Watch: Premier Daniel Andrews press conference
Watch Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' daily press conference from 10.30am here. We'll bring you text updates in the blog too.
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'This is freedom': Readers share experiences from open Melbourne
There have been some great reader contributions this morning from those who are out or planning to go out and enjoy shops, restaurants, cafes and more.
There's this, from the poetic Susan Wakefield:
"It’s not really about the shopping as much as it is having a sense of community again--we are social animals, and have been starved of the most basic need to gather. I stopped by K-mart with other hunter gatherers, but the enjoyment wasn't in the shopping; it was in the small greetings, the sharing of pleasantries, of feeling like we had just gone through something awful together. This is freedom."
Catherine is marking a special occasion tonight:
"We've booked family dinner tonight at Tazio on Flinders Lane to celebrate my daughter's birthday (one day late but hey!) and I can't wait!!"
And Celia was out enjoying the simple things this morning:
"Had my morning coffee actually sitting down at a table at the cafe I bought the coffee from. Bliss! What a great way to start the workday. Those little things make so much difference."
What are you up to today? Let us know here:
A reminder Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' press conference starts at 10.30am, we'll be live streaming it and bringing you updates here.
Water births permitted again at Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne
By Melissa Cunningham
Water births are now permitted at the Royal Women's Hospital in Melbourne following a temporary ban due to concerns wet protective equipment could render healthcare workers more vulnerable to the virus.
Melbourne's Royal Women's Hospital is offering water births again.Credit:Getty Images
"We are happy to announce the use of water during labour is now permitted," a statement from the hospital said this morning.
"We know this is popular in birth plans and we are pleased to be able to have this as an option for our patients, provided it is safe for mum and bub."
This includes water immersion and showers, the hospital said.
In August, midwives and doctors were at odds over the controversial move to ban women from having water births and hot showers while in labour in Victorian hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic as new cases of coronavirus soared.
The ban saw a shift in women opting for home births late in their pregnancies.
Jan Ireland, director of private midwifery centre MAMA in Kensington, said late last month phone calls from Victorian pregnant women inquiring about home births had tripled this year.
Victorian opposition wants parliamentary inquiry into contact tracing
By Sumeyya Ilanbey
The Victorian Opposition will today move a motion in the upper house to establish a parliamentary inquiry into the state's contact tracing system that buckled under pressure during the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Andrews government has been heavily criticised for its contact tracing failures, with the federal government, state opposition and top industry groups among the loudest critics of Victoria's track and trace system.
Opposition health spokeswoman and senior Liberal MP Georgie Crozier.Credit:Justin McManus
Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier will move a motion for the Legal Social Issues Committee to launch and inquiry, and provide an initial report back to the Legislative Council by November 30.
"[The inquiry will] consider and monitor the capacity and fitness for purpose of the Victorian government's COVID-19 contact tracing system and testing regime," the motion states.
"And in doing so consult with businesses, including small business representatives, the community sector and Victoria's multicultural communities."
The Opposition is unlikely to be able to get enough votes to pass the motion.
Premier Daniel Andrews has previously pointed to Victoria successfully crushing the second wave of the pandemic as evidence the state's contact tracing system has improved.
Victoria has also moved away from the centralised contact tracing model and established suburban and regional hubs; it has begun to use a computer-based system in lieu of pen and paper; and has been contacting close contacts within 36 hours of a confirmed case getting tested.
When the Premier delayed reopening announcements on Sunday because of an outbreak that emerged in Melbourne's northern suburbs, political and industry critics said it pointed to the government's lack of confidence in its contact tracing efforts.
Andrews press conference at 10.30am, Berejiklian at 11am
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews will hold his 118th consecutive press conference at 10.30am today, before he moves on to Parliament question time at midday.
Meanwhile, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian will speak to media at 11am alongside Health Minister Brad Hazzard and Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant.
We will live stream both and bring you text updates here in the live blog, so check back in or, better yet, don't go away.
Melbourne meets target of under five mystery cases
By Craig Butt
Here's some analysis of today's case numbers in Victoria from our data whizz Craig Butt:
The tally of mystery cases confirmed in the past fortnight has fallen to three, meaning Melbourne has achieved both of the targets for reopening set out in the state government's roadmap.
