Rolling coverage: Victoria could close border to South Australia
Premier Daniel Andrews has not ruled out closing Victoria’s border to South Australia as an outbreak worsens in the neighbouring state.
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Victoria has declared South Australia a coronavirus hot spot after the state’s first locally acquired case in months blew out to 17 cases.
South Australians flying into Melbourne will be checked and tested but not forced to quarantine, Victoria’s deputy chief health officer says.
In a statement issued on Monday Dr Allen Cheng said Department of Health and Human Services authorised officers were meeting every flight from Adelaide into Melbourne Airport.
Officials would be taking names and contact details of people arriving from South Australia and asking them where they have been.
Temperature and symptom checking would be undertaken with anyone from an area of risk identified by the South Australian Government asked to self isolate.
Anyone refusing to get tested would be treated as a close contact and be asked to self-isolate for 14 days.
“Anyone who has been in SA in the last 14 days should check the exposure sites listed on the SA Health website and take the appropriate actions,” Dr Cheng said.
“For instance, if they were in the Lyall McEwin Hospital ED at the specified times, to self-quarantine and contact DHHS to seek advice.
“And if they have any symptoms, no matter how mild, they should get tested and self-isolate until the result is available.”
Premier Daniel Andrews said on Monday he wouldn’t rule out closing the border to South Australia, but would not take that step yet.
So far, Queensland, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Tasmania have announced access restrictions on South Australian travellers.
The Premier, who has so far not closed Victorian borders throughout the pandemic, said he was confident in contact tracing abilities to keep the situation under control.
He offered any and all support to South Australian premier Steven Marshall.
Anyone travelling to Victoria from South Australia by air will be questioned on arrival and may be required to undergo COVID-19 testing.
But South Australians will be able to freely drive to Victoria.
Asked whether a hard border closure was off the table, Mr Andrews said: “I’d never take anything completely off the table”.
“My aim, which is our national cabinet aim, is to have all the internal borders in our country open by the end of this year,” he said.
“We’ve never closed our border. I’ve never criticised others for closing theirs, they’ve done what I would’ve done if the circumstances were different.
“So I can’t take it off the table. I’ve got confidence that Stephen Marshall will get on top of this.”
Earlier on Monday, the Northern Territory imposed a two-week quarantine period, after Chief Minister Michael Gunner and Chief Health Officer Hugh Heggie made the announcement while two flights from Adelaide to Darwin were still in the air.
In Tasmania, Premier Peter Gutwein said those who entered Tasmania from South Australia since Monday, November 9 (about 900 people) would need to self-isolate immediately either in their residence or in their hotel room until the government provided a further update.
Passengers on a Sunday flight from Adelaide to Perth were also taken aback after they were told they had to go into two weeks’ quarantine on arrival, despite the West Australian government only hours earlier assuring South Australians they could enter the state without having to isolate.
It comes as Victoria recorded zero new cases of coronavirus or deaths for the 17th consecutive day.
The state has three active coronavirus cases — none with an unknown source — and a total 6695 tests conducted in the past 24 hours.
But testing figures have plunged since last week; in comparison, nearly 21,000 tests were received last Wednesday.
The last positive cases of coronavirus in Victoria were on October 30 when four infections were recorded.
TEARS OF JOY AT AIRPORT REUNIONS
There were tears of joy in Melbourne Airport on Monday morning as loved ones were reunited after the first flight from New Zealand touched down.
While the international arrivals hall at the airport has been empty for several months, excited Melburnians gathered to meet their family and friends after being forced apart due to coronavirus travel bans.
More than 80 travellers arrived on flight NZ123 from Auckland, including 83-year-old Reinet Theron.
The Sunshine West woman travelled to New Zealand to visit her daughter for a short holiday but due to the pandemic, her short trip turned into a nine-month stay.
There were happy scenes as Ms Theron was reunited with her daughter Jeanne Beeming.
“I had a wonderful holiday but I didn’t do much with all that was going on. Eventually I thought to myself, am I ever going to get back?” Ms Theron said.
“But you’ve just got to adapt. I was going for two months and I was there for nine.”
There were emotional scenes as Mickleham man Vikram Kapoor hugged his wife Priya, daughter Amarya and son Harvyn for the first time after seven months and 25 days apart.
“It’s a lucky day for us. We will never forget this time. We are so happy we’re here today and thankful to the Australian government,” Ms Kapoor said after she arrived home in Melbourne.
Shannon Timo was embraced tightly by her sister Kyra Booth after she arrived home with her daughter Harper.
The siblings originally travelled to New Zealand together several months ago to care for their sick mother but Ms Booth returned home before the second lockdown to return to work.
