For months states and territories have been working towards reopening the country by the end of July — but as we enter the final stretch of easing coronavirus restrictions, Victoria has also seen a worrying increase in new cases.
That's led to the first backward step when it comes to restrictions, with stringent rules being reimposed on the residents of 10 Melbourne postcodes.
But with such a concerning move in one state, could we see other states slow down their easing of restrictions?
What was the plan to ease coronavirus restrictions?
Back in May, National Cabinet agreed on a three-step process to remove restrictions, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison indicating it could be completed by the end of this month.
Just days ago, Mr Morrison reiterated Australia was on track to meet that deadline, with states and territories all having significantly relaxed rules from where they were in April.
The restrictions roadmap was based on the premise that restrictions should be removed a piece at a time, with a cooling off period to monitor whether the changes have an impact on case numbers.
All was going well until a couple of weeks ago, when the number of COVID-19 cases detected in Victoria started to creep up.
Could restrictions change because of Victoria?
In Victoria, the plan has already changed, with some relaxations being delayed and some suburbs facing tougher rules to help contain the virus.
But that's unlikely to lead to tighter restrictions around the rest of the country, with federal health authorities saying each state and territory will make decisions based on what is happening locally.
"Every state and territory needs to look at the three steps they're moving through and make their decisions about which steps are appropriate, what restrictions can and can't be used at this time, in their own states, for their own populations," Deputy Chief Medical Officer Michael Kidd said.
"So, obviously, it's based on the local epidemiology, but also the context of what is happening right across the country."
Mr Morrison said yesterday that a hyper-local response to the virus made the most sense, and that the rest of the country should press on with easing restrictions.
"What you have to focus on is the hotspots where they occur."
What does this mean for state borders?
While states have generally been moving ahead with the easing of restrictions, a notable exception has been on the softening of borders — at least with regard to Victoria.
Yesterday, both South Australia and Queensland announced changes that would keep their borders closed to Victoria, even while allowing entry from other states.
It follows similar moves last week by the Northern Territory Government, which requires anybody who has been in the hot spot areas of Melbourne to make a declaration when they enter the territory, and self-isolate.
Anybody who gives misleading information about where they have been could be fined.
Mr Morrison is urging other states with border restrictions to follow that example.
"The Northern Territory Government has kept their borders open but they've said if you're coming from one of those hotspots, then you have to declare it and you have to go into quarantine in the NT," he said.
"That's how this should be done. That's the right way to do it."
Currently, NSW, Victoria and the ACT are the only jurisdictions with no conditions on entry at the border.
WA is the only state that has not softened its border to the rest of the country, with the state government there holding off on announcing when that might change, due to the situation in Victoria.
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2020-06-30 19:41:18Z
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