324 new cases, calls for extra vaccines in Melbourne hot spots
Anti-lockdown protesters say they will hold a “freedom” rally in Melbourne’s east over the weekend, but police have vowed to come out in force.
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Victoria recorded 324 new cases overnight, including hundreds of mystery infections.
The cases reveal a spike of more than 100 from Wednesday’s daily tally, with only 107 linked to known outbreaks.
It is the state’s biggest 24-hour spike since August 14 last year, when 372 infections were announced.
It comes as NSW recorded 1405 new cases and five deaths in the past 24 hours.
Premier Daniel Andrews said he wasn’t shocked that Victoria’s case numbers had spiked on Thursday.
“We are going to see cases go up because this virus is highly, highly contagious,” he said.
“The key point is to keep those numbers as low as we can — not zero — but to keep them as low as we can so that our nurses have got a fair fight, so that we’re not making the job of our nurses, even harder.”
It comes after modelling suggested Victoria would reach up to 1000 daily cases by the end of the month.
VICTORIA’S LATEST CASE BREAKDOWN
• 102 cases in Melbourne’s western suburbs, including at Werribee, Tarneit and Altona North
• 195 cases in the northern suburbs at Craigieburn, Glenroy, Roxburgh Park and Broadmeadows
• Five cases in the eastern suburbs
• 20 cases in the southeastern suburbs, at Keysborough, Narre Warren and Hampton Park
• Two cases in regional Victoria, in Shepparton and the Mitchell Shire
FREEDOM RALLY ANNOUNCED FOR THIS WEEKEND
Anti-lockdown protesters have announced a “freedom” rally this Saturday in Melbourne’s outer east.
The event is described as a “social meet-up” and is scheduled for 12pm on Saturday at Boronia’s Tim Neville Arboretum.
“Bring your friends,” the event advert says.
“Brings flags and wear blue to stand out.
“BYO BBQ food and picnic lunch.”
The event is a warm-up gathering for a major anti-lockdown protest planned for September 18 in Melbourne’s CBD.
Victoria Police said they would be out in numbers to enforce lockdown restrictions.
CONCERN OVER COVID HOT SPOTS
Authorities remain concerned about the spread of the virus in Melbourne’s northern and western suburbs.
Covid-19 testing commander Jeroen Weimar said there had been some level of household-to-household contact, with the virus potentially spreading in the area for days or weeks.
“Even as late as yesterday we are still finding cases where entire households are positive when the first person has come forward to be tested and where adjoining household families are all positive at the same time,” he said.
“[This] not only indicates that we have seen some level of household to household contact but, far more worryingly, that coronavirus has been there for a number of days, possibly a number of weeks.
“That makes it harder for everyone to track down in this way we see a rapid escalation of numbers because we pick up new cases and there are a lot of cases sitting behind them who have already been infected for many days beforehand.”
ISLAMIC COMMUNITY CALLS FOR EXTRA VAX SUPPLIES FOR HUME
Moustafa Fahour, founder and director of the Islamic Museum of Australia, acknowledged the progress and collaborative approach the state government had offered, but called for an escalated response to the unfolding situation in Melbourne’s north, particularly the local government area of Hume.
Mr Fahour said a similar approach needed to be taken to Hume as was taken by the NSW government towards Western Sydney, with extra supplies directed to halt the outbreak in the region.
Mr Fahour said more vaccine supply was needed, in addition to more culturally appropriate service providers.
He said he would be happy for the Islamic Museum in Thornbury to be used as a pop-up vaccination hub.
“We are open. We are ready. As Victorians, as Australians to reach the vaccination target.” he said.
Ahmed Hassan, director of Youth Activating Youth, said many young people he had spoken to had been waiting too long, despite their willingness to get vaccinated.
FEARS FOR VICTORIAN HOSPITALS
Health Minister Martin Foley has expressed fears about the impact of rising case numbers on Victoria’s hospitals.
Mr Foley said he was focused on scaling up intensive care units and pulling thousands of ventilators out of storage.
“Most importantly of all, I’m concerned about our workforce in those areas,” he said.
“Intensive care specialists do not grow on trees. They have been working over the last 18-20 months now, incredible hours, as indeed our whole healthcare professionals and healthcare workforce have.
“They are tired and they are still committed to getting through this process.”
‘HOLDING US BACK’: MINISTER’S JAB GRIPE
Mr Foley says the sooner Victorians get vaccinated, the sooner freedoms will arrive.
He said there was every chance Melburnians could see eased restrictions before September 23.
