VIRUS DISEASES – VICTORIA

Warnings will not stop defiant Andrews – Premier dismisses concerns

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Original article by Shannon Deery,Mitch Clarke,Kieran Rooney
Herald Sun – Page: 9 : 17-Nov-21

Premier Daniel Andrews says the Victorian government will not back down on its controversial pandemic laws, despite growing opposition. Andrews is confident that the bill will be passed by parliament’s upper house with the support of three crossbenchers and with no further amendments. Victorian Bar president Roisn Annesley says the amendments that have been accepted by the government do not go far enough in protecting the rule of law, and contends that they do not address the most fundamental problems with the bill

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET,VICTORIAN BAR INCORPORATED

Andrews’ pandemic powers risk state rule by decree

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Original article by Rachel Baxendale, Angelica Snowden
The Australian – Page: 5 : 11-Nov-21

The Victorian Bar has urged the state government to reconsider its controversial new pandemic laws. Amongst other things, it has expressed concern that the Department of Health could exercise its new powers under the legislation without sufficient oversight by parliament. Sixty barristers have in turn signed an open letter in which they warn that the legislation would enable the government to effectively rule the state by decree for the foreseeable future. The bill was passed by the lower house in October and will require the support of at least three crossbenchers in the upper house.

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VICTORIAN BAR INCORPORATED

New move could gift Andrews unprecedented power

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Original article by Shannon Deery
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 26-Oct-21

The Victorian government will shortly introduce a bill to parliament that will replace the existing state of emergency powers, which have been in place since March 2020. The draft bill would give Premier Daniel Andrews the power to declare a pandemic and extend it indefinitely for three months at a time. The proposed legislation would also transfer authority to issue public health orders from the state’s chief health officer to the minister for health. Shadow Attorney General Tim Smith has questioned the need to hand more power to Andrews, given his government’s handling of the pandemic.

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Victoria AMA says Covid-deniers and anti-vaxxers should opt out of public health system and let nature run its course

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Original article by Melissa Davey
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 22-Oct-21

Anti-vaxxers and covid-deniers should update their advanced care plans and inform their relatives that they do not wish to be treated in the public health care system if they become infected with COVID-19, and let "nature run its course". This is according to Australian Medical Association Victorian president Dr Roderick McRae, with his comments coming as Victoria prepares to ease some of its restrictions as it passes the 70 per cent double vaccination target. He has urged Victorians celebrating the easing of restrictions not to get drunk and have any accidents that will result in them needing medical care, because the "hospitals are full".

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AUSTRALIAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION LIMITED

Victoria scraps isolation, COVID testing requirements for fully vaccinated visitors from NSW

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Original article by Simone Fox Koob, Cassandra Morgan
The Age – Page: Online : 20-Oct-21

Victoria recorded 1,749 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, and an additional 11 deaths from the current outbreak. Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has warned that unvaccinated Victorians may not enjoy the same freedoms as fully-vaccinated people until "well into 2022". The government has also advised of changes to its border permit system. Greater Sydney will be downgraded from a ‘red zone’ to ‘orange’ at 11:59pm on Wednesday, which will allow fully-vaccinated residents to enter Victoria without having to quarantine or be tested for COVID-19. The new rules will also apply to regional NSW, which will be downgraded to green zones.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Victoria’s vaccine passport too easy to forge, says academic

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Original article by Clay Lucas
The Age – Page: Online : 12-Oct-21

The trial of a COVID-19 vaccine passport commenced in six local government areas in regional Victoria on 11 October. Cryptography expert Professor Vanessa Teague from the Australian National University has expressed concern that the vaccine passport is easy to forge and argues that it should not be linked to the QR code check-in system; she notes that the latter is highly invasive and already collects too much data on users. Victoria reported 1,612 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Monday, plus another eight deaths from the current outbreak. About 59 per cent of Victorian adults are now fully vaccinated, putting the state on track to achieve the 70 per cent target for reopening the economy up to a week ahead of schedule.

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AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

$700m a week wiped from Victorian economy

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Original article by Jade Gailberger, Sarah Booth
Herald Sun – Page: 6 & 7 : 4-Oct-21

Victoria recorded 1,220 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases on Sunday, following a record 1,488 cases on the previous day. The state’s death toll from the pandemic has risen by three, and there are now 11,785 active cases state-wide. Meanwhile, Melbourne has now endured 246 days of lockdown since the pandemic began, overtaking the record previously held by Buenos Aires. It has been estimated that the lockdowns have cost the state’s economy about $700m per week. Melbourne will have been in lockdown for 267 days in total by 26 October, when 70 per cent of eligible Victorians are expected to be fully vaccinated and the economy starts to reopen.

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Victoria’s exit from lockdown could be delayed if grand final case spike becomes trend

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Original article by Paul Sakkal
The Age – Page: Online : 1-Oct-21

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says "some poor choices" resulted in the state reporting a record 1,438 new COVID-19 cases on Thursday. He has not ruled out pushing back the scheduled date for relaxing Melbourne’s lockdown restrictions if case numbers and hospitalisation rates continue to rise. Contact-tracing interviews suggest that about 500 of the new cases may be linked to illegal home gatherings on the AFL grand final long weekend. COVID-19 response commander Jeroen Weimar has warned that the ‘superspreader’ event could potentially see case numbers reach the upper limit of modelling by the Burnet Institute, which formed the basis for the state government’s reopening roadmap. Victoria’s death toll from COVID-19 has risen by five, and there are now 11,018 active cases state-wide.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Victorian cases surpass NSW for first time since Delta outbreaks began

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Original article by Clay Lucas, Sumeyya Ilanbey, Caitlin Fitzsimmons
The Age – Page: Online : 29-Sep-21

Victoria has recorded 867 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases, while the number of cases in recent days has been revised upwards due to a testing error by a third-party software vendor. The state’s toll from the current outbreak has risen to 29 after another four deaths. New South Wales has in turn reported 863 new COVID-19 cases, down from a peak of more than 1,500 during the current outbreak; however, Premier Gladys Berejiklian recently warned of a likely spike in cases when the state’s economy starts to reopen in October. Meanwhile, some lockdown restrictions in Victoria were eased at 11.59pm on 28 September in line with the state’s reopening roadmap, although there will be a snap seven-day lockdown in the regional local government area of Latrobe after four new COVID-19 cases were detected.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Shorter vaccine intervals likely as Victoria races towards 80pc full vaccination target

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Original article by
abc.net.au – Page: Online : 28-Sep-21

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has ruled out applying the same COVID-19 rules to unvaccinated people once 90 per cent of the state’s eligible population is fully vaccinated. He says the state government has not begun to discuss the question of when all Victorians will be on an ‘equal footing’, adding that he has not received new medical advice about revising the state’s existing reopening roadmap. However, Andrews has flagged the possibility that the state could achieve its vaccination targets ahead of schedule, and signalled that the period between vaccine doses could be reduced if the state has certainty of vaccine supply. Victoria has recorded 705 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases, while the toll from the current outbreak has risen to 25 following the death of a man in his 70s.

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VICTORIA. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET