Another Vic region back in lockdown
Another Victorian region has been being forced back into a snap seven-day lockdown a fortnight after being freed from restrictions.
Coronavirus
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Victoria’s acting chief health officer ordered the City of Greater Shepparton into a seven-day lockdown from 11.59pm last night.
Shepparton residents are subject to the same restrictions as those in metropolitan Melbourne, excluding the curfew.
Covid-19 cases have spiked again in Shepparton, with 24 active cases in the local government area as of yesterday according to Victorian health department figures.
The regional city was released from its earlier lockdown on September 15.
Acting chief health officer Ben Cowie said public health teams had significant concerns about community transmission and have determined that the seven-day lockdown is needed to stem the spread, as it did in the City of Ballarat, Greater Geelong and Surf Coast Shire local government areas.
His office confirmed the lockdown just before 7pm last night.
Earlier yesterday, health officials announced Moorabool in regional Victoria would also be thrust into lockdown as cases soar in the area.
Residents in the shire, near Ballarat in Victoria’s west, were locked down from 7pm last night.
In both Shepparton and Moorabool, there will be just six reasons for residents to leave home, which are for food and supplies, four hours of exercise within a 15km radius, caregiving, to get vaccinated, essential work or education and for limited social interaction.
But residents won’t be subject to a curfew like Melburnians.
The area has 32 active cases and recorded six new cases yesterday.
Premier Daniel Andrews said short lockdowns had previously worked in other regional areas.
“These lockdowns have been effective in first bringing stability to case numbers and then driving those numbers down,” he said.
“But advice and careful analysis that’s been done of the number of cases in that local government area, it is unavoidable that a lockdown must be applied to that community.”
Moorabool is home to about 35,000 people.
Regional Victoria recorded 62 new cases on Friday, with authorities confirming new cases for Mitchell, Shepparton and Moorabool.
The shire will join Mitchell and the City of Latrobe, which are currently in lockdown.
“Moorabool shares a border with some of Melbourne’s worst affected areas – Bacchus Marsh in particular has seen a consistent flow of cases from the Melbourne area,” health department deputy secretary Naomi Bromley said.
“We are asking only people who are experiencing symptoms, or who have been contacted by the department, to come forward for testing.”
Two new pop-up sites will be opened in Moorabool and in Bacchus Marsh, with multiple sites already established in Ballarat and Daylesford.
Victoria recorded its second day of more than 1000 daily Covid cases, with 1143 cases announced on Friday.
The health department confirmed 1438 cases reported on Thursday were due to banned gatherings over the long weekend.
Premier Daniel Andrews yesterday said all authorised workers in the state would need to receive at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by October 15 in order to continue working
Among the authorised workers are professional athletes, state and federal MPs, actors, journalists, lawyers, faith leaders and personal trainers.
Workers will need to be fully vaccinated by November 26.
Mr Andrews said it was “not about stopping people going to work” but “about making sure we can open up, and that we can defend and deliver our road map for opening”.
REGIONAL NSW LOCKDOWN CHANGES
The Snowy Monaro LGA is the latest NSW area to be ordered into lockdown.
NSW Health announced the lockdown on Thursday that is effective from 3pm and will last seven days.
Anyone who was in the Snowy Monaro LGA since September 22 must also go into lockdown.
these LGAs have had their lockdown extended until October 11; Bathurst Regional, Bourke
Broken Hill, Central Coast, City of Cessnock, Dubbo Regional, Eurobodalla, Goulburn Mulwaree, Kiama, City of Lake Macquarie, City of Lithgow, City of Maitland, City of Newcastle, Port Stephens, Queanbeyan-Palerang Regional, City of Shellharbour, City of Shoalhaven, Wingecarribee, Wilcannia area and Menindee area
From October 1, the Mid-Western Regional, Hilltops and Walgett LGAs will be freed from stay-at-home orders.
So will the Central Darling Shire, except the Wilcannia and Menindee
Residents of Oberon in the Central Tablelands were plunged into stay-at-home orders from 6pm on Wednesday night for seven days because of what authorities say is an increased Covid-19 public health risk.
The restrictions will also apply to anyone who has been in the LGA since September 20.
Two new cases of the virus were reported on Wednesday in Oberon, located south of Bathurst and west of the Blue Mountains.
There have been a total of three infections recorded in Oberon this week, according to NSW Health figures.
Everyone in the LGA must stay at home unless it is for an essential reason, which includes shopping for food, medical care, getting vaccinated, compassionate needs, exercise and work or tertiary education if they can’t work or study at home.
NSW Health announced the snap lockdown on Wednesday afternoon, about an hour-and-a-half before the restrictions come into effect.
The Tweed and Byron Shire local government areas have emerged from their seven-day lockdown and the NSW border bubble with Queensland was reinstated at midnight on Tuesday.
Queensland Health had suspended the border bubble arrangement between the Tweed and southern Gold Coast, but restrictions are set to be eased for those crossing state lines between the two border communities.
The NSW regional areas of Port Macquarie and Muswellbrook were plunged back into a week-long lockdown at 6pm on Tuesday.
The stay-at-home orders will also apply to anyone who has been in these regions since September 17 and September 22.
The stay at home order in place for Kempsey was lifted at midnight on Tuesday, but may be reintroduced if new information indicates an increased public health risk.
In regional Victoria, the Latrobe Valley, 150kms east of Melbourne, has been placed into a snap lockdown in response to a rapid increase in Covid-19 cases.
The City of Latrobe will enter a seven-day lockdown commencing at 11.59pm on Tuesday, with the same restrictions as those in metropolitan Melbourne, excluding the curfew.
Acting Victorian chief health officer Professor Ben Cowie confirmed the decision on Tuesday evening.
There are 18 active cases in the local government area, with four new infections confirmed on Tuesday that will be reported on Wednesday’s numbers.
It comes as Queensland plans to keep its border closed to NSW and Victoria until most Covid-19 restrictions in those states are lifted.
There was “no way” Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk would reopen to states that were still subjected to tough restrictions, government officials told The Australian.
“Why would we reopen to states that still plan on having pretty strict restrictions even once they reach 80 per cent?” they said.
“Obviously their chief health officers do not think it is safe for a lot of people to gather even at that higher vaccination rate.”
Queensland and Western Australia could find themselves vulnerable to unprecedented legal issues as the rest of Australia embraces ‘Covid normal’ in the coming months.
Constitutional lawyer Professor Kim Rubenstein told Ten’s The Sunday Project that anyone adversely affected by the states’ refusal to open their borders could have grounds for a case.
“Any person who is impacted by these restrictions and who can show that this is a disproportionate burden on trade (could mount legal action),” she said.
“So that if it can show that it is, in fact, protecting one state over the other, without a legitimate or proportional response, then it really is available for challenge. And we may, in fact, see that ahead of us.”
Professor Rubenstein told The Sunday Project that the Australian constitution “was motivated by a desire to travel freely across the country”.
“Section 92 was placed there to discourage any restriction of travel within Australia,” she said.
Professor Rubenstein said the court would examine “whether these restrictions are needed for the purpose that they‘re seeking to achieve in terms of health protection.”
If they’re found wanting, the state could be much more “vulnerable” to legal action.
It comes amid criticism after Premier Palaszczuk said she was unwilling to reopen the state’s borders even at 80 per cent national vaccine coverage.
Ms Palaszczuk on Friday said she was unwilling to reopen as “80 per cent actually takes you backwards and I do not want that for Queensland”.
Her remarks have since come under heavy criticism with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg labelling it a policy that would keep Queensland families apart.
“The decision, and the announcement by the Queensland government, which means we may not see an opening of the borders consistent with the National Plan, is not good, and it would be a bad decision that would cost Queensland jobs,” he said.
“It would be a bad decision that would mean Queensland families are kept apart and it would be inconsistent with what was agreed at the national cabinet.
“It’s really important that, in Queensland, the borders open in accordance with those 70 and 80 per cent vaccination rates.
“People want their lives to come back to what it was, and it’s up to those premiers and chief ministers to give those people hope, to give them a chance to reopen their businesses, to be reunited with loved ones, to send their kids back to school.
“That’s what the people of Australia are expecting from their state and territory leaders.”
Here’s what’s happening across the nation in relation to state borders and restrictions:
QUEENSLAND
People who have been in the NSW LGAs of Walgett, Bourke, Byron Shire, City of Broken Hill, Tweed Shire or the Unincorporated Far West will only be allowed to enter Queensland for essential purposes.
You must complete a Queensland entry pass to enter Queensland from anywhere in Australia or New Zealand, including returning Queensland residents.
The ACT, the Jervis Bay Territory, NSW and Victoria are currently declared COVID-19 hot spots and travellers will not be permitted to enter Queensland except for a limited range of people who can enter for essential purposes.
VICTORIA
Some of Victoria’s Covid-19 minor restrictions eased at midnight on Tuesday after the state reached its 80 per cent first vaccination milestone, allowing people to venture up to 15km from home as well as enjoy sports such as golf and tennis.
The Latrobe Valley, 150kms east of Melbourne, was plunged into a seven-day snap lockdown at 11.59pm on Tuesday after a rise in cases.
Geelong’s week-long lockdown was lifted at midnight on Sunday despite the city recording six new Covid cases.
Victoria will ease border rules this week for double vaccinated residents stuck in NSW, with new rules coming into place on September 30 allowing residents to return home.
NSW
In regional NSW, Oberon in the Central Tablelands was sent into lockdown
there will be some relief for residents this week with lockdowns lifting in Cowra and Yass Valley. Lockdowns will also lift in Byron, Kempsey and Tweed from midnight on September 28.
If you live in Greater Sydney you must not enter regional and rural NSW without a reasonable excuse.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
Travellers arriving from Victoria, NSW and the ACT are currently prohibited from entering South Australia, except for essential travellers and some permitted arrivals.
Any person arriving from Queensland is permitted to enter South Australia without restrictions as long as they have not been in a restricted zone in the past 14 days. In this case, they would be subject to that zone’s restrictions.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
Victorians are barred from entering Western Australia with Victoria to be placed in the Covid-19 “extreme risk” category from September 29.
Under this alert level, exemptions for approved travellers will be further restricted to just federal and state officials including parliamentarians and diplomats.
Returning Western Australians who complete 14 days quarantine in Victoria will have to complete another two weeks of self-quarantine at a “suitable premises”.
Western Australia has deemed the Northern Territory., South Australia and Tasmania very low-risk jurisdictions. Victoria has been classified as high-risk and NSW very high-risk.
TASMANIA
Tasmania has deemed NSW, ACT, Victoria and New Zealand to be high risk and travellers from these areas are not permitted to enter the state. Travellers who have visited high-risk premises in Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia will not be permitted to enter the state.
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