Covid-19: Daniel Andrews not for budging on travel

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has refused to speculate on whether Melbourne’s lockdown will be extended beyond Thursday night.

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley in Melbourne on Tuesday. Picture: Ian Currie

Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley has refused to speculate on whether Melbourne’s lockdown will be extended beyond Thursday night, as the Andrews government maintains its draconian stance on travel from NSW.

The Australian can reveal that in the four days to August 9, the Victorian health department rejected all but 40 of 663 compassionate travel permit applications from NSW residents.

The rejections came as Victoria recorded 20 new community-acquired cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Tuesday, only five of which were in people who had been in quarantine throughout their infectious period.

The cases included 10 linked to the Caroline Springs shopping centre in Melbourne’s outer west, and three to residents of public housing towers in Flemington in the inner northwest that were at the centre of one of the world’s harshest lockdowns during Victoria’s second wave last year.

Amid the cancellation due to coronavirus of not only the Avalon Airshow but also the AFL Grand Final Parade, the Andrews government postponed Thursday’s General Achievement Test for VCE students to a date to be fixed, but refused to confirm a lockdown extension.

Of 80 cases linked to the most recent outbreaks since last Wednesday, just six have been in quarantine for the duration of their infectious period.

Asked why the government won’t level with Victorians and acknowledge the impossibility of meeting its benchmark of zero infectious cases in the community before the current lockdown order expires on Thursday, Mr Foley said: “I don’t know what the future brings. The crystal ball hasn’t fired up lately.

“What we’ll do is follow the public health advice as it comes in on a day-to-day proposition, and obviously we want to have the most up-to-date information before the public health team make their decision.”

Fully vaccinated Sydney grandmother Katrina Anderson, 62, is among those whose applications for a compassionate travel permit was rejected.

Ms Anderson has offered to pay for her own hotel quarantine in Melbourne so she can assist her daughter Georgie Hudson, 33, as she undergoes treatment for advanced breast cancer.

Ms Hudson began chemotherapy less than two weeks ago and her husband Kael is struggling to work full time and be the primary carer of their children Harry, 4, and Poppy, 2.

An online petition for Ms Anderson to be granted an exemption to travel to Melbourne had garnered more than 6800 signatures as of late Tuesday.

Asked about Ms Anderson’s plight on Tuesday, Mr Foley ­offered little hope. “We make those decisions on a case-by-case, individual by individual basis, and I understand how every case is seen to be pressing for those families, but just today, we’ve seen another record day of infections in NSW,” he said.

“It’s an extreme risk zone under Victoria’s traffic light system for a very good reason.”

Mr Foley acknowledged that his NSW counterpart Brad Hazzard had raised Ms Anderson’s case with him.

“I’ve asked for further advice on that matter, but it will be determined on public health risk grounds, based on the circumstances of each individual case, and I’m sorry to have to say, but the vast majority of cases will not be approved.”