Fresh explanation behind virus traces found in Colac wastewater

The DHHS has put forward a new explanation after worrying coronavirus traces were again detected in Colac wastewater.

Coronavirus fragments detected in wastewater at Colac may be linked to a person who recently moved to the area.

DHHS testing commander Jeroen Weimar said authorities had linked the wastewater result to someone who had recently recovered from coronavirus and moved back to Colac.

“There’s been some excellent detective work by our colleagues in Barwon Health,” he said.

“We have identified someone who has moved back into the area and may still be shedding the virus and we believe they may be the cause of the recent detects we’ve seen.”

But he urged anyone in the Colac area with mild symptoms to come forward and get tested as a precaution.

“We are expanding hours at the Colac testing station,” he said.

New wastewater test sites will be set up at Upper Yarra, Lilydale And Wallan, with a total of 60 sites expected to be up and running over the next week.

COVID SUMMER RULES SET TO BE REVEALED

A further easing of Victoria’s coronavirus rules will be announced on Sunday.

Premier Daniel Andrews said details were still being finalised, but Sunday would mark an important milestone for the state.

“On Sunday I’ll have more to say about changes to the rules,” Mr Andrews said.

“We had some meetings yesterday (Tuesday), and there will be further meetings throughout the week.

“I think that’ll be good news for many people right across Victoria and it’ll mark a really important phase as we lock in a set of rules for a few a few months for that COVID-safe summer.”

Melburnians are set to get more freedoms when Daniel Andrews makes his next announcement on Sunday. Picture: Getty

The Premier said it was a testament to the “amazing job” all Victorians were doing and was something “no other part of the world” had been able to do

Victoria moved to the last step of the state government’s COVID-19 recovery on November 22.

Victorians will be able to host about 30 people in their homes for Christmas Day, with babies under 12 months not included in the cap.

That change is expected to come into effect from 11.59pm on December 13, also in time for the Jewish community’s closing days of Hanukkah.

Currently the number of visitors allowed inside a home is 15.

ADF YET TO BE TRAINED FOR QUARANTINE PROGRAM

Defence Force staff destined to work on Victoria’s long-awaited hotel quarantine program reset have not been trained and won’t arrive until later this week.

Meanwhile, Victoria has recorded zero new coronavirus cases for the 33rd consecutive day.

Although the revamped return traveller program is due to kick off on December 7, Police Minister Lisa Neville on Tuesday revealed ADF staff would arrive as late as Thursday and would still need to be trained, despite travellers returning from Sunday.

“Let me be clear, right now until they are there we have additional police, we have all the staff we have already trained,” Ms Neville told 3AW.

“They (the ADF) will be in the hotels from later this week and they will have opportunity for training.”

Rydges on Swanston will not be used in this round of Melbourne’s hotel quarantine system Photo: Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Under the current plan only one hotel will be opened at a time, and filled with people to be quarantined, before the next destination is opened.

Ms Neville declined to identify which hotels were part of the program, but indicated the Stamford Plaza Melbourne and Melbourne’s Rydges on Swanston hotel — both linked to the state’s second wave — would not be used.

When asked if the hotel quarantine program had been signed off by the head of the National COVID-19 Co-ordination Commission, Jane Halton, Ms Neville said “yes”, but later admitted a meeting with her on Monday was cancelled.

Ms Halton will inspect the program at a later date.

The alarming revelation the state may not be fully prepared for return travellers came after Ms Neville sidestepped the question of who was accountable for the state’s second wave. “The program had a problem, there is no questions about that,” she said “The Premier has said that, I have said that … my job now is to make sure it is as robust and strong as it should be.”

RMIT’s City Campus has been largely empty of students during 2020

UNI STUDENTS KEEN FOR CAMPUS RETURN

Most university students want a return to face-to-face learning in 2021 after a year of remote education riddled with social isolation, IT issues and reduced academic interaction.

A national survey also found many students struggled with motivation and lack of engagement. And many have missed the uni library as a quiet study space away from the congested home environments as well as a places of social interaction where work was also discussed, the survey by the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency found.

TEQSA chief commissioner Professor Nick Saunders said the report showed positive and negative reactions about the switch to online learning.

“Our analysis showed students were genuinely understanding and appreciative of efforts by providers and academics to rapidly switch to online learning at the start of the pandemic,’’ he said. “Students raised concerns including a reduction in interactions with academics and peers, IT issues, assessment changes, feelings of isolation and reduced motivation and difficulty with the translation of some subject areas to online delivery.”

COST OF FLIGHTS SKYROCKET

Australians planning to reunite with family and friends in Western Australia are set to be slugged thousands of dollars in flights once the border reopens next week.

Flights between Sydney and Perth will cost at least $1000 next week, while one trip with Qantas on December 9 – the day after the border reopens – will set travellers back more than $2000.

A return flight booked from Sydney on December 9 and leaving Perth on December 15, seen on the Qantas site on Wednesday morning, will cost upwards of $4000.

The average cost of a flight before the coronavirus pandemic and border closures was between $300 and $400.

Flights between Melbourne and Perth are also just as expensive, with the only direct trip on December 10 set to cost $1027.

Flights on Virgin Australia are just as expensive, with a flight on December 9 setting travellers back $1199.

First flights arriving in Melbourne from Adelaide after the border reopened. Picture: Jay Town

Savvy travellers could save hundreds by delaying their trips though, with prices dropping dramatically just days later as more flights are added.

A flight with Virgin from December 14 will cost just $329 between Sydney and Perth, while the same journey with Qantas will cost $487 from December 15.

A Qantas spokeswoman said the airline was trying to add extra direct flights from December 8 as soon as the border reopened.

Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan announced on Tuesday the state’s border with Victoria and NSW would reopen from December 8 without the need to quarantine.