Under new testing changes, those who test positive on a RAT will be considered "probable" cases and must isolate immediately for seven days and notify their contacts. Victoria recorded eight new cases on Wednesday, seven of them linked to a returned family and a crew of removalists, who both came into the state from NSW. The pandemic has highlighted the vital role public health plays in keeping the community safe and healthy, so it needs adequate resources in future. AEST = Australian Eastern Standard Time which is 10 hours ahead of GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), abc.net.au/news/covid-restrictions-tighten-in-victoria-to-slow-spread-of-omicron/100741342. Any one of these things could have led to the increase in numbers, together they are leading to big numbers. Two months ago, Premier Daniel Andrews said Victorians could expect a summer filled with the "normality we've all craved" due to the state's strong vaccination coverage. Face masks are required at all major events with more than 30,000 people. Australia's two largest states have kicked off 2022 with record COVID cases - while others have opted to change restrictions. Welcome to the Coronation! On Friday 7th January 2022, 21,728 cases were recorded in Victoria, However at 9.18am on Saturday 8th January 2022, the Victoria Department of Health twitted out that the number of new cases was 51,356. Australia recorded more cases in the first two weeks of 2022 than in the previous two years combined. Its a story repeated in every Australian state, except Western Australia. It is up to individuals to determine and manage their own risk. A further two cases were family members of Ariele apartments residents and one case was believed to have been infected at Coles in Craigieburn where a family returning from a red zone were not isolating. postcodes 3038, 3064, 3047, 3060, 3012, 3032, 3055, 3042, 3021 and 3046 will go back into lockdown from July 2. They have a terrific impact on transmission - that is as true for Omicron as for any variant.'. You can find Tuesday's blog here. Around one third of businesses in Melbournes Chapel Street precinct have had to shut or reduce hours in recent weeks due to Covid-induced staff shortages. In the early part of the pandemic, the amount of effort needed to reach these groups was underestimated. 'Like a lockdown': in 2022, Australians are still feeling the fear and anxiety of Covid Most of the population is vaccinated and harsh restrictions have ended. Its been revealed when Australia will experience the next Covid surge, but one state is expected to reach its peak much sooner than the rest. There will be another pandemic and potentially this will occur sooner than we all would like. The comments below have not been moderated. The 'winter shot': Everything you need to know about getting your next COVID-19 booster, If you catch COVID again, will your symptoms be worse? But maybe Im wrong. He said authorities estimated one in 20 Victorians aged in their 20s currently had the virus, compared to onein 50 Victorians of all ages. Two had travelled to Wuhan, China, and the third was a close contact of the two travellers. The three new cases are all believed to be linked to the apartment building where the removalists worked without face coverings. But to the credit of the authorities, efforts were boosted in the second part of 2020 and beyond, building resources that were language and culturally appropriate and partnering with community leaders to design local public health interventions and disseminate messages. 'Think of Christmas Day when you're going to see elderly relatives, and wear a mask it's pretty simple.'. This resulted in the state being able to emerge from the final lockdown five days ahead of schedule and the return of freedoms so desperately desired. Covid-19 was first detected in Australia on January 25, 2020. Nationwide News Pty Ltd 2023. But the Victoria government waited far longer than we did to go into the lockdown situation," Ms Berejiklian said. one of the longest aggregate periods of strict lockdown, outbreaks that devastated the aged-care sector, Multilingual Australia is missing out on vital COVID-19 information. The announcement of the restrictions comes a fortnight after density limits and the closure of indoor dancefloors were recommended by the Chief Health Officer as the state headed towards Christmas and New Year celebrations. COVID-19 Victoria 2022: The mood in Melbourne in another COVID winter National Victoria Coronavirus pandemic This was published 3 months ago Measuring Melbourne's mood as the city weathers another COVID winter Neil McMahon July 16, 2022 7.52pm Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size We need to get that down to is close to zero as possible," she said. Northcote woman Phoebe* is also feeling a sense of arrested development. Originally published at Upon Hope. As the virus. NSW has recorded 97 new Covid-19 cases in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. The state government put Melbourne into its second lockdown in early July after cases exceeded 100 cases per day. Covid-19 case numbers are on the increase across the state with 2,005 new infections and ten deaths reported on Thursday. There are confirmed positive cases on board at the time, and 130 people test positive within a week. August 5, 2021 Victoria. The Victorian Premier has spoken out after Queensland moved to make major changes to its drug laws. #CovidVic. Guardian Australia spoke to more than 40 people about how they were feeling at the start of the third year of the pandemic. Partly empty shelves in Sydneys inner west caused by Covid-induced supply chain issues. The deputy premier said the changes were 'modest measures' that would protect the state's health system from the recent surge in infections. More than 90 per cent of those who had a positive RAT result, ended up with a positive PCR test, he said. Decisions had to be made quickly, often with only limited and uncertain evidence, and most importantly, without the all-knowing benefit of hindsight. Some wouldn't survive. It's usual to see a lull in public transport use over the summer holidays, and network and road upgrades have caused disruption to some services. The government is also looking at providing free rapid antigen tests to help curb the spread of the virus as well as relieving pressure off medical workers. 