Live Breaking News: 120 Covid cases as restrictions set to change
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has revealed a raft of restrictions are set to change. But it seems one of the most divisive is here to stay.
Welcome to our coverage of Victoria’s Covid-19 situation.
Victoria confirmed a record number of infections overnight, with 120 new locally acquired cases on Wednesday.
Premier Daniel Andrews has revealed the state’s lockdown exit plan, with some restrictions to ease from tomorrow while others will kick in towards the end of September.
This blog has now ended, but we’ll be back with more live coverage tomorrow.
Annoying rule set to stay for Victoria
Despite today’s concerning spike in cases, locked-down Victorians got some good news today, with Premier Daniel Andrews confirming two rules would change from tomorrow, with a string of other restrictions set to ease later this month.
However, it appears that one of the most controversial lockdown rules will remain in place for many more weeks.
That’s the 9pm curfew, which appears to be here to stay in Melbourne until the entire lockdown ends – which could be in late October.
Dan reveals which restrictions can ease this month
Mr Andrews has listed a raft of restrictions that will ease later in the month, along with two rules that will change from tomorrow night.
From midnight on Thursday playgrounds will be able to reopen and restrictions will ease around in-home child care arrangements.
Mr Andrews said more restrictions would be able to ease when the state reaches it’s 70 per cent first dose target, which he expects the state will hit “on or about” September 23.
As a result of this, the following changes will come into effect when that goal is reached:
• The 5km travel limit for shopping and exercise will be expanded to 10km
• The daily exercise limit will be expanded from two to three hours
• Communal gym equipment and skate parks will reopen
• Outdoor personal training will be allowed with up to two people plus the trainer
• Child minding for school-aged children will be allowed
• Private inspections of unoccupied premises for a new purchase or end of a lease will be permitted
• Construction sites will be able to increase to 50 per cent of their capacity where 90 per cent of their workforce have received at least one vaccine dose
Mr Andrews also announced that the Year 12 GAT exams would be moved to October 5, with senior students to be given priority access to vaccines in the lead up to this date.
He also confirmed face-to-face learning would not return for Term 3, with a “detailed plan” for what Term 4 will look like to be delivered next week.
Five truckies test positive in SA
There’s some more bad news regarding truck drivers, with five testing positive to Covid in South Australia today.
The news was announced SA Health’s Dr Nicola Spurrier this afternoon.
The list of exposure sites has now ballooned to 20 in the state, including sites in Nundroo and Ceduna in the west, Port Augusta, Port Wakefiled, Adelaide and Tailem Bend.
NSW truckie tests positive in QLD
A truck driver from NSW has tested positive to Covid in Queensland, with the news confirmed in an alert issued by Queensland Health this afternoon.
The case was in the community while infectious for one day only, one week ago.
Queensland Health is issuing new contact tracing locations for the Archerfield and Goondiwindi areas.
“The truck driver entered Queensland on the 25 August and returned to New South Wales on the 26 August,” the Queensland Health alert said.
“Please contact New South Wales health authorities for specific information relating to this case.”
You can read more here.
Dan to meet PM tonight
Daniel Andrews will meet with Prime Minister Scott Morrison within hours to discuss the reopening plan.
The Premier told reporters this afternoon the pair would meet tonight, with Mr Andrews demanding answers on the path forward.
“I’ve got a meeting with the Prime Minister tonight to talk about what does the whole passport thing look like. What does an economy for the vaccinated look like? Once we’ve avoided a catastrophic pandemic of the unvaccinated at scale?” he said.
Why the plan had to change
Yesterday, Premier Daniel Andrews said he would be providing case number thresholds that would trigger easing of restrictions.
However, the easing of restrictions announced today are instead linked to the state reaching a 70 per cent vaccination rate of first doses.
When asked what had changed, Mr Andrews said the advice of the chief health officer changed last night when the new case numbers came through.
“These numbers are considerably worse than they were yesterday. When you add the two of them together and indeed go back three days, this has deteriorated quite fast,” he said.
