Rolling coverage: New South Wales tops Victoria’s new cases as Premier dashes reopening hopes
Shocking footage showing cars being waved through Melbourne’s apparent ‘ring of steel’ checkpoints has emerged, sparking concern of a resurgence of COVID-19 in country Victoria. It comes as the state recorded 12 new coronavirus infections, along with a single death, bringing Melbourne’s 14-day average back into double digits.
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Twelve new cases of coronavirus have been recorded in Victoria overnight, along with one death.
Metropolitan Melbourne’s rolling 14-day average has returned to double digits after increasing on two consecutive days, standing at 10.
The latest figures include 11 cases linked to known outbreaks with the source of the twelfth yet to be determined.
One of the new cases is linked to Chadstone, seven are related to the Box Hill cluster — including four cases from the same household — and one is linked to the Uniting AgeWell in Preston.
There are no new infections linked to the Oddfellows Cafe in Kilmore.
Of Tuesdays’s cases, four are in Banyule, two are in Hume and there are single cases in Casey, Darebin, Greater Dandenong, Manningham, Melbourne and Greater Geelong.
Victoria’s mystery cases from earlier this week are in postcodes 3024 (Wyndham Vale, Manor Lakes, Truganina, Mambourin, Mount Cottrell, Fieldstone) and 3025 (Altona East, Altona Gate and Altona North).
Sixteen healthcare workers are among the state’s 186 active cases.
Twenty-three Victorians are in hospital with coronavirus with none in intensive care.
There are now six active cases in regional Victoria, with five in Mitchell Shire and one in Geelong.
A man aged in his 70s was the sole Victorian to die of coronavirus in the past 24 hours.
Meanwhile, regional Victoria’s average over the past fortnight is stable at 0.4.
The total number of cases from an unknown source in the last 14 days 13 for metropolitan Melbourne and zero from regional Victoria.
It comes as New South Wales recorded more coronavirus infections than Victoria in the past 24 hours, with 13 new cases.
However, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton rebutted comparisons between the states’ vastly different lockdown measures, saying Victoria’s position was influened by its crippling second wave peak.
“The circumstances in New South Wales are very different,” he said.
“They have prospectively followed a small number of cases over recent months, where they’ve looked forward to the contacts that they have and managed them appropriately.”
The Premier also appeared to double-down on his comments on Monday about rejigging the government’s road map to recovery if the state doesn’t hit its case targets.
“We will not be delivering the entirety of step three ... We will, however, choose those items on that list of things proposed to happen this coming Sunday,” he said.
“Those that are safe, we will proceed with. And there may be some others that we believe are safe that were not necessarily foreshadowed at that time. This is a changing thing.
“We are reviewing daily, we are reviewing weekly, what a likely outcome is in the days and weeks to come.
“And if upon that further analysis, five is the new zero, and ten is the new five, well, then we’ll have to factor that in, and we will.”
FOOTAGE SPARKS FEARS FOR REGIONAL SURGE
Footage has emerged of vehicles being waved through a regional checkpoint sparking concern of a resurgence of COVID-19 in country Victoria.
Member for Northern Victoria, Tania Maxwell, today released footage of vehicles being waved through a checkpoint on the Hume Freeway at Kalkallo.
Ms Maxwell said it was vital the government crackdown on motorists heading to the regions and called for stronger implementation of the regional “ring of steel”.
“It feels like regional Victoria, and small business in particular, continue to be required to do the heavy lifting of enforcing these compliance measures,” she said.
“If the Government continues to spruik a ‘ring of steel’ between metropolitan Melbourne and regional Victoria, it has to deliver on that.”
Ms Maxwell said she had been contacted daily by concerned constituents complaining that bans on travelling to the regions were not being enforced.
It comes after Nationals MP Damian Drum dubbed the state’s ring of steel a “ring of marshmallow”.
Mr Drum said he was also aware of scores of motorists are being waved through regional checkpoints across the state.
Checkpoints around Melbourne were set up around Melbourne in July to stop illegal travel into the regions.
Victoria Police chief commissioner Shane Patton warned booze bus-style operations and automotive number plate recognition would catch illegal travel.
“It won’t be an absolute ring of steel, but there will be a significant police presence and a whole amount of those main arterial roads you’d expect to see on the Hume Freeway heading out to the Calder, going down to Geelong, heading to Gippsland,” he said at the time.
The checkpoints were beefed up after restrictions across regional Victoria were relaxed last month.
Nationals MP Damian Drum has lobbied for a permit system to allow regional travel.
Daniel Andrews warned today that anyone trying to illegally travel to regional Victoria would be caught and face fines of up to $5000.
“Obviously regional Victoria have low case numbers and we need to keep it that way,” he said.
“There are significant financial penalties if you flout those rules and you will be caught.
“The vast majority of cars are being pulled over and asked whether they have a lawful reason.”
The Premier said ahead of upcoming public holiday long weekends, there would be “significant enforcement.”
- Shannon Deery
PRESSURE MOUNTS TO SHIFT WORSHIPPING RULES
Daniel Andrews is being pressured to reconsider tough restrictions on religious gatherings.
A grassroots multi-faith petition has attracted more than 10,000 signatures urging the Premier to ease restrictions as a matter of fairness.
Critics of the current recovery roadmap say Victorians can more easily go for a pot and a parma than a pray.
Under Step 3, currently enforce across regional Victoria, pubs, cafes and restaurants can open for up to 50 people outdoors and 20 people indoors.
But just 10 people can gather at places of worship, and must remain outdoors.
