Rolling coverage: Second day of zero new cases, Victorians could travel interstate by Christmas
After a second consecutive day with no new coronavirus cases, Victorians could be set to travel around Australia ahead of the festive season. It comes as the Chief Health Officer hinted at bigger steps that could be announced next weekend.
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Victoria’s universal mask-wearing rules will be slowly scaled back, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton revealed.
The state will eventually transition from mask wear at all times, to indoors-only or possibly at high-risk settings.
It comes as Victoria on Sunday recorded no new cases of coronavirus or deaths for the second day in a row.
With the 14-day rolling average at 2.2 across Victoria, there are 61 active cases across the state, including three healthcare workers.
He did not detail when the rules would change, saying it would be announced “at the appropriate time”.
”If there’s no transmission at all, masks are not a requirement,” Prof Sutton said.
“What we shouldn’t be complacent about is if we’ve got a few days with no cases that there’s never a requirement for masks.
“Country Victoria went for a few weeks with no cases but all the people of Shepparton I’m sure were very happy they were all wearing masks at the time there were three active cases out in the community for over a week before we understood they were active cases.
“Masks are important for those potential transmission events when we don’t know that there’s something out there.”
It comes after no new cases were recorded on Saturday after the state’s Expert Review Panel rejected a single case as a false positive.
The case initially returned a low positive before a negative test result was confirmed.
In regional Victoria, where there were no active cases on Saturday, the average is zero.
Nearly 16,000 tests were received on Saturday.
INTERSTATE TRAVEL ON CARDS BY CHRISTMAS
Victorians could be allowed to travel around the country before Christmas, with the federal government pushing for a “single internal national bubble”.
Health Minister Greg Hunt said he was hopeful NSW, Queensland, Tasmania and SA would reopen to Victorians before the festive season.
“As confidence is built, we want to see those borders open as quickly as possible,” Mr Hunt said on Sunday.
“With continued low numbers in Victoria and NSW, the case for one single internal national bubble is growing.
“NSW wants to see that the contact tracing holds up in Victoria and I understand that has also been a concern in Queensland.
“Once everybody is comfortable that Victoria does have its contact tracing up to the gold standard, I think we will see a single national bubble.”
Mr Hunt said international borders were likely to remain closed to most nations until a vaccine was available, but said a few more nations be included in travel bubbles with Australia.
So far, just Kiwis are allowed into the country without going into quarantine.
The same leniency is not applied to Australians heading to New Zealand yet.
Travel bubbles with Japan, Singapore, South Korea and the Pacific Islands could be on the cards for 2021.
Mr Hunt said another zero-case day for Victoria was “fantastic news”.
STATE ON TRACK FOR NOV 8 EASING OF RESTRICTIONS
Prof Sutton said the number of active coronavirus cases in Victoria will be “down to a couple of dozen active cases by next week”, pointing to a relaxation of the rules next Sunday.
“I think you’ll see 10 or more (cases) come off each day and we’ll come down to very few active cases,” the Chief Health Officer said.
He also hinted the government might be open to increasing the numbers allowed to gather when the next stage of rules is relaxed.
“We can always make consideration of what the caps might be in certain settings, what the density quotients might be … and some of the specific industries that might come on board in terms of being able to operate.”
Under the government’s road map, Victorians will take the last step to COVID-normal coming after 14 days of no new cases – something Prof Sutton hinted could be reached before the end of the month.
“We’ve got a road map where we’ve talked about the last step coming with 14 days of no new cases,” he said.
“That would be a significant achievement. It is absolutely not impossible and we’re on track for that in November.
“That would be great. Twenty-eight days of no cases and no active cases we’ve talked about as the COVID-normal step so that’s also within reach.”
AUSTRALIA’S COVID-19 VACCINE: WHO GETS IT FIRST
Australians could have to wait until the end of next year to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Frontline workers could begin receiving the COVID-19 vaccine from March with hopes the entire Australian population could be vaccinated by the end of 2021.
