No quick return to life as we knew it, says Daniel Andrews
Victorians entering the fifth week of lockdown have been offered a glimpse of Daniel Andrews’ version of ‘COVID-normal’.
Victorians entering their fifth week of a six-week lockdown were offered a tantalising glimpse of Daniel Andrews’ version of “COVID-normal” on Friday, but the Premier has offered no firm detail on his immediate plans to bring the state’s economy out of its induced coma.
The state recorded 94 cases and 18 deaths in the 24 hours to Saturday — the lowest daily case number in 55 days — but a plan for stage three would be made public until health authorities were sure it would not “plunge us into a third wave”, Mr Andrews said.
On Friday, he described what the lives of Victorians might look like in coming months.
“In broad terms, COVID-normal will be typified by very low case numbers,” he said. “There will be some cases, there will be some outbreaks, but we will have pubs, restaurants, cafes and other workplaces open.
“We will have people being able to move about freely. We may have masks still, in some settings. We will have physical distance, hand hygiene, cough etiquette, all those things.
“We will have people back at work, we will have economic activity. We will have a massive plan of investment and support to repair the damage that this pandemic has done.”
But he was not ready to say how he planned to get there. “We will deliver the blueprint, that road map, as soon as possible,” he said. “No rule will be on longer than it needs to be, and no stage will be longer than it needs to be.”
Mr Andrews said Victorians would see the plan before the end of stage-four restrictions on September 13, but it would be some time before the state moved back to a more normal footing.
“The notion that we would go from, say, stage four to stage two, or stage one, where all of those businesses would be open like a normal kind of second half of the year, normal spring, we’re not going to be able to do that,” he said. “We want to defeat this second wave and then … we can find that COVID-normal and have a longer-term plan.”
Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra warned it would be “devastating” for retailers if they were unable to open ahead of Christmas.
“We recognise the challenge of a volatile health environment, however, retailers need certainty,” he said. “Victorian retailers have suffered an enormous financial impact through the second wave of lockdowns and are eager to open quickly to begin rebuilding their businesses.
“We need a safe and sustainable reopening — there’s already been one false start and we can’t afford another.”
Victoria reported 12 deaths on Friday, taking the state’s overall toll to 497. All 12 were linked to nursing homes.
The number of deaths in nursing homes now sits at 355. More than 500 Victorians remain in hospital with COVID-19, including 29 in intensive care.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, said the state was “doing it tough” but he expected new case numbers to fall below 100 over the weekend or early next week.
“We are clearly still trending in the right direction. It’s not gotten below 100 yet. I do expect that to happen, if not over the weekend, then by next week if trends continue.
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