'Think of Christmas Day when you're going to see elderly relatives, and wear a mask it's pretty simple.'. Consequently, there is an urgent need to reflect on the journey and to address issues that have been raised so we can be on the front foot and do even better next time. Victoria asks (but does not mandate) people to wear masks in public for the first time. Like many who spoke to Guardian Australia, she focused on the vaccine rollout when everyone who was eligible was double-vaccinated it would be OK. Then Omicron happened, the inevitable consequence of a lack of global vaccine equity, and the promise of a return to normal life has been pushed back once more. The areas of concern are Fairfield local government area, Roselands, Rosebury, Canterbury, Belmore, Sutherland shire, the St George area, Windsor, St Ives, Penrith and Bayside local government area," she said. We currently have mask restrictions and in the Northern Territory there is an even more draconian lockdown than we had in Victoria. Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said the decision to restrict density limits further was due to the majority of cases about 40 per cent being recorded in people in their 20s, whomake up the majority of hospitality workers. Inside Prince Harry's finances from when he met Meghan Markle to landing 100M with Netflix and book Spare Do not sell or share my personal information. Will there be another lockdown in 2022? | The Independent Victoria enters lockdown for the fourth time. There are 398 Victorians receiving care in hospital with 72 in intensive care, a small increase from 394 in hospital and 70 in ICU on Wednesday. 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. Business owners at the precinct this week called on the government to bring back support payments for struggling restaurants, bars and retail shops. 'Cautious' Duke 'was careful not to attack members of the Royal family' says Royal watcher amid fears he 'He's completely beige drained of all his feisty ginger life-blood': JULIE BURCHILL'S verdict on Prince 'I felt different to the rest of my family - and my mum felt the same': Prince Harry opens up on his 'broken 'Hallucinogens have helped me to clean the windscreen of my troubled mind': Prince Harry extols the use of A 14-year-old autistic boy's naive prank. Feeling tense. A scuffed copy of the Koran. We are no longer accepting comments on this article. Restrictions were the same as Melbourne, but . The first Covid-19 case was detected in Australia on January 25, 2020. Find out more about our policy and your choices, including how to opt-out. Life is about to get very difficult for the unvaccinated, Active Cases: serious or critical: 269 (0.1%). Melburnians pictured outside Melbourne Town Hall on December 22. Massive gas tanker crashes in Maryland and EXPLODES into fireball killing the driver and setting local What will the next pandemic be? . '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.'. COVID-19 Victoria 2022: The mood in Melbourne in another - The Age 24 people were infectious in the community. These key charts will show if thats happening, NSW Covid update: health officials increasingly confident cases will plateau next week, Unions say exemption to allow Covid-positive people to work at SA meatworks sets dangerous precedent, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. Phoebe says her social circle has split in two: those who have had Covid and are now feeling invulnerable for 30 days despite warnings that earlier reinfection is possible and those who are curbing social activities to try to avoid it. . An announcement is reportedly expected as early as tomorrow. 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. Highpoint shopping centre has also emerged as an exposure site, with anyone who attended between on Friday night between 10am and 2pm urged to get tested. Despite the Government trumpeting no more lockdowns once vaccine targets were met, isolation requirements, coupled with density limits and further restrictions have left Victoria in a shadow lockdown, he said. Timelines of Melbourne's lockdown - Since the pandemic began The timeline This basic timeline provides start and end dates along with COVID-19 cases for each of the six lockdowns Melburnians have faced since the pandemic began Lockdown One: 43 days BEGAN: March 30, 11:59pm ENDED: May 12, 11:59pm No wonder local councils and businesses are stepping in, initial challenges with the vaccine rollout, Associate Lecturer, Creative Writing and Literature, Lecturer / Senior Lecturer, Emerging Technologies, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee. Mr Morrison told day that with the arrival of Omicron, and Australia's high vaccination numbers, the government's approach had "shifted gears". Join the conversation, you are commenting as. Some people are going to get chronic illness from that, and we are in our 20s, she says. Of the new cases, 60 were isolation throughout their infectious period, seven cases were in isolation for part of their infectious period and 24 were infectious in the community. Sydney Aquarium staff bring their dogsto the closed aquarium to see the fish. When it comes to responding to a pandemic, however, this presents its challenges. In a way, the statement still holds. Victoria COVID: No lockdowns but Omicron could cap Open crowds to avert "Interaction in those environments is close, it's crowded, it's active and it's mobile. Prince Harry shares struggles to be his 'authentic true self' growing up, saying he felt pressures to 'come As Prince Harry says he felt like the film 'the boy in the bubble' before having therapy, who was Hollywood's love affair with the new non-binary Brit Pack: After MeToo sex scandals, Tinseltown is desperate Five unexpected signs in your 20s and 30s you're at risk of developing heart disease later in life. "I think they are a 2020/2021 iteration," he said. As the Covid years continue we are losing our magical thinking it will go away and not be a changing burden to our life, she says. 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. 'Because Victorians went out and got vaccinated in record numbers, it means that we are not considering