Victorians warned as crims get back to work

Meanwhile, the state has recorded nine consecutive days since its last case of local transmission, with just five active cases.The force is concerned at the potential for a spike in home, car and bike thefts as office capacity restrictions ease to 75 per cent and many people leave their homes unattended for the first time in a year.Superintendent Anthony Silva said Victoria Police were on alert but urged people to be vigilant.“Since the easing of restrictions, police have noticed an increase in these types of offences and we want to remind the community about the importance of basic security measures, such as locking their homes and cars,” Mr Silva said.“We are expecting an increase in crime when we start to see 75 per cent of the workplace return.”As drugmakers distribute Covid-19 vaccines, cybersecurity experts are warning against the growing threat of tampering and theft by organized crime networks. WSJ explains how hackers are targeting the vaccine rollout during the pandemic. Illustration: George DownsMr Silva, who oversees the Stonnington and Port Phillip areas, said a spike in bike thefts mostly from multi-level car parks and residential apartment buildings was worrying.“The increase in theft of bikes concerns me, but it does not surprise me,” he said. “An opportunistic thief will latch on to the supply and demand, like any business, they see ­opportunities in the market.” The boom in bike sales since the pandemic has led to a black market for parts, with many crafty thieves dismantling bikes to sell parts online.Police are also urging people to lock their cars. In one recent instance, thieves in a stolen car scoured a Toorak street for unlocked cars, eventually stealing items from a luxury Maserati. Its owner had left the keys inside.“We are getting on the front foot here. We are working hard to disrupt this offending, but thieves have no boundaries,” Mr Silva said. “The theft of a credit card (from a vehicle) is really the beginning of a chain of offending.”Anyone with information on robberies or thefts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000. QANTAS RAMPS UP FOR EASTER SURGEQantas is bringing back Melbourne to Cairns flights at Easter and may increase services to other popular Queensland destinations to cope with soaring demand, as holiday-hungry Victorians prepare to flock to the Sunshine State.Flights to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Hamilton Island, Cairns and Brisbane were being booked at rates not seen for a long time, Qantas said. Airbnb’s Australia manager Susan Wheeldon said the same destinations were among the most searched for accommodation over Easter, with Noosa and Port Douglas also popular.Qantas said more than 150 return services were set to be offered between Victoria and Queensland over the Easter holidays, which was close to the airline’s capacity before the COVID-19 pandemic hit.“We are bringing back A330s between Melbourne and Cairns for the holidays and looking at increasing capacity on some routes,” a spokesman said.Auckland will welcome new freedoms from Sunday after recording a fifth consecutive day of no new COVID cases following a week-long lockdown.Melbourne Airport said seat capacity on flights out of the airport was expected to rise by nearly 320,250 over Easter, a 78 per cent rise on the start of February this year.Some Queensland tourism hot spots have reported booking surges of more than 200 per cent on this time last year.Queensland Tourism Industry Council chief Daniel Gschwind said Easter was “the sweet spot” for holidays in the Sunshine State.“We’re coming towards the start of the winter season for the Queensland outback and the peak season for north Queensland. It’s probably the one time of the year when all of the regions are firing and can really hit the sweet spot. We’re certainly hoping it will be the case this year,” he said.Wotif managing director Daniel Finch said holiday-makers seem to be keen to get away while they could.“Aussies are keen to make up for lost time,” he said.OVERSEAS ARRIVALS NOT QUITE WELCOMENo date has yet been set to reopen Victoria’s hotel quarantine ­system to international arrivals despite pressure building from the federal government.Reports that the scheme would be reopened within a week for returning travellers were shot down by the Andrews government on Saturday.Hotel quarantine was closed last month when cases of a fast-spreading UK variant of coronavirus escaped the rebooted scheme at the Holiday Inn.Premier Daniel Andrews said last month it would be closed indefinitely, and Public Transport Minister Ben Carroll said yesterday that there was no indication that hotel quarantine would be set to reopen next weekend.Mr Andrews said last week he was waiting on medical experts to advise him on when the system would be better prepared to handle new variants of COVID-19.