More than 30 Tier 1 exposure sites were added to Victoria’s rapidly growing list on Saturday, as a small country town vows to shut Melburnians out and rising cases spark doubt over the lockdown’s end date.
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More than 30 Tier 1 exposure sites were added to the growing list across Victoria on Saturday, as the Premier called for people to stay vigilant.
Daniel Andrews has urged Victorians to continue to monitor the growing coronavirus exposure site list, with the number of impacted venues continues to climb at rapid pace.
Taking to Twitter, the Premier said: “The current exposure sites show that we’re a real social bunch … so it’s no surprise that we’re seeing exposure sites where people have been having a bite, travelling to and from games and at watch parties over the last week or so.”
He called on those living in Melbourne or regional Victoria to “please check the list … because we need to slow the spread of the virus, and we need your help to do it.”
The call-out comes as health authorities were scouring through CCTV footage of a popular CBD venue after a positive infection attended a Euro Finals event at a pub.
The Crafty Squire on Russell Street was visited by a confirmed case between 3am and 8.15am on Monday, July 12.
The venue has now been deemed a Tier 1 exposure site.
A letter sent to all ticketholders for the event, and seen by the Herald Sun, confirmed anyone who attended the venue at that time must get tested and immediately quarantine.
The number of primary close contacts linked to the site will be revealed on Sunday, the Department of Health confirmed.
COUNTRY TOWN BEGGING MELBURNIANS TO STAY AWAY
A small country town is pleading for Melburnians to stay away as Victoria’s rising cases spark concern lockdown could be extended.
The town of Maldon, 30 minutes from Bendigo, is home to about 1153 people, but many locals suspect that number increased this weekend.
Maldon resident and Mt Alexander Shire councillor Stephen Gardner said people from Melbourne had fled to their holiday houses, risking the town’s elderly population.
“We need to shut Melbourne out,” he said.
“In the little supermarket there was 30-odd people I didn’t know.
“It’s a worry, particularly for people in the supermarket who are our lowest paid workers, and they’re our most exposed.”
Mr Gardner said Maldon had had only one Covid case since the start of the pandemic.
“I would hope, though, going forward regional Victoria isn’t kept in lockdown,” he said.
But local dog groomer Andrea Lee said the town never should have been subject to stay-at-home restrictions and pleaded for Premier Daniel Andrews to set them free.
“We haven’t had any cases up here for a long time,” she said. “Country towns are really struggling.
“I think everyone is feeling like it’s groundhog day; we’re very flat and deflated.
“The government needs to be releasing regional Victoria, not putting us into the same stringent lockdown they’re putting Melbourne into.”
The Maldon local said she had lost most of her business, but didn’t qualify for assistance.
“Financially it’s a huge loss,” Ms Lee said.
She said people “had a right” to come to their holiday houses pre-lockdown, but urged them not to travel for “incorrect reasons”.
“It’s not fair to jeopardise country towns and regional Victoria just so you’re more comfortable,” Ms Lee said.
Mum of five Louise Layne said she was “glad” the town was locked down as there were a number of regional exposure sites, but she hoped it would be over soon.
“It is really frustrating that we’re in this situation because people didn’t follow the rules,” she said.
“If people die because of this outbreak … because they were selfish, that’s a really sad thing.”
Ms Layne said she was avoiding town, wary of people who may have travelled.
“It is at the back of my mind, you just hope that people think sensibly,” she said.
It comes as the number of regional exposure sites – concentrated in Philip Island with more than 14 Tier 1 sites – has country Victorians worried any lockdown extension will be statewide.
ONLINE LEARNING SPARKS ANXIETY
Stressed out parents are desperate to know when students can return to school as fears of a longer lockdown loom.
Children across the state will log back into Zoom and Google Classroom on Monday as Melbourne parents worry what a fifth lockdown means for their kids’ learning.
The Parenthood executive director Georgie Dent said parents were under an incredible amount of “mental and emotional pressure” juggling paid work, running a household and home schooling. “We know 2020 really severely stretched the wellbeing of parents and children and nowhere more than Victoria,” she said.
“I think the sense of despair is greater because it’s the cumulative picture of uncertainty and stress.”
Concern their children would fall behind could add to their anxiety, she said.
“Most parents are fully aware that even with the very best of intentions they cannot replicate the full school classroom experience. Parents, unless they’re trained educators, don’t have the skills that teachers have.
“Because this has been such a lengthy experience … does exacerbate concerns for parents about what their children are missing out on from a learning perspective.”
An Independent Education Union spokesman said schools had done a great job to support their students but the situation was “exhausting”.
Dad Jonathon Pannuzzo said he worried about the lost learning opportunities for his kids Milla, 10 and Christian, 9.
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2021-07-17 21:48:57Z
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