“What is holding us back sometimes is a lack of vaccine and disproportionate under-representation of primary healthcare and GPs and pharmacies being the locations to get vaccinated,” he said.
FOLEY EYES ‘SUSTAINABLE’ REOPENING
Mr Foley says the state will need to be reopened “safely and sustainably” after the hospitality industry suggested pubs and restaurants reopen at 80 per cent first dose vaccinations.
Mr Foley said he would look at the proposal.
“It is the public health advice and what is safe and sustainable to reopen that drives what we do,” he said.
“The last thing we want to do is have a flash in the pan reopening that then sees the situation get even worse in the outbreak and actually require us to take even more stern measures to get on top of the outbreaks.”
OBVIOUS TREND IN HOSPITAL CASES
The vast majority of Victorians in hospital with Covid-19 have not been vaccinated.
Of those in hospital, 89 per cent have not received any vaccination.
The remaining 11 per cent have only received one of their jabs.
Nobody in hospital with Covid has been fully vaccinated.
“There are 111 people in hospital in Victoria, 32 of those are in intensive care and 19 of those are on a ventilator,” Mr Foley said on Thursday.
AGED CARE WORKER TESTS POSITIVE
Victoria has recorded one new infection in an aged care facility at Gladstone Park, with the health department being notified of the case late last night.
The vaccinated worker is the only positive case at the facility, after staff and residents were tested.
Some 90 per cent of residents are vaccinated, with all staff at the nursing home fully vaccinated.
“It’s really excellent to see that — what works when that high coverage is in place,” Mr Foley said.
“We all know only too well from 2020 what the impacts of coronavirus can be in our aged care settings. And it’s important therefore to remind anyone in the aged care sector that if you haven’t been vaccinated, you need to do so.”
HOT SPOTS PLEAD FOR PFIZER DOSES
Melbourne’s Covid-hit north needs an urgent injection of Pfizer doses, an alliance of 30 local medics and multicultural leaders has warned.
In a desperate move, the group – which includes doctors, pharmacists, faith leaders and former Australia Post boss Ahmed Fahour – will on Thursday call on the state and federal governments to rapidly increase vaccine supply and accessibility.
The medics and community leaders fear lives will be lost in the City of Hume if urgent action is not taken.
Hume is at the centre of Melbourne’s third wave with 553 active Covid-19 cases – the most of any Victorian municipality – but has the state’s second-lowest vaccination rate.
Just 48.2 per cent of Hume’s 180,782 residents aged over 15 have received one dose, while only 26 per cent are fully vaccinated.
In a call-to-arms statement, the group said the growing northern suburb’s outbreak would “create enormous pressure on our healthcare system and will cost lives”.
“Similar to the surge in supply, resourcing and access in the western suburbs of Sydney, we believe a similar response in the northern suburbs of Melbourne is now essential,” the group said.
“Our GPs need more vaccines and resources to administer them, and there needs to be a surge in vaccination hub capacity and locations.”
Western Health’s Dr Abdul-Latif Halimi said a strategy similar to the response in Sydney’s western suburbs should be rolled out in Melbourne’s north.
“If you take the Canterbury-Bankstown local government area, which was ground zero of the Sydney outbreak, they were given a targeted vaccine campaign, and they are now at about 78 per cent of first dose,” he said. “There’s no reason that Hume can’t follow in those same footsteps.”
Dr Halimi said factors including vaccine hesitancy, language and cultural barriers and an overall younger population had resulted in Hume falling behind in the vaccine race.
“These are a few issues which have come together and made us the second-worst in the state,” he said.
More than 60 per cent of Wednesday’s case numbers were in the northern suburbs.
Without urgent action, Dr Halimi fears the predicted sharp rise in active case numbers will be a crisis for hospitals and cause more deaths.
LOCKDOWN RELIEF FOR REGIONS
Lockdown will be lifted in regional Victoria, except Shepparton, on Friday, with pubs and cafes to reopen and some students heading back into classrooms.
Hundreds of Victorians stranded on the border will be able to return home and quarantine at their own properties.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Wednesday revealed low case numbers had given the government the confidence it needed to ease some significant restrictions outside Melbourne.
The five reasons to leave home will be removed from 11.59pm on Thursday.
There will be no travel limit, although regional Victorians will not be allowed to enter Melbourne except for compassionate or authorised work.
Prep to grade 2 pupils, as well as year 12 students, will return to the classroom, authorised worker permits will not be needed, and weddings and funerals will be allowed albeit with small attendances.