“It’s now a question of how much it goes up by. That was provided to us last night. We had very lengthy meetings, very difficult meetings because it is not easy to have to confront that fact but they are the facts. And that is why things have changed today.”
Regional Victoria lockdown could end next week
While the Premier offered a grim outlook for the trajectory of the state’s Covid-19 cases, he said the situation in the majority of regional Victoria was looking positive.
Mr Andrews said regional areas outside of Shepparton could see the lockdown lifted next week.
“Exactly when, we’ll confirm as soon as we can,” he said.
However, there will still be substantial” and “significant” restrictions in place even when the lockdown ends, adding people from Melbourne will only be able to travel to regional areas for a few essential reasons.
“No-one other than those who are authorised will be able to go to regional Victoria from metropolitan Melbourne,” he said.
Health advice has ‘fundamentally changed’
Premier Daniel Andrews has offered a grim outlook for Victoria in the coming weeks, revealing the latest numbers show cases are going to continue to rise.
“In just the last two days, the number of cases, the nature of those cases, the depth of the seeding of this outbreak has become clear and the chief health officer’s advice to me and the Government has changed, fundamentally changed,” he said.
“None of us have the luxury of ignoring that, none of us have the luxury of shopping for the advice that we want. When we get advice we follow it and the data and the evidence and the experts are very clear with us. We will not see these case numbers go down. They are going to go up.”
Mr Andrews said officials now have to try and suppress case numbers until vaccination rates increase, adding it isn’t possible to “ease restrictions in a profound way” until those rates rise.
“We are in for a difficult time, a challenging time, over these coming weeks. This is very, very tough. But it is simply not possible to make wholesale changes, to have our freedom day if you like, or an opening up day in metropolitan Melbourne in the next few weeks,” he said.
“That is going to require us to hit our vaccination targets because that’s what gives us the protection against infection and most importantly it gives us the protection against hospitalisation.”
Only 20 cases were in isolation
Mr Andrews has revealed only 20 of today’s 120 locally acquired Covid-19 cases were in isolation throughout their infectious period.
The Premier said this shows how things have “changed very rapidly” across Victoria.
“These last few days have seen a dramatic shift in the nature and the number of cases coming forward,” he said.
Mr Andrews urged anyone who was experiencing even the slightest Covid-19 symptoms to come forward immediately, reminding Victorians payments were available to those who have to miss work while waiting for a test result.
“I cannot say it often enough, if you have got symptoms, you got to get test and got to get tested very quickly,” he said.
“If you would be out of pocket and wouldn’t be able to do a shift at work because you’re waiting for your result, then there is a $450 payment available to you. If your results are positive, and you have to isolate for 14 days, there is a $1,500 payment available to you.”
Victoria confirms record number of cases
Victoria recorded 120 locally acquired Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to midnight last night.
This is the biggest rise in infections the state has seen in it’s latest outbreak and brings the total number of active cases in Victoria to 900.
Reported yesterday: 120 new local cases and no cases acquired overseas.
— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) August 31, 2021
- 33,455 vaccines doses were administered
- 56,501 test results were received
- Sadly, 2 people with COVID-19 have died
More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/UivzH9pHw9
Of the new cases, 64 have been linked to known cases and outbreaks, with investigations ongoing for the other 56 infections.
The deaths of two women, both of which were announced yesterday, have also been included in today’s figures.
It follows earlier reports that Victoria could see a sharp rise in cases today.
“Just under 120 cases today for the Covid number in Victoria,’ ABC reporter Raf Epstein said in a tweet.
NSW records 1116 new cases
NSW has recorded 1116 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night.
The state also recorded the deaths of four women. They were not vaccinated and had underlying health conditions. One woman was aged in her 50s, one was in her 60s, one in her 70s and one was in her 80s.
You can follow our live coverage of NSW’s Covid-19 situation here.