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More than 2000 people who attended an MCG match between Carlton and Geelong on July 10 are also on alert after the game was attended by an infected person. Living in Victoria the last couple of years has been really tough. Restrictions were the same as Melbourne, but . "The reason why we want to provide that 2-week period at least is so that parents who are teaching children or supervising children from home know that unfortunately for an additional two weeks at least their children will need to learn from home.". (ABC News: Peter Drought) Victoria announces tough new lockdown measures, including the 5km rule and an overnight curfew. "In regards to the balancing of economic, social, mental health, cultural and just family reasons, that was the appropriate decision," he said. "It is a true lockdown, but of course it wasn't announced and therefore we haven't entered it all at once, and because it wasn't announced or planned, we're not going to be able to exit it all at once either," he said. Check your spam folder for our confirmation email! "We are will have to vaccinate again against Covid and will have further advice about boosters but in the context of an outbreak, what we want to do is give people the advice so that they are protected.". Over at worldometers we find some different numbers: The question is what has changed in the past few weeks to have led to this large increase in cases? A fortnight ago on December 23, Victoria reported 2,005 new cases. Victoria asks (but does not mandate) people to wear masks in public for the first time. worldwide to bring our readers ways to connect with their cities and support urban culture without leaving home. Victoria on Thursday confirmed. pic.twitter.com/YfNptxyua5. It was no surprise for those of us familiar with the Victorian health department that at times it struggled to cope during the pandemic. Melbourne COVID testing centres have been busy.Scott McNaughton Mr Morrison said on Tuesday that Australia would not go back into lockdowns, but a recommendation from the country's chief health officers for using masks in indoor settings was "very sensible". In a way, the statement still holds. We paid the price [of lockdown], we bought the government time to build capacity in our health services. Victoria will not be sent back into lockdown despite a surge in cases linked to the hyper-contagious OmicronCovid strain, the state's deputy premier has vowed. "That is the number, the 24 number is what we need to get down to is close to zero as possible," she said. He said the lockdown, which had "sort of emerged organically", would also bring with it different levels of anxiety, uncertainty and confusion for some people. Lockdown measures ease in regional Victoria but remain in metropolitan Melbourne. Some email providers try to silence us. Two years [living in a pandemic] is very different to five years when you only get three good months every year.. Chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said this advice is particularly aimed at those in Greater Sydney. 'Providing rapid-antigen testing kits for those who want to do the right thing will help take the pressure of our testing clinics, while giving people confidence to get on with their lives.'. Guardian Australia journalist Melissa Davey said there was "no way (the Victorian government) will delay any restrictions they think are needed given the way Delta is spreading in NSW". Up to five visitors to a household at any one time. The Ukraine war may be a battle for the global order but whose rules are we fighting for? The messy family drama behind one of the world's biggest K-pop empires, as the wave of infections sends staff into isolation at the same time COVID-19 patients are growing, Victorian hospitalisations surge to 631 as state records nearly 22,000 new infections, Timely reminder: How to respond if you test positive to COVID-19. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Despite the efforts of the Victorian Aged Care Response Centre, a new unit specifically formed to bring these outbreaks under control, hundreds of elderly people died unnecessarily. The uptake of COVID vaccines by Victorians was nothing short of remarkable. In doing this, the objective is not to blame. @newscomauHQ pic.twitter.com/Bq8oMG9FID. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Fronting up to press conferences day after day and answering all of the tough questions was important for many reasons. Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group. Nonetheless, Friday's Google mobility data, which compares activity to a pre-pandemic baseline of several weeks over January and February in 2020, showed retail and recreation activity in the City of Melbourne falling62 per cent below the baseline. But will it be safer for women? University of Melbourne mobility analyst Rohan Byrne said mobility in Melbourne had "plummeted" to its lowest point since the last lockdown, even compared to previous holiday seasons. Earlier, one locally acquired case was announced before a press conference at 11.30am where a further seven cases were announced. Hospitality venues are recommended to switch to a seated-only service. You are not even fielding inquiries its school holidays in January, thats not right.. Switching to rapid antigen would slash these numbers and stop testing sites being overwhelmed by the 'worried well' and delay testing for those who are feeling sick. The government has also announced a raft of "strong recommendations": that people take a RAT before visiting aged care facilities and hospitals, and work from home until late January. Victorian Covid-19 testing head Jeroen Weimar said four of the new cases on Wednesday were linked to the Ariele apartment complex. "This is a hard lockdown. He said that was a breach of the conditions of their permit. Key points: From Friday, Victorians must register their positive at-home RAT results on a government portal Health Minister Martin Foley said about one in 50 Victorians currently had COVID-19 Mr Foley said there was no plan to introduce a lockdown and that Victorians had to "coexist" with the virus 'We are not considering going into lockdown and this is the commitment that we gave to the people of Victoria,' Deputy Premier James Merlino said, Beachgoers in St Kilda in Melbourne. A leading Australian infectious disease expert has ripped into one of the most draconian measures enforced during the pandemic. "We will know at the end of two weeks to what extent we need to extend the lockdown, whether there is any chance of face-to-face schooling. Thats no-ones fault, it is the nature of this virus and people are making their own choices, to not go out as much as they might have., To join the conversation, please But the state as a whole has been sealed off from neighbouring New South Wales and South Australia. For most, the threat posed by Covid has eased 92.4% of Australians over the age of 16 are fully vaccinated, and 18% have also had a booster shot. These include the reasons listed in Victoria, in addition to things like attending weddings or funerals. Multilingual Australia is missing out on vital COVID-19 information. The Premier also hinted that parts of Regional Victoria may be able to exit lockdown "before next Tuesday if it is safe to do so." How can I best get on with living my best life?, NSW expects Covid hospitalisations to peak next week. Mr Southwick called for the government to extend the Commercial Tenancy Relief Scheme for a further three months, to help thousands of small businesses avoid rent increases. A scuffed copy of the Koran. Two years of mostly home schooling has given his youngest child, who started kindergarten in 2020, social anxiety, and his older child had a panic attack at the prospect of returning to face-to-face learning. Whether the period spent in lockdown and the desire to do anything it took to avoid more of the same was a motivating factor, or whether there were other reasons for this, does not really matter.