Coronavirus Australia: What eased restrictions could look like
Authorities have hinted at what the easing of stay-at-home rules might look like in Victoria after the coronavirus lockdown is lifted.
National
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Health minister Jenny Mikakos has hinted at what the easing of stay-at-home restrictions for Victorians might look like.
Ms Mikakos said today that there were no immediate plans to ease restrictions.
But she said it was possible social distancing measures could be the first restrictions to be stripped back to reunite Victorians with family and friends.
“If we do look to an easing of restrictions over time … in terms of what those initial steps might look like, it’s likely to relate to the social distancing measures.
“We understand the importance of people remaining connected to their loved ones. We will be guided by the advice around risks.
“We would be looking to provide that additional capacity for people to remain connected to their friends, to their family, to their loved ones.”
Ms Mikakos said she felt “relatively optimistic” about the number of cases in Victoria and hoped that further restrictions could be avoided.
She said it was not anticipated the restrictions would be eased before while the state remained in its current state of emergency.
That is due to expire on May 11 but can be further extended.
New figures have not yet been made available today but Victoria has been recording a moderately low number of new COVID-19 cases for several days.
Updated figures will be available later today.
Meanwhile, Crown Resorts has progressively stood down 11,500 workers – 95 per cent of its workforce – in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The James Packer-backed casino giant has also secured a new $1 billion credit line from its banks as it moves to ride out the pandemic.
Crown – the state’s biggest single site employer – began closing gaming tables at Melbourne casino in mid-February, while its gaming floors were shut last month.
This morning it said it had all but finished a process of standing down 11,500 workers with the only employees remaining at work being those in “critical functions”.