Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

[Topdog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

Restrictions eased as of Wednesday. Great news.

Yep bloody great news.

[Bornadog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

[EasternWest]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

That's amazing

[Eastdog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

Great news for us in Victoria! Well done to all fellow Victorians for getting us to this position.

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/statement-premier-79

Statement From The Premier
26 October 2020


Zero.

The last time Victoria had zero cases was 9 June, 139 days ago.

Even more incredibly, it’s zero cases off the back of a huge testing drive.

Over the course of this weekend, we asked Victorians living in our northern suburbs to get tested. They did just that.

In 24 hours, we have been able to process an additional 14,024 tests – 3196 of them from these communities. This morning we’ve processed an extra 1157.

And not a single new case has been found.

I want to thank everyone who did the right thing by their community and our state in getting tested. I also want to thank the nurses, lab technicians, collectors, couriers – everyone who has been working around the clock to process these tests.

Because of that effort, we’ve been able to get the results faster than we thought. These results give us confidence – confidence that even if we do identify positive cases in any further tests – we are firmly on top of this virus.

It’s why today I can confirm what we’ve long waited for: Melbourne will move out of lockdown and into the Third Step. Before we get to the bit that almost everyone will be waiting for, an ask:

As we take these steady steps towards reopening, the message remains the same: please, stay safe. And if you have symptoms, you must get tested.

Under the Third Step, and from 11:59pm on Tuesday, Melbourne will move from “stay home” to “stay safe”, with no more restrictions on the reasons to leave home.

The 25-kilometre limit though, will remain in place. I know it’s frustrating, but this is about making sure that even as we ease restrictions, we’re limiting the virus’s ability to travel.

It’s why the border between regional Victoria and Melbourne will also remain in place – for just a bit longer.

Under the Third Step, Melbourne’s cafes, restaurants and pubs can reopen. Outdoors with a limit of up to 50, indoors up to 20. Density limits, record keeping and COVIDSafe Plans also apply.

Remaining retail will also open. Beauty and personal care services can resume. And for those businesses who need to get ready for their reopening – staff will be able to attend onsite straight away.

Outdoor contact sport for those aged 18 and under will also begin again – so too can non-contact sport for adults. PT, fitness and dance classes can also be held outdoors with up to ten people, and the number of people at outdoor pools can increase to 50, subject to density limits.

Libraries and community venues will be able to open for outdoor events. Outdoor entertainment venues can also begin hosting visitors.

And faith communities will be able to meet for outdoor religious ceremonies with up to 20 people, in addition to those required for the service. Indoor services can be held with up to 10.

Weddings will increase to ten people, and funerals up to 20.

Workplaces will no longer need to be on the permitted work list to open and the ability to work will change to “if you can work from home you must work from home”.

While the boundary is in place, work permits will still be required for workers from Melbourne travelling into regional Victoria – and vice versa.

I know the thing many people are missing is having people over to visit – but as we’ve seen, this virus is at its most dangerous when we’re indoors and relaxed and comfortable.

It’s why we’re going to take the next 24 hours to understand how we might be able to make this work – safely – and I’ll have more to say about this tomorrow.

From 8 November, and if we can continue driving case numbers down, the 25km limit will come off and Melbourne will be able to meet regional Victoria at the same level.

That means the same eased restrictions that apply to regional Victoria will also apply to Melbourne.

The capacity of pubs and restaurants will increase, with up to 40 inside and 70 outside.

Religious gatherings will expand with up 20 people and a faith leader indoors, and 50 outside.

Gyms and indoor fitness will be able to reopen – with some strict safety precautions in place.

And because Melburnians will have well and truly earnt a holiday, accommodation will also reopen.

The border between the city and the rest of our state will also fall away.

I know personally – deeply – just how much this will mean for thousands of Victorians who haven’t been able to see loved ones for far too long.

It will mean families are whole again. Our state is whole again.

I understand there'll be questions, “what about X?” or “when can I do Y?”. And I promise, we’ll also have an update on 8 November on the timelines and thresholds for taking the Last Step.

We want to reach COVID Normal by Christmas and right now, we’re on track to do that.

It’s why we’ve got to keep going – all of us. Understanding that even though restrictions may ease, our personal responsibility in all this doesn’t.

We have come so far and given so much.

Getting here – and staying here – relies on the efforts of every Victorian.

Keep going.

[Topdog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

Another donut today

[Bornadog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

Another donut today

[Eastdog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

https://www.premier.vic.gov.au/statement-premier-85

Statement From The Premier
12 February 2021


I won’t waste words: today hurts. Victorians know, better than anyone, just how deeply.

But as we’ve seen – here in Australia and around the world – we are facing a new kind of enemy.

A virus that is smarter, and faster, and more infectious.