In an exclusive interview on the government’s vaccine rollout plans, Health Minister Greg Hunt said Australia’s vaccine manufacturer CSL was likely to commence manufacturing the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine this month.
Read the full story here.
MASSIVE CASH BOOST FOR COMMUNITY SPORT
Community sports clubs will benefit from $21 million funding boost from the state government to help get kids back into sport.
From early next year up to 100,000 children will be given vouchers worth $200 which can go towards sports equipment, uniforms or club memberships.
The vouchers program will form part of a $45 million funding boost for kids’ sport that will see a team of phys-ed leaders hired to help schools improve their student’s activity levels.
The Government will also give a funding boost to almost 500 schools to offset the cost of running sport during and after school and to improve links to local sporting clubs.
Education Minister James Merlino said it was important cost was no barrier to children exercising.
“This is about supporting kids getting back into their local clubs, supporting sporting clubs getting back on their feet and supporting parents with the cost of living,” he said.
The eligibility for the voucher scheme has yet to be determined but it is expected to be targeted at the most needy.
Prof Sutton also said indoor sport would “definitely” resume this year.
“Obviously we have to carry on in the good trajectory that we’ve had in recent weeks but that being said if we’re either driving numbers down even better – and we’ve got a zero day today – but if there are weeks of zero then there’s no question that indoor sport will come back not just for kids but for adults as well,” he said.
WHAT TOP SPORTING EVENTS WILL LOOK LIKE IN 2021
Australian Open and Grand Prix organisers hope to welcome bigger crowds than the Boxing Day Test as Victoria’s major events industry emerges from coronavirus lockdown.
Crowds as large as this year’s AFL and NRL grand finals are likely at Melbourne Park and Albert Park in what will be a boost for morale and the economy.
Spectators are likely to need a mask to enter the areas, while global stars jetting into Melbourne with their entourages for the tennis and GP can expect to be confined to “bubbles” restricting their movements.
Read the full story here.
MELBURNIANS URGED TO EMBRACE FREEDOM
Prof Sutton said Victorians should feel free to get outside and enjoy themselves, with Daniel Andrews missing his first press conference in three months on Saturday.
“We deserve to enjoy ourselves now. We got to this incredible point where case numbers are very low and we have days of literally no true cases so we should go out, with all the precautions we talked about, but we need to enjoy our lives after three months of really constrained activity,” Prof Sutton said.
Prof Sutton said Victorians could feel confident about heading out.
“We know how to protect ourselves. It is doing the right thing, wearing a mask, keeping a distance, making sure that if there are people unwell around us, we are not interacting with them.”
After 120 consecutive appearances by the Premier, Health Minister Martin Foley stepped in for Mr Andrews at Saturday’s conference.
Victoria has recorded, at worst, consecutive single-digit rises since October 13, including four days of no new cases.
Authorities are now confident Victoria is well placed to further ease restrictions on November 9, with Mr Andrews expected to confirm the next steps next Sunday.
It will include dropping the 25km travel limit and scrapping the metro-regional border.
Prof Sutton believes coronavirus could potentially be eliminated from Victoria.
LIBS PUT REBATE ON THE MENU
Dining out cash incentives should be given to Victorians to help financially strained restaurants, the opposition says.
It has called on the Andrews government to introduce an “eat out for Victoria” program to bring hospitality back to life.
Their plan would allow diners to claim 50 per cent off their bills to a maximum of $20 a head for four weeks.
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said the harsh lockdowns due to the second wave had decimated the hospitality industry.
Some bars, pubs and restaurants had been hit so hard they would not reopen, he said.
“This is a great initiative to bring people together in a COVID-safe way,” Mr O’Brien said. “Victoria has always been the foodie capital, so let’s support our local publicans, cafe owners and restaurateurs.”
With many Victorians also losing their jobs during the pandemic, the proposed initiative would also make it more affordable for struggling families to dine out, he said.
“Victorians have done it so tough the last few months,” Mr O’Brien said.
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