Restaurants and cafes, shops, hairdressers and entertainment venues can reopen for seated service, with hospitality caps of 20 people outdoors and 10 indoors.
Mt Buller will be able to welcome regional Victorians from Friday as long as they return negative Covid tests.
The changes do not include Shepparton, where a major effort is still under way to contain a coronavirus outbreak, but the Premier said he expected it would follow suit next week.
Mr Andrews said authorities would consider localised lockdowns or restrictions if cases rose in some areas before vaccination targets were met. “It will not only be our preference, but will be our practice to have a series of focused and targeted series of measures,” he said.
Businesses in regional Victoria will need to check the ID of everyone they serve, in a bid to discourage Melburnians from escaping to the country.
Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Rick Nugent said as many as 200 police would be deployed to prevent Melburnians fleeing the city.
“It’s a $5452 fine, that’s a huge fine just for heading into the regional areas for a pub meal,” he said.
He said the police would be “highly visible” on main arterials and back roads with the force to use booze buses, random checkpoints, number-plate technology and roving patrols.
Victoria reported 221 new local Covid cases on Wednesday, with 123 new mystery infections in the previous 24 hours, and 1920 cases active.
The government also revealed more than 200 Victorians stranded at the NSW border would be allowed to quarantine at home as part of a new pilot program.
Mr Foley said people who had been at the border for 14 days – from August 25 until September 8 – would be the first granted access to the trial.
If successful, the trial – agreed upon by national cabinet and being tested in South Australia – could be rolled out more widely.
Mr Foley urged Victorians in higher-risk areas to not rush to the bubble, as they would be ineligible to take part.
Those in the border bubble who want to take part in the program will need to apply from Friday night, provide a negative test result and have had at least one vaccine dose. South Australia’s trial uses a geolocation app that tracks participants’ movements. They have to check in three times a day using a live facial recognition tool, and do so within 15 minutes of being alerted.
Mr Andrews said these measures could be introduced later on for people returning from “high risk” areas.
Victoria Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said there were mixed emotions across regional Victoria about the end of lockdown.
She said the added freedoms were a positive for businesses but tourism operators would remain “severely disadvantaged” while Melburnians were locked out.
Regional Victoria derives 80 per cent of its visitor income from Melburnians.
Businesses claiming state support in the regions will still receive payments for the next fortnight, with work under way as to who will be eligible from September 17.
Jamie Morecombe, owner of the Bunch of Grapes Hotel in Ballarat, said the patron limit announcement was “another cruel joke”.
“I don’t think we can open up. Our poor staff are desperate to get back to work, but I don’t know if we can justify it with only 10 customers allowed inside at a time,” he said.
Warrnambool’s Flying Horse Bar and Brewery owner Matt Monk said: “We’re licensed for 1024 patrons so to have 10, or 30 including outside, it’s a bit of a joke, but what do you do?”
However, he said reopening was crucial for staff morale.
“You ask me if it’s glass half empty or glass half full? Mate, I’m absolutely thrilled to have a glass,” he said.
NEW PUSH TO GET STUDENTS TO CLASS
Principals have called for schools in Melbourne LGAs with low numbers of
Covid cases to return next term, following the lead of regional Victoria.
Tina King from the Australian Principals Federation said the return on Friday of prep, grade one, grade two and year 12s in country areas was welcome.
The move doesn’t include Shepparton, which is recovering from a Covid outbreak.
“However, it would be good if they could extend the logic across the Melbourne metro area,” Ms King said.
“Why not apply the same strategy and open up next term for LGAs that do not have high numbers of cases?”
Ms King said schools in regional areas would find “more students are returning
on site as parents go back to work”.
“Under the family stress criteria, schools are accommodating kids,” Ms King said.
Michael Gray, president of the Australian Catholic Primary Principals Association, said students and teachers were excited.
“As long as it’s staggered, schools can ensure the return to class is organised and well informed.” Drumborg mother Kristina Kinsella said her son William, 7, was “super excited” about going back to school and seeing his friends.
“It’s just marvellous. I am not an essential worker but have been working from home and home schooling which has been a real juggle,” she said. Associate Professor Caroline Dowling from the #VCEWhatsThePlanDan parents group said year 12s in Melbourne “needed face time in term four” prior to exams. Premier Daniel Andrews said sending back some grades was “what the CHO has determined is safe”. The Australian Education Union’s Meredith Peace said the return to on-site learning will be a further challenge for school staff.
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