The petition has attracted support from Presbyterian Church of Victoria, the Islamic Council of Victoria, the Hindu Council of Australia, and the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of Australia.
Catholic priest Marcus Goulding, from St Bernarnd’s Bacchus Marsh, said the current restrictions made no sense.
“Places of worship were able to open under the same guidelines as cafes and restaurants following the first lockdown,” he said.
“There is no reason to treat places of worship differently following the second lockdown.”
Faith leaders have raised concerns the government is focusing on physical and economic factors only, while overlooking the broader wellbeing of the community.
Last month Victoria’s Catholic bishops wrote an open letter to Mr Andrews raising similar concerns.
“In the most simple of measures, the current restrictions in regional Victoria literally fail the ‘pub test’: if people of faith can gather in a restaurant or bar catering for a particular number of patrons (and remove their face covering), they ought to be able to put on their mask, cross the road and worship in their faith community with the same numbers, provided equivalent COVID-safe practices are in place,” they wrote.
“We ask that this disparity be rectified urgently and that the principle of fairness be applied for each subsequent step on the roadmap to reopening.”
Several MPs raised the petition in parliament on Tuesday.
TUTORING LIFELINE FOR VIC KIDS AFTER REMOTE LEARNING
Struggling students will be given a lifeline throughout 2021, with 4100 tutors to be deployed across Victorian schools after months of remote learning.
The $250 million package was revealed by the State Government on Tuesday and is expected to help 200,000 students.
It comes after data has revealed some students struggled with online learning and have fallen behind.
Education Minister James Merlino said “this is about ensuring that no student is left behind”.
“As our economy reopens, this package provides work for thousands of educators … and using their skills to help every student succeed.”
“We are dealing with a one in one hundred year pandemic and we are responding in an unprecedented way.
“For those who have fallen behind we are going to support you like never before.”
Up to 3500 tutors will be employed in government schools in 2021.
While 600 will be deployed in non-government schools and to support disadvantaged students.
Schools will choose which students will qualify for the program.
-Alex White
NEW PUSH TO SCRAP 5KM RULE, PRESSURE MOUNTS TO OPEN RETAIL
A push is on to remove Melbourne’s controversial 5km zone with the state opposition planning to introduce an amendment in the Victorian upper house to axe the rule immediately.
And Victoria’s road map to recovery will be overhauled after Mr Andrews admitted the state would struggle to reach the low threshold of cases needed to open up.
Mr Andrews said it was possible the state’s current infections numbers could be “as good as it will get”, flagging the state might have to open up regardless, but knocked back suggestions restrictions would be scrapped immediately.
It comes as Victoria on Monday recorded 15 new cases of coronavirus and no new deaths.
Calls were mounting yesterday to provide some relief to businesses and residents after the Premier flagged retailers were unlikely to be open by early next week.
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said: “The Premier has said he is not pursuing an elimination strategy, now he needs to prove it.
“It’s time his government gave millions of Victorians their freedom back this weekend.”
The situation in Victoria was tragic and devastating, particularly as people in New South Wales were living a “COVID-normal life” while managing new cases, he said.
Mr Andrews said the government faced a difficult decision as cases remained higher than expected with the 14-day rolling average hovering around 10.
“It may be at a point where we have to call it, where we have to say that this is as good as it will get — that means there is some greater risk, that means that the task of keeping this thing suppressed will be harder,” he said.
“If we open up right now, then it will be almost impossible for us to keep this thing contained and every jurisdiction in the world that’s done it has had that same challenge.”
Mr Andrews has flagged some restrictions will be eased on Sunday — when it was hoped the 14-day average would have fallen to five and the state would move to step three in the road map.
But with the focus expected to be on easing social restrictions, he was reluctant to suggest stores may be part of any reopening.
“No decision has been made on retail and I think it’s unlikely that this weekend there will be a big shift in terms of retail,” he said.
Amid concerns many Melburnians were flouting restrictions due to lockdown fatigue, a group of maskless men were seen playing basketball in Epping, while others donned visors and bandannas despite the new rules about fitted face coverings coming into force on Monday.
The Victorian Regional Chamber Alliance on Monday urged for more steps to be taken outside Melbourne on October 19.
In a statement signed by 12 business leaders across Victoria, they said the state’s regional economy continued to “unnecessarily suffer” while waiting for Melbourne to “catch up”.
“The hospitality sector, as well as being a major employer of our young people, is such a critical part of the recovery of our devastated tourism industry and it is simply not viable for them to continue under their current restrictions,” the statement says.
VICTORIANS RACK UP $27M IN COVID-19 FINES
Victorians have been slapped with $28m in fines for coronavirus breaches — but only 4 per cent have been paid.
Figures released by the state government show 19,324 fines valued at $27.88m were dished out to rule breakers up until August 24.
Only 845 fines — about $1.45m — have been fully paid and 18 per cent have reached the “final demand” stage after which recipients risk having property seized or even being sent to jail.
R ead the full story here .
STUDY FINDS SENSORY LOSS RELIABLE SIGN OF COVID-19
Sudden loss of the sense of smell or taste are among the most common COVID-19 symptoms, a study shows.
An analysis of emergency department presentations reveals those with these subtle symptoms are actually among the most likely patients to have COVID-19.
It raises issues about who should present for testing to avoid a third wave.
Amid concerns many Victorians are already waiting too long to be tested, the Monash University study highlights the risk of waiting for more severe symptoms such as fever and shortness of breath.
R ead the full story here.