Two terminals of Melbourne Airport have been declared Tier 2 coronavirus exposure sites but no new local cases have been detected in the Victorian community in the past 24 hours. Three new cases of coronavirus were acquired overseas and are in hotel quarantine, bringing the state’s active total to 44. Anyone who was in the public areas of Melbourne Airport’s Terminal 2 between 6.30am-7.30am on Saturday, June 26 must get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.This also applies to anyone who was in the public areas of Terminal 3 between 5.20pm and 6.50pm on Friday, June 25 and at the terminal from 8am-9am on June 26. Axil Coffee Roasters, which is located inside Melbourne Airport, has also been declared a Tier 2 exposure site for anyone that was there between 6.30am-7.30am on June 26.Additionally, Virgin Flight VA334 from Brisbane to Melbourne on June 25 has been declared a Tier 1 exposure as a case was on board that flight.Deoples COVID-19 Victorian Exposure Sites TableAnyone who was on that 2.55pm-5.20pm flight must get tested immediately and quarantine for 14 days regardless of the result.The positive case was a crew member who was on board the Virgin Flight from Brisbane to Melbourne.In a statement, Virgin Australia said the crew member “always wore a face mask while onboard and when interacting with the public and adhered to infection control and COVID safe protocols.”It said all close contact team members will be removed from their rostered duties and be required to quarantine for 14 days.But the Transport Workers Union (TWU) slammed the federal government’s vaccine rollout program, saying the crew member worked on five flights while they were potentially infectious – including a flight to Melbourne – and walked through Melbourne Airport, leading to Terminal Two and Three being listed as exposure sites.TWU National Secretary Michael Kaine said it was “inexcusable” that workers were still not vaccinated four months into the rollout. “It is inexcusable that so many frontline workers, particularly those travelling interstate in tightly packed aircraft, have not been protected against a highly contagious virus that has gripped the globe for well over a year,” he said. “Aviation workers were among the first and most drastically affected by this pandemic.“The federal government’s failure to prevent Virgin’s collapse into administration, its failure to implement a national aviation plan, and its failure to ensure essential workers are vaccinated has caused undue suffering and stress to workers, damaged the economy and endangered our communities.”The federal government has repeatedly defended its rollout and blamed supply issues on global supply chain issues and the unforeseen rare blood clot issue with AstraZeneca’s restricting eligibility. NED-1859 State of our bordersMore than 7 million doses have now been administered in Australia but – according to Our World in Data – just four per cent of Australians have been fully vaccinated. Many of the 7 million doses already delivered in Australia are first shots. Mr Kaine also criticised the NSW government and defended a driver who was the first person to test positive in the Sydney outbreak and worked in the quarantine system, driving international aircrew. The government questioned whether the driver underwent a daily Covid test or wore a mask at all times, but the NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has since said there was insufficient evidence to prosecute the man for breaching health directions. “Over recent days we have seen a driver linked to aviation brutally scapegoated by the NSW Government rather than admit to their failure to address known cracks in the system, which TWU’s NSW branch had previously raised as a concern,” Mr Kaine said. “We ask the government to cease its condemnation of workers just trying to do their job and concentrate on the important task of keeping our communities safe.”HOLIDAY RUSH DESPITE OUTBREAK FEARSThe school holiday rush was back on at Melbourne Airport, with news of Covid scares in NSW and Queensland not deterring people from interstate travel.Terminal 3 was packed, with long lines and limited social distancing as staff worked to get the large numbers of masked travellers checked in.The Toomey family was all smiles on Sunday morning as they prepared to board a flight to Brisbane.Mum Natalie said they were looking forward to their first post-Covid interstate flight.“We’re hopefully getting to the snow,” she said.“We’re a little bit nervous but everything seems pretty straight forward, we haven’t had any issues. We’re lucky (we weren’t going to NSW).”In arrivals, it was a little quieter with several cancelled Sydney flights freeing up space.Some NSW flights still landed though, such as the plane recently returned international travellers Paul Hyde, 41, and Simon Benson, 39, were on.The pair left Australia for Canada three months ago and returned home with an extra family member – their eight week-old daughter Lily – born via surrogate.Having just completed their two-week hotel quarantine in Sydney, Mr Hyde said they thankfully did not need to quarantine for an extra two weeks in Melbourne.“It wasn’t too bad actually,” he said.“We had food delivered and were in a one-bedroom apartment, so we could do washing for (Lily).“Getting back from the US isn’t as hard as getting back from Europe.”But not everyone was happy.Felix Gorza, who flew to Melbourne from Sydney, said interstate travel was “horrible” right now and lashed the government as incompetent.“You feel like a prisoner in your own country,” he said.NEW BORDER RULES FOR NSW, ACTVictorian Health Minister Martin Foley said anyone from a NSW red zone would not be allowed into Victoria, with more than 260 police officers now working to prevent people entering the state from red zones. There will be “highly visible and highly mobile patrols” aimed at making it difficult for people to get across borders, he said. “Don’t come from a New South Wales red zone to Victoria, and for Victorians, do not visit those red zones in New South Wales,” he said. “If you run the risk of coming through the land borders from those red zones, you run the risk of substantial fines and being turned around, if not worse. Those fines can be $5000, on the spot. “And we need to make sure that we do everything that is necessary to keep Victorians safe. “We will enforce those border restrictions for the safety of every Victorian, and to make sure that we keep the Delta virus north of the river.”All travellers from regional New South Wales and ACT must get tested and isolate on arrival into Victoria after those areas were declared an orange zone in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak.It follows the announcement of a two-week lockdown imposed on Greater Sydney, Blue Mountains, Central Coast and Wollongong.An orange zone is deemed a medium risk for coronavirus transmission under Victoria’s travel permit system. Those entering Victoria from NSW and ACT must get tested within 72 hours of entering the state and have a travel permit. Travellers arriving from declared orange zones cannot isolate in Victoria’s alpine region.Additionally, Greater Sydney, including Central Coast, Shellharbour, Blue Mountains and Wollongong, have been declared an orange zone retrospectively between 11 June and 1am Friday June 2.This means those who have travelled to Victoria from Greater Sydney between these dates must get tested and isolate until they receive a negative result.The changes will come into effect from 1am on Sunday.Travellers can obtain permits by heading to service.vic.gov.au NEW ZEALAND SUSPENDS TRAVEL BUBBLENew Zealand has suspended all quarantine free travel with Australia in response to the growing coronavirus outbreak around the country.The changes apply to all Australian states and territories and will kick-in this evening from 8.30pm Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST).The travel bubble will remain paused until next Tuesday at 10.00pm AEST. The New Zealand government said the decision follows updated public health advice from officials this evening.“I acknowledge the frustration and inconvenience that comes with this pause, but given the high level of transmissibility of what appears to be the Delta variant, and the fact that there are now multiple community clusters, it is the right thing to do to keep COVID-19 out of New Zealand,” the country’s COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins said in a statement.The government said it will continue to monitor the situation closely and will review its decision on Monday.
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