‘Despicable’ act in Victoria’s covid vaccine queue called out

Acting Premier James Merlino has lashed out at the “absolutely despicable” behaviour seen at one of Victoria’s vaccination sites yesterday.

Victoria’s recent Covid-19 outbreak has highlighted the importance of ramping up Australia’s vaccine rollout, with officials urging more people to get vaccinated.

Despite thousands of Victorians responding to the call to get the jab, there are still some that are actively trying to discourage people from getting vaccinated.

Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino lashed the “despicable” actions seen by some anti-vaxxers yesterday who were reportedly going down the vaccine queue trying to convince people not to get the jab.

“It is despicable, it’s crazy. I think everyone should treat that with the contempt for which it deserves. There is a small number of people that want to ignore the science, ignore the risk,” he said.

Victoria’s Acting Premier James Merlino has lashed out at ‘despicable’ behaviour in vaccine queues. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Mr Merlino said the only way through the pandemic and to ensure the state can avoid more lockdowns in the future is to boost vaccination rates.

Currently only two per cent of the Australian population has been vaccinated against Covid-19.

“To be in line with other jurisdictions around the world, which have got well over half the population fully vaccinated, the frequently more having had at least one vaccine dose,” Mr Merlino said.

“We need to be there, we should be there, we are not there and the behaviour of these anti-vaxxer’s, which is a tiny proportion of our community, I think, is absolutely despicable.”

It comes as Victoria announced three new Covid-19 cases on Thursday, bringing the state’s cluster to 63.

This is a slight drop from the six new infections confirmed on Wednesday, raising hopes the state’s outbreak is being brought under control.

The state also confirmed another day of record testing numbers, with more than 57,000 test results received in a 24 hour period. More than 23,900 Covid-19 vaccine doses were also administered.

Reported yesterday: 3 new local cases and no new cases acquired overseas.
- 23,921 vaccine doses were administered
- 57,519 test results were received

More later: https://t.co/lIUrl0ZEco#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicDatapic.twitter.com/9cCbYkZ8gZ

— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) June 2, 2021

Victoria confirms covid restriction change

Speaking during Thursday’s press conference, Acting Premier James Merlino confirmed that from 11.59pm tonight restrictions for regional Victoria would be eased.

These changes include:

• Removing the five reasons to leave home, with no limit on the distance you can travel from your home.

• Travel to Melbourne is only allowed for permitted reasons and you must follow Melbourne restrictions when there.

• Up to 10 people can gather outdoors, with children under 12 months not included in that limit.

• Food and hospitality will reopen for seated service only, with a limit of 50 people per venue, subject to the four square metre rule.

• All students, teachers and staff will return to school on Friday, June 4

• Retail can open and personal services such as beauty and tattooing can resume for services where masks can remain on.

• Religious gatherings and ceremonies are permitted for 50 people plus one faith leader indoors or outdoors.

• Limits for weddings will be 10 people and funerals will be capped at 50 people.

• Junior outdoor community sport will return and adults will be able to resume training outdoors.

• Outdoor pools, including swimming classes can operate with a limit of 50 people, applying the four square metre rule.

• Libraries and can open with a cap of 50 people subject to density requirements.

• Outdoor seated entertainment, seated and unseated will have a patron cap of 50 people or 50 per cent of the venue’s seating capacity, whichever is lower.

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Aged care and disability care workers line up for their vaccine at the Melbourne Showgrounds. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Ian Currie

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Yesterday, the Victorian government announced the state’s “circuit breaker” lockdown would remain in place for Melbourne for another week in a bid to contain the growing Covid-19 outbreak.

Now, it has been revealed that even if the lockdown if lifted next week, Melbourne residents will likely still be forced to live with weeks of tough restrictions until the outbreak is completely under control.

Government sources told theHerald Sun“there will be no snapback” after lockdown ends, claiming restrictions will continue in some form until Victoria records several days of zero cases.

A source claimed it was “extremely unlikely” several days of zero cases would be achieved before the lockdown is due to end on Thursday, June 10.

So, while the five reasons to leave home may be scrapped, rules could be kept in place around mask wearing, strict capacity limits for businesses and venues, limits on how many guests can attend weddings and funerals and household and public gathering limits.

‘People will die’: Grim reason for lockdown extension

Acting Premier James Merlino offered a grim warning to Victorians during Wednesday’s press conference, saying infections “will explode” if the virus if left to run its course.

If this happens, he said the government would be left with “no choice” but to extend the lockdown.

“If we don’t do this, this thing will get away. This variant of concern will become uncontrollable and people will die. No-one wants to repeat last winter,” Mr Merlino said.

Yesterday’s announcement means that from 11.59pm on Thursday, June 3, there will still only be five reasons to leave home for Melbourne residents, including shopping for food and supplies, authorised work and study, care and care giving, exercise and getting vaccinated.

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The travel radius for exercise and shopping will be expanded to 10km. Students in years 11 and 12 will also be able to return to face-to-face learning from Friday, June 4, including students in other years that are undertaking a Unit 3/4VCE subject.

A number of outdoor jobs will also be added to the authorised work list, including things like landscaping, painting installing solar panels or letterboxing. Restrictions around mask wearing will remain in place.

Mr Merlino said even after the seven-day extension, it was unlikely anyone with long weekend plans would be able to travel outside Melbourne for the Queen’s Birthday holiday. Some restrictions would likely be in place in some form until after the long weekend, which goes from June 12-14.

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“At the end of another seven days, we do expect to be in a position to carefully ease restrictions in Melbourne. But there will continue to be differences between the settings in Melbourne compared to regional Victoria,” he continued.

“I want to be upfront with people. Even if all goes well, we won’t be able to have people from Melbourne travelling to regional Victoria during the Queen’s birthday long weekend.”

Alarming way virus is spreading

The highly transmissible nature of the kappa variant currently spreading in Victoria has been highlighted by officials as a major cause for concern.

This strain was first detected in India and has since spread to more than 40 countries, with the World Health Organisation (WHO) identifying it as a “variant of concern” as it appears to be much more infectious than other strains.

The highly-infectious nature of this strain means authorities are now seeing the virus spreading in ways it previously wasn’t, with evidence the virus is spread between strangers just from a few seconds of contact.

At least one in 10 of the state’s active cases have caught the virus from a stranger.

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Exercise is one of the reasons people can leave home under Victoria’s lockdown restrictions. Picture: Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

“What we’re seeing now is something else – something even more serious,” Mr Merlino said.

“People brushing against each other in a small shop. Getting a take-away coffee from the same cafe. Being in the same place, at the same time for mere moments. Just walking past someone you’ve never met can mean the virus is jumping to a whole new network.”

On Wednesday, chief health officer Professor Brett Sutton revealed they had discovered a case where a person was infected at an indoor enclosed space “two hours after an infectious case had left”.

“That’s in the kind of measles category of infectiousness. Probably relates to an unventilated setting where someone spent a great deal of time but to come in two hours later and be infected. It may be on surfaces but it could absolutely be through airborne transmission as well because of that indoor setting,” he said.

“This variant is not the most infectious, but it is more infectious than anything we saw in the beginning and middle of 2020, so we have to bear that in mind,” he said.