Ms Timo and her young daughter, who live in Lilydale, were forced to stay in New Zealand as the second wave gripped Victoria.
“It’s been a long five months. I can’t wait to see my partner and the other kids,” Ms Timo said.
Grandmother Judy broke down in tears as her daughter Perri walked through the gates with her granddaughters Harper and baby Pia, who was born just six weeks ago.
Judy was emotional as she met the tiny bub for the very first time.
“It’s wonderful. I should have brought a tissue,” she said.
It was also a joyful reunion for return traveller Ashley, who embraced her family for the first time in eight months when she walked through the arrival gates.
She revealed how she had been stuck in Scotland for seven months before managing to get a flight to New Zealand several weeks ago.
“It’s the most amazing feeling ever. I’m back home with my family,” Ashley said.
“I’ve been stuck in scotland for the last eight months and it’s such an incredible feeling.
“I’ve been in New Zealand for about a month now, just waiting for the call to get over and get back home.”
BEACH CHAOS AS CROWDS SWARM ST KILDA
Hundreds of people, not wearing masks or social distancing, descended on St Kilda beach watched by a heavy police presence on Sunday night.
Partygoers gathered in the popular party precinct to drink and dance after dark as the temperature soared. The crowd prompted up to 20 police, including PSOs, to swoop — forming a line to move on some of the revellers.
It came the night after an illegal street party was broken up by police on nearby Acland St, which attracted more than 100 people on Saturday.
Read the full story here.
MELBOURNE TO GET $1.8B VACCINE FACTORY
Australia will be better prepared for future pandemics and flu seasons thanks to a huge vaccine factory that will be built in Melbourne as part of a $1.8 billion deal.
Scott Morrison will on Monday announce the Tullamarine factory will guarantee locally made influenza, virus and antivenene treatments until 2036.
The state-of-the-art factory will be able to produce flu vaccines three times faster than now possible after the federal government and pharmaceutical company Seqirus signed a deal.
Click here for more details.
COVID TEST, VACCINE BEFORE LIVE EVENTS?
Concertgoers could be required to show recent coronavirus test results and their vaccination status under a bold plan by a ticket sales giant.
Ticketmaster says it is exploring the idea of linking the medical details to digital tickets as part of its COVID-safe strategy.
It would be at the discretion of event organisers, not Ticketmaster itself, to request such records, which would be stored with a secure, third-party health care provider.
Read the full story here.
VICTORIA TO HOST ALL PRE-AUS OPEN TOURNAMENTS
In a major coup, every major tennis tournament of the summer will be held in Victoria.
The state will throw the biggest tennis party the nation has seen, with at least five major events staged here in addition to the Australian Open.
Tennis Australia has taken the unprecedented step of transferring the showpieces previously scheduled to be held in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra and Hobart to ensure the world’s best players are in Melbourne for the Open.
While other states will lose popular annual events for 2021, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said Victoria would be jam-packed with tennis this summer.
Full details here.
FATE OF CITY’S NYE FIREWORKS DECIDED
Melbourne’s spectacular New Year’s Eve fireworks display will be a no-show this year – a victim of the pandemic.
Melbourne City Council has confirmed that the $3.4 million celebration that usually draws about 400,000 people to the inner city will be replaced by a more low-key food and drink experience.
Eleven city precincts including Little Bourke Street, Flinders Lane, AC/DC Lane, Hardware Lane, Spring Street, Domain Road and Docklands will be decked out for alfresco dining like European-style piazzas and squares.
But people will need to book tickets to secure seats at more than 50 venues taking part in the two-day New Year Street Feasts program.
Read the full story here.
FERRY IN $1M TRIP SPLASH
The operator of the Queenscliff-Sorrento ferry is offering free trips to the value of $1 million in an attempt to revive tourism on either side of Port Phillip.
The 38,484 tickets, for foot or car passengers, will be available from Wednesday for travel from November 23 until July.
Searoad Ferries chief executive Matt McDonald said the service had been severely limited since pandemic restrictions began in March.
“We really only had essential workers and freight.’’ he said.
The family-owned company’s 150 workers have had their hours reduced and many had gone onto JobKeeper payments.
The “ring of steel” around metropolitan Melbourne added to the strain because Sorrento is in a metro municipality and Queenscliff is regional.
“Last Monday we returned to 80 per cent of our regular custom,’’ Mr McDonald said.
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Melbourne lockdown protesters sue over cops’ ‘unjustified violence’
Protesters are taking legal action after a judge ruled Victoria Police used “unlawful” and “unjustified violence” the day of their arrests during the Covid-19 pandemic.