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Coronavirus: Mother’s Day visits ban as Peter Gutwein goes it alone

Tasmania will go it alone in lifting COVID-19 restrictions more gradually than other jurisdictions.

Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein in Hobart on Monday. Picture: Luke Bowden
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein in Hobart on Monday. Picture: Luke Bowden

Tasmania will go it alone in lifting COVID-19 restrictions more gradually than other jurisdictions, with Premier Peter Gutwein citing the state’s “older and more vulnerable” population.

Vowing that the island state would “march to the beat of its own drum” in lifting restrictions, Mr Gutwein said a ban on visits to aged-care homes would not be lifted until Tuesday next week.

This means no such visits on Mother’s Day this Sunday. “I will own this decision on Mother’s Day; it is unfortunate that the restrictions will be in place for another week, based on public health advice,” he said on Monday.

“I think the best Mother’s Day present that anybody could provide their mother is to keep them safe. The restrictions are designed to keep our older and more vulnerable population safe.”

Mr Gutwein said he would release a staged “road map” for the gradual easing of COVID-19 restrictions in Tasmania on Friday, after a meeting of national cabinet.

However, he said all existing restrictions would remain until at least May 15, and Tasmania’s timetable for easing restrictions would not necessarily align with national positions.

Despite the state enjoying three days without any new confirmed cases, as of Monday afternoon, he warned there would be more cases detected as testing had doubled to 2000 a day.

The state has 44 active cases of the virus and 150 people in quarantine, including 34 in isolation due to a cluster of cases in the Circular Head area of the state’s northwest.

Statewide, restrictions on non-essential movements continue and schools remain closed except for children whose parents are unable to supervise them at home.

The number of students ­attending school has almost ­tripled, from 7-8 per cent at the end of last term to 19-20 per cent so far this term.

Catholic Education in the state on Monday issued a statement saying it would not turn away any child, despite one school principal complaining some parents were sending their children to school for insufficient reasons.

Read related topics:Coronavirus

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/coronavirus-mothers-day-visits-ban-as-peter-gutwein-goes-it-alone/news-story/0213f5e21382592bdd3d74f4ab207d16