One of the 253 overseas travellers who arrived in Melbourne on Monday has been sent to a “hot hotel” with COVID symptoms. It comes as WA reopens border to Victorians.
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Victorians have been assured the revamped hotel quarantine program is “gold standard”, as the first of thousands of returned travellers touched down in Melbourne on Monday.
One of the 253 people who arrived in Melbourne on Monday showed symptoms of coronavirus and was transferred to a “hot hotel”.
It could put an end to Victoria’s streak of having no new case for 38 days.
Police Minister Lisa Neville took full responsibility for the new program, after the first version sparked the state’s second COVID-19 wave, which claimed more than 800 lives.
“I am confident we have the best system we can, the most robust system we can, to minimise the risk of any significant outbreaks of this virus,” Ms Neville said at Melbourne Airport on Monday.
“We have the best standards in the country, to give the best assurance and best protections for Victoria. We have robust systems in the hotels with the staff to minimise the risk and a strong contact tracing system that will immediately get in action.
“I take responsibility for this program. I see it as a challenge.
“The Australian healthcare professionals gave it a gold standard the other day. We are very confident we have put in the most stringent risk management structures and oversight that we can possibly do.”
Ms Neville said authorities would “absolutely be upfront” with the public should another outbreak occur.
On Monday, 253 people returned to Melbourne, up from the expected 160 “cap” per day.
Returned travellers will initially be sent to two hotels, the Park Royal and the Pan Pacific, just off a street aptly named Rona Walk.
A “health” hotel, where the symptomatic passenger and eight others with medical needs were taken on Monday, has also been set up.
Ms Neville said day one had gone “according to plan”.
“They (Victorians) can absolutely be assured this program has been completely reset,” she said.
“This is a completely different program from the time someone boards a plane overseas right through to the day they leave hotel quarantine.
“Of course we have humans involved in this so there is always an element of risk.
“The risk is much lower than it was previously. It is our number one priority. We will continue to assess and upgrade it if needed.”
WA TO REOPEN BORDER TO VICTORIA ON TUESDAY
Christmas has come early to Victorians with family in WA, or chasing a holiday out west, with WA Premier Mark McGowan confirming the border restrictions would lift on Tuesday as planned.
Victorians can now travel quarantine-free to Western Australia for the first time in eight months.
A final decision about reopening to NSW and Victoria was delayed until Monday after a hotel worker tested positive to coronavirus in Sydney.
Mr McGowan thanked people for their patience and understanding after WA’s border had been shut since April 6.
He said despite the bungle that saw two international travellers skip hotel quarantine in Sydney and board a flight to Melbourne, the state felt it was still safe to reopen.
“All through the pandemic I’ve made it crystal clear that Western Australia will take a careful, cautious approach to opening the border,” he said.
Jetstar has announced it will be the first commercial airline to fly direct from the east coast to the Margaret River region.
It will offer three flights a week from Melbourne to Busselton from February 1, with fares starting at $149 one way.
The new route was due to launch in March this year but those plans were grounded by the pandemic.
Jetstar group chief executive Gareth Evans said he expected there would be strong demand for the flights.
“Margaret River is renowned for its food, natural beauty and surf beaches and offers a great variety of experiences for travellers looking to explore more of Australia in 2021,” he said.
BERWICK CLOTHING STORE FIGHTS COVID FINE
A Berwick retailer has vowed to fight an almost $10,000 fine in court after he reopened his shop during stage four restrictions.
Harry’s Clothing owner Harry Hutchinson, who was slapped with a $9913 fine for operating in breach of the stage 4 Chief Health Officer directions in October, said he refused to pay the hefty fine saying he was providing an essential service during restrictions.
“It’s my right to run a business and I was providing essential clothing to people who were attending funerals and also for my community who supported me,” Mr Hutchinson said.
Read the full news report here.
HERO COVID GUARD ‘IN RIGHT PLACE AT RIGHT TIME’
A switched-on security guard who raised the alarm about two German travellers who’d mistakenly bypassed quarantine says he was just doing his job.
Claudio Cominotto, who was working at Melbourne Airport on Saturday afternoon when the mum and teenage son approached asking where to quarantine, immediately alerted duty manager Peter Mikha.
The hero duo, who have worked together for seven years, have been praised for averting a potential virus disaster.
Mr Cominotto, among about 180 people forced to isolate over the scare, exclusively told the Herald Sun: “I was just at the right place at the right time and doing my job.”
VICTORIA LOSING CREDIT RATING AFTER SECOND WAVE ‘NOT A BIG DEAL’
If ever there was a good time to lose a AAA credit rating, it is right now – especially as NSW is coming down with Victoria and for exactly the same reason, writes Terry McCrann.
This is the soaring state debt – Victoria’s is going to $153bn, NSW’s ‘only’ to $104bn, and so NSW was downgraded only one notch to AA plus, while Victoria went down two notches to AA.
There are three big reasons why in 2020 it’s not that big a deal – and certainly very, very different to when Victoria lost its AAA rating as the ‘rust-bucket state’ in the depths of the recession of the early 1990s.
Read his COVID economic analysis here.
RETAIL, HOSPITALITY FOCUS OF COVID COMPLIANCE CHECKS
Retail and hospitality have been the focus of government agencies monitoring Covid safety compliance as the restrictions ease with a total of 155,572 businesses contacted.
As consumers encounter a mixed bag of approaches from retailers, from stringently enforced to near non-existent, the Department of Human Services, WorkSafe, Department of Transport, Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions and the Victorian Fisheries Authority, with the support of the Victoria Police, have been checking relevant businesses are complying with COVID-Safe requirements.
Read the full report here
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2020-12-07 20:26:25Z
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