Victoria has announced 705 new Covid cases, along with another death.There are currently 8538 active cases across the state.More than 29,600 Covid vaccinations were administered on Sunday.Currently, 77.5 per cent of eligible Victorians have received a single dose of a Covid vaccine, while 47.4 per cent are fully vaccinated.Meanwhile, NSW is set to unveil its updated road map as the state closes in on the goal to fully vaccinate 80 per cent of its eligible population.A trip to Bunnings and a dip at the local pool are among the new activities available to Sydney’s hardest-hit Covid regions, after hotspot restrictions were wound back at the weekend.The changes to NSW public health orders mean the general public – and not just tradies – are allowed to head to garden centres, hardware stores, and timber yards.Other changes mean masks are no longer needed in the 12 LGAs of concern when exercising, while most outdoor public pools are also set to reopen to vaccinated and unvaccinated people across Sydney.Vic Locally-acquired Covid-19Construction sites are due to return to full capacity.The latest easing comes after the state passed the 60 per cent double-dose vaccination mark.NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is also this week due to outline the freedoms double-vaccinated people will be able to enjoy at an 80 per cent threshold.At the weekend she declared it was safe for NSW residents to start booking Christmas holidays.The state recorded 961 new community cases on Sunday and nine deaths. There were 1,146 people in hospital, including 222 in intensive care.NED-4588-VIC-road map-out-of-lockdownVACCINE PASSPORT ON TRIALThe first “no jab, no entry” rules will be introduced across parts of Victoria in three weeks’ time to pave the way for a statewide adoption of vaccination passports.Some of Victoria’s Covid-19 minor restrictions will also ease at midnight on Tuesday after the state reaches its 80 per cent first vaccination milestone, allowing people to venture up to 15km from home as well as enjoy sports such as golf and tennis.Despite Victoria passing 8000 active cases for the first time on Sunday, Industry Support and Recovery Minister Martin Pakula said “vaccinated economy trials” would begin from October 11 to smooth out any issues before a wider opening up of the state.Up to 20 trial sites in the municipalities of Buloke, Pyrenees, Bass Coast, Greater Bendigo, East Gippsland, and Warrnambool will be offered an early chance to live under the settings that will be in place when 70 per cent of eligible Victorians are fully vaccinated – a target expected to be reached on October 26.The greater freedoms offered to the trial sites will allow pubs, clubs and entertainment venues to allow 30 fully vaccinated people indoors and 100 outdoors, provided they can show electronic or hard copy vaccination passports.Victorian Industry Support and Recovery Minister Martin Pakula says the state will begin trialling a vaccinated economy at up to 20 nominated sites across regional Victoria from October 11. “It’s about seeing how our vaccinated economy system might work, and we will trial that with higher patron numbers and crowds with everyone on site being confirmed as fully vaccinated,” Mr Pakula said.“So in terms of the sort of settings and the industries where we think those trials may work, hospitality, hair and beauty, tourism, some types of events, so potentially race meetings, concerts, community gatherings, all of those types of events will be able to be considered for trials of the double-vax economy.”While he was “confident” the commonwealth government would soon find a way to protect the Medicare app from hackers and forged vaccination passports, Mr Pakula said it was vital not to delay the trial so any issues could be resolved before the 70 per cent vaccination mark was reached.He also flagged a further trial to road test the 80 per cent freedoms could be trialled in metropolitan areas, potentially allowing crowds of up to 5000 at events such as the Melbourne Cup, if the lockdown had not already ended.Premier Daniel Andrews also announced that Victoria would reach its 80 per cent single dose vaccination target on Tuesday, allowing a modest easing of some restrictions.Geelong’s week-long lockdown was lifted at midnight on Sunday, despite the city recording six new Covid cases.However, the good news was tempered by another 779 cases announced on Sunday, as well as the number hospitalised growing to 325 including 73 in intensive care and 54 on ventilators. Eighty per cent of those in hospital are unvaccinated.Deputy chief health officer Deb Friedman on Sunday also announced one person in their 70s and another in their 80s had died of Covid. “These people had been eligible for vaccination from the first day of our vaccine rollout in Victoria however, the two individuals who passed away were not vaccinated,” she said.RESTRICTION CHANGES PRISON SHUT DOWN BY COVID SCARERavenhall Correctional Centre has been placed in lockdown after two staff members tested positive for Covid. The movement of prisoners has been suspended while contact tracing is carried out, Corrections Victoria said in a statement. “Corrections Victoria is working with the Department of Health to assist with contact tracing,” it read. It brings the number of cases within Victoria’s prison system