NSW recorded 1,116 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. pic.twitter.com/pweTEuCGbn
— NSW Health (@NSWHealth) September 1, 2021
Outdoor activities likely to ease first
Infectious disease expert at the Australian National University, Professor Peter Collignon, said Victoria’s lockdown exit plan will likely include a gradual easing of restrictions, rather than reopening everything once a certain threshold is reached.
Speaking to Sunrise, Professor Collignon said the Delta variant means it is no longer realistic to have a goal of zero Covid-19 cases.
“What we have to do is minimise consequences, both for individuals and society. But also, the pressures on our hospital systems,” he said.
“What it means is restrictions won’t be like England, they are all off. It will be a gradual reduction in restrictions proportion to the number of people vaccinated and how much spread.
“What that means is outdoor activities could come off before indoor, gyms and dining for instance. And it will be dependent vaccination rates and how much spread we are seeing in particular areas.”
Dan’s lockdown exit plan to be revealed
Victorians are eagerly waiting to hear Premier Daniel Andrews plan to get them out of lockdown, as the state moves away from a zero-case requirement for easing restrictions.
Mr Andrews Covid-19 update today is expected to include thresholds at which restrictions can begin to ease across the state, with officials finalising a “detailed plan” overnight.
While he did not reveal what the magic number would be, he did say it would need to be as close to zero as possible and “cannot be in the hundreds” as the situation would quickly spiral out of control.
“Then, based on those thresholds and those low case numbers, we will make further announcements about things that can be eased. Those announcements will be made tomorrow.
“I want to stress, for all Victorians, no decision has been made about what will be on that list and not on that list. It’s not like we made a decision and I’m not sharing it, it genuinely hasn’t been made.
“We’re looking at all manner of different things we might be able to do, but I do want to be very clear with the people of Victoria. This will not be freedom day. It will not be an opening up tight day. It will be modest changes that hopefully can be meaningful in people’s lives. As much economic activity as is possible, but they will be very modest changes because there is no middle ground here.”
Mr Andrews said the state’s ultimate goal is still the 70 and 80 per cent vaccination rates and these thresholds would be the number of cases Victoria can tolerate while vaccination rates increase.
Details of exit plan leaked
Leaked details of Victoria’s reopening plan suggest the divisive ban on playgrounds could be lifted within days.
According to The Herald Sun, playgrounds could be one of the first things to reopen, with ban possibly lifting as soon as Friday.
The publication also reported that authorities were considering increasing the 5km travel limit to 10km, as well as the easing of some restrictions in certain areas first – likely for those with low or no Covid cases. However, even with easing restrictions, gatherings for Father’s Day are expected to remain off the table.
New freedoms could also be announced for fully vaccinated Victorians, including allowing vaccinated residents into cafes outdoors, visits to holiday homes and hairdresser appointments.
Yesterday, Mr Andrews stressed any easing of the rules would be “careful and considered”.
“Otherwise it finishes up thousands of cases. We don’t wish that on anyone and we certainly don’t want that here,” he said.
“We will be back tomorrow to talk about those thresholds and some of the careful, considered, but I do stress, modest easing that we think will be possible and safe.”
Cases remain high in Victoria, two new deaths confirmed
The plan to ease some of the state’s lockdown restrictions comes as Victoria’s Covid-19 cases remain stubbornly high.
Victoria confirmed 76 new infections on Tuesday, taking its total number of active locally acquired cases to 841.
The state also recorded it’s first Covid-19 deaths in nearly a year yesterday, with two women, one in her 40s and the other in her 60s, dying from the virus.
Their deaths are the first in Victoria since last year’s second wave and take the state’s toll to 822.
“We send our deepest condolences to the families and communities involved – and we will be working with them to give them the support and guidance they need over the coming days,” the Victorian health department said in a statement.
“We know Covid-19 symptoms can rapidly worsen. If this is happening to you (or someone you know or live with) and help is required, please seek medical care. If it’s an emergency, call triple-0.”
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