Mystery cases are coronavirus infections that cannot be traced to a known cluster, and are the cases that concern health authorities the most because they suggest the virus is circulating in the community.
The targets were for a 14-day average of below five (which was reached on October 25) and for there to be five or fewer mystery cases over the previous fortnight (which was reached today).
Of the two new cases confirmed today, one has already been linked to a known cluster while the infection source of the second is still being investigated.
The infection source for six people who tested positive over the past fortnight is still being investigated, and some of them could potentially be classed as mystery cases if the health department cannot determine how these people contracted the virus.
What are you seeing or doing in Melbourne today?
Shops, restaurants, cafes and pubs across Melbourne are marking the jolly milestone of their first day open in almost four months today.
So what are you planning to do? Have you been out and about already this morning? I hope all are maintaining their distance, wearing a mask, washing hands and staying vigilant. Let us know here:
Salvatore Cultrera welcomes customers back at his restaurant Notturno in Carlton this morning.Credit:Justin McManus
Victoria records two cases, two deaths
Another promising day of case numbers for Victoria, with two new cases confirmed overnight. Unfortunately, there have been two more deaths.
Melbourne's 14-day rolling average is at 2.7 and there have been three mystery cases in the last fortnight - that's a drop-off of three from yesterday. Happy days.
In more amazing news, regional Victoria has had zero cases in the last 14 days.
Epidemiologists praise Victorian approach as we await today's case numbers
As we wait for today's case numbers in Victoria to be released by the Health Department (it's normally about 9am), it's worth looking at how the state's restrictions are trick.
Leading epidemiologists have praised the Andrews government for the slow and steady approach to guiding Victoria out of the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic, saying the latest easing of restrictions strikes the right balance.
Wednesday will mark 118 consecutive press conferences for Premier Daniel Andrews.Credit:Luis Enrique Ascui
Melburnians are now allowed to visit each other in their homes, marking another step on the road to economic and social recovery following 15 long weeks of lockdown.
"What we, all of us as Victorians, have built is a precious thing but it is fragile," Premier Daniel Andrews said yesterday.
"We want everyone to be vigilant, and understand that ... we can't take it for granted."
The Burnet Institute's Mike Toole, who at the end of the first wave of the pandemic raised concerns about the speed at which restrictions were lifted, said he was buoyed by the government's current cautious approach.
He said he expected restrictions on household gatherings to ease some more but warned against allowing 20 people to meet at homes, as was allowed after the first wave.
"The hotel quarantine leak alone didn't start the second wave," Professor Toole said. "It was fuelled by the easing of restrictions ... there were large family gatherings and we don't want that this time.
"I would expect the government to ease restrictions gradually, maybe from two to five to 10, but I wouldn't like it to get to 20 again."
'Political expediency should not overrule what is good for citizens': Berejiklian
By Mary Ward
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has continued her criticism of state border closures in media appearances this morning, telling Today she has been discussing the reopening of the border with Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk's LNP challenger at Saturday's state election.
"Deb [Frecklington] and I have a great working relationship – I was in touch with her yesterday and she feels strongly about keeping jobs in our state and getting tourism up and running," Ms Berejiklian said of her Liberal colleague.
Not happy, Gladys: NSW Premier is hoping the Queensland border will open on Friday.Credit:James Gourley
The Premier said she still believed her own border closure with Victoria was justified, but she did not understand why other states had been treating NSW as a similar risk state.
"What has been frustrating for me is people have lumped NSW and Victoria together for the last few months and that simply isn't the case," she said.
"NSW has managed to have a thriving economy, we're getting jobs back. We're allowing our citizen as much freedom as possible in a COVID-safe way. You can't compare NSW to what Victoria's been through and that's why the Queensland government completely lacks rationality."
Queensland has said it will reopen to NSW or Victoria from November 1 if either state has recorded 28 days without a mystery coronavirus case.
With Tasmania announcing it will reopen to NSW residents next month, the Premier said she suspected Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan was also waiting for his own state election.
"The WA Premier doesn't have an election until March next year and is clearly holding out for that but it is not fair for citizens in Australia to suffer as a consequence," she said.
"Political expediency should not overrule what is good for citizens."
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2020-10-27 23:27:00Z
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