to 20, with 12 inmates and eight workers infected. Prisoners have tested positive at the Metropolitan Remand Centre (six cases), Melbourne Assessment Prison (five cases) and the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre (one case). “All prisoners have been managed under quarantine arrangements since their arrival into custody and are being held in isolation units in accordance with established operational processes,” the statement reads. The remaining six cases are staff members at the Metropolitan Remand Centre, where the movement of prisoners has also been suspended. The first case was identified on September 19, with several people testing positive over the following days. Vaccinate target chartINFECTIOUS PROTESTER POSES RISK A second protester who attended an illegal anti-lockdown rally has tested positive for Covid-19. Health authorities say the Geelong man, aged in his 30s, was unlikely to have contracted the virus at the widely condemned demonstrations last week. But he did pose a risk to others because he attended while infectious. “Protesters are not immune from Covid,” Covid response commander Jeroen Weimar said. “I suspect there wasn’t a QR code for the demonstration. This virus will find you out.” Several police officers remain in isolation after coming into contact with the first Covid-infected protester, who was taken to hospital just hours after taking part in Wednesday’s unrest. Smaller groups of anti-vaxxers on Sunday gathered for “park picnic protests” across Melbourne to protest against industry vaccination mandates.Protesters were encouraged to link up with one another in Telegram chats, with each chat dedicated to a particular picnic.These stretched from Anglesea around Port Phillip to Rye on the Mornington Peninsula. It was not known on Sunday if police had made arrests in relation to illegal picnics.NED-4476-Covid-19-Vaccine-Rates-MelbourneMORE HELP FOR STRUGGLING BUSINESSDesperate city businesses will get more help from a Melbourne City Council program after a $1m budget boost.With continuous lockdowns devastating the CBD, the council’s business concierge service will be ramped up over the next few weeks to prepare for the easing of some restrictions next month.Industry groups have criticised the state government’s recent road map which only allows limited reopening when Victoria hits 70 per cent fully vaccinated in late October.Lord Mayor Sally Capp said thousands of businesses were accessing the concierge service in one of the most difficult trading periods in living memory.“We know ongoing restrictions are significantly impacting our local business owners, and many are struggling to survive,” she said. “We’re hearing from operators who are scared and frustrated, and desperate to reopen.“Our business concierge team has done a mighty job since being introduced in March last year, which is why we allocated $1m in this year’s budget to expand the important service.”National – 2021 – Covid Vaccination StatsMORRISON’S WISHLIST FOR CHRISTMASPrime Minister Scott Morrison says his Christmas wish is for Aussies to get “their lives back”. He is urging state and territory leaders to allow families to reunite interstate once Australia hits its 80 per cent vaccination target.“That is within the gift of governments, and that’s a gift I’d like to see us give them,” Mr Morrison said. “We have been very successful (at) saving lives, but we’ve also got to give people their lives back.” He said that while tough restrictions had a “used-by date”, other measures would stay under phase C of the national reopening plan. “There will be the QR code logins and … wearing masks, perhaps occasionally, in particular settings,” he said. Health Minister Greg Hunt said the nation was on track to beat the 80 per cent vaccination target, with NSW and ACT first dose rates above 85 per cent. “That means that there should be no barriers to any Australian being able to travel,” Mr Hunt said. He refused to be drawn on how long it would take to reach phase D of the plan, which does not rely on restrictions or lockdowns to minimise Covid cases.LEADERS OPTIMISTIC ON REBUILDINGBusiness and community leaders have come together to plan Victoria’s post-Covid path to recovery, declaring it an opportunity to rebuild the state better than ever. The inaugural “Victoria Summit 2021” outlined a broad vision for the state through a series of working groups, led by Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra. The meeting, believed to be the first of its kind in Australia, aimed to plot a course to where Melbourne and Victoria would be in the coming decades, Mr Guerra said. “If you step back and have a look, there’s still a lot of good things but there’s also an opportunity to close the gaps on emerging issues,” he said.The working groups were led by prominent Victorians including Tim Piper of the Australian Industry Group, Swinburne vice-chancellor Pascale Quester and VCOSS chief executive Emma King. Delegates will meet again next month in the next stage of the meeting process to work out practical ways to turn the vision into reality and ensure the state’s prosperity.The meeting’s visions were split into three categories: business and economy; community, health and wellbeing; and future of work.Deoples COVID-19 Victorian Exposure Sites Table
Powered by WPeMatico
