchers were gone within 31 minutes.

The vouchers allow people to get $200 reimbursed if they spend $400 in regional Victoria for two or more nights accommodation or on experiences, tours or attractions.

The first round of vouchers can be claimed for travel until January 22.

A second round of 40,000 vouchers will be released on January 20 for travel between January 27 and April 1, and a third batch of 40,000 on March 30 for travel between April 6 and May 31.

There were 70,000 vouchers allocated in the first round.

The majority of people who logged on last Friday were unable to claim a voucher because technology issues forced the site and app offline for extended periods.

Families take to the beach at Torquay. Picture: Ian Currie

RETURN TRAVELLER CAP COULD INCREASE

Limits on how many returning travellers can arrive in Melbourne could be reviewed in January.

The state government has told Prime Minister Scott Morrison that Victoria is willing to increase the number of overseas travellers it receives next month, but no plan is locked in.

More than 1000 people are now in the state’s revamped hotel quarantine program, and a sixth person tested positive for coronavirus on Sunday. The six positive results include a boy aged under five.

Another 24 people in quarantine have symptoms.

Police Minister Lisa Neville — who is responsible for the scheme — said on Sunday that Victoria was working through how it could increase its cap “as quickly as possible, but as safe as possible”.

“What we have said to the Prime Minister is that we are looking at anything from the end of January onwards,” she said.

Ms Neville also said the Premier had raised concerns with other states about the two German passengers that slipped through the system in Sydney last week.

Ms Neville said the problem was having hotel quarantine buses after baggage areas rather than picking up people straight from the plane.

Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded another COVID-19 case in a return traveller, taking the state’s active infections to seven.

The Department of Health and Human Services confirmed in a tweet that there were no new locally-acquired cases, but one new case in someone who caught the virus overseas and was in quarantine.

It has been 45 days since the last locally acquired case was diagnosed.

In the past 24 hours, about 5,000 test results were received.

WEDDING BELLS RING AGAIN FOR MELBOURNE COUPLES

Newlyweds Justine and Adrian Torrealba are thanking their lucky stars after a Melbourne wedding free of major coronavirus restrictions

Like most Victorians, the happy couple nervously monitored health rules and state border closures as the special day crept closer.

While thousands of Melbourne couples had to postpone their nuptials during Victoria’s COVID-19 crisis, there was not a face mask in sight for Mr and Mrs Torrealba’s wedding pics at the weekend.

“We couldn’t have asked for a better day, really,’’ Justine said. “Everything was just perfect.”

The couple walked down the aisle to the cheers of 158 family and friends, thankful that state restrictions for public gatherings had eased.

Adrian and Justine Torrealba were married at St Dominic's Parish Church in Camberwell with about 160 guests. Picture: Mark Stewart

Easing of coronavirus restrictions enabled the couple’s wedding to go ahead. Picture: Mark Stewart

The couple agreed to stick with the date even if restrictions were still in place. Picture: Mark Stewart

It was the first weekend couples could have more than 150 guests to witness their nuptials.

Guests from Western Australia, Queensland and NSW were able to cross state borders to see the couple exchange vows at St Dominic’s Catholic Church in Camberwell.

Justine said the couple had the date in their diary almost 18 months ago and agreed to stick with it, hoping the pandemic in Victoria would end before they said ”I do”.

“Pretty much until the week before we didn’t know if we were going to go ahead,’’ she said. “It was very exciting — my now husband was very positive it was going to happen and I think it was just other people making me nervous by continually asking.

“We just held out and obviously our lucky stars were looking over us to reduce all the restrictions five days before.’’

The couple also had planned to honeymoon overseas but with travel limits and ongoing virus concerns will instead stay at Hayman Island.