And until we have a vaccine, we need to do everything we can to keep this virus at bay.

In the past 24 hours, five new cases have been identified.

It shows just how incredibly infectious this virus is. And our public health team tell us it’s only getting faster.

Right now, we are reaching close contacts well within the 48-hour benchmark. But the time between exposure, incubation, symptoms and testing positive is rapidly shortening. So much so, that even secondary close contacts are potentially infectious within that 48-hour window.

In short: this hyper-infectious variant is moving at hyper-speed.

It’s why on the advice of our public health experts, the whole of Victoria will move to circuit-breaker action from 11:59pm tonight until 11:59pm on Wednesday, 17 February.

This is a short, sharp blast – the same as we’ve seen in Queensland and WA – that will give us the what we need to get ahead of this faster moving virus.

That means there will be four reasons to leave your home: shopping for the things you need, care and caregiving, exercise and work, if it is essential.

Exercise and shopping will be limited to five kilometres from your home. If there’s no shops in your five-kilometre radius, you’ll be able to travel to the ones closest to you.

Face masks will need to be worn indoors and outdoors – whenever you leave home.

You won’t be able to have visitors to your home. And any public gatherings won’t be able to go ahead.

For school students, that means learning from home, unless they need onsite supervision as the children of essential workers. Unis and TAFEs will close or move to remote learning. Childcare and kinders will remain open.

Gyms, pools, community centres, entertainment venues and libraries will all need to close.

And as with Stage 4 restrictions, all non-essential retail will close, but essential stores like supermarkets, bottle shops and pharmacies will remain open. Cafes and restaurants will only be able to offer take-away.

Hotel and accommodation providers will be able to stay open to support guests already staying onsite. No new bookings can be made.

Funerals will be able to go ahead with up to ten people. Weddings will need to be postponed.

A list of who is considered an essential worker will be made available online. But the short answer is – if you were a permitted worker during Stage 4 restrictions – you’ll most likely be an essential worker now too. For everyone else, we need you to work from home.

I know there’ll be plenty of questions about what people can and can’t do. We’ll do our best to answer these as quickly as possible.

But the most important thing you need to know is this: this is our opportunity – our brief window – to starve the virus of what it wants most. Movement.

By limiting our movement, we limit the potential spread of the virus.

And by going hard and going early – we’re giving ourselves every opportunity to get in front of this.

My message to every single Victorian:

I know today will be hard. Likely, tomorrow will be even harder.

But remember, no one else in the world – anywhere – has achieved what we have.

And just as we had the courage and conviction to win this war before – we can do it again.

[Bornadog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

4 cases in the community with High Point listed as an exposure site.

Get tested if you visited Friday.

[Grantysghost]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

New restrictions to be implemented from 6:00pm tonight

They include:

Private gatherings at home will be limited to five people per day.

Public gatherings will be limited to 30 people.

Face masks will need to be worn indoors, unless an exemption applies

Mr Merlino said schools and workplaces remain open, and Victorians who live in Greater Melbourne can continue to travel to regional Victoria.

However, those restrictions will still apply — so if you're heading to a regional household from Melbourne, they must not have more than five visitors in the house that day, and you'll still need to wear a face mask.

Mr Merlino said the restrictions were a "responsible step" to take to curb the outbreak.

"But importantly the genomic sequencing has confirmed that this case, these cases, originate back to the South Australian hotel quarantine outbreak," he said.

Edit re large events :

Acting Premier James Merlino is addressing this one now.

He says there will be no changes to the arrangements with bars and restaurants.

A public health panel will weigh up whether more changes are needed for large public events including football games and cultural events, but they remain unchanged for now.

[Axe Man]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

Hope none of our players visited Highpoint.

Looks like we won't find out if the footy is affected until tomorrow at the earliest.

[comrade]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

Hope none of our players visited Highpoint.

Looks like we won't find out if the footy is affected until tomorrow at the earliest.

Cross all fingers and toes, pray to whatever deity necessary.

[Grantysghost]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

It's the new normal isn't it. Just have to hope there are no more cases, otherwise I suggest their hand will be forced for this weekend's games at least.

[jazzadogs]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

It's the new normal isn't it. Just have to hope there are no more cases, otherwise I suggest their hand will be forced for this weekend's games at least.

I can't see WA letting Essendon fly in for their game, based on previous responses.

It will be interesting what happens with local footy as well - it's over 30 people but does it count as a public gathering?

[Bornadog]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

Ticket sale times are going to change

[Grantysghost]

Re: Coronavirus Info & Helpful Direction

I can't see WA letting Essendon fly in for their game, based on previous responses.

It will be interesting what happens with local footy as well - it's over 30 people but does it count as a public gathering?

It's all a bit purposely ambiguous at the moment isn't it. Leaving themselves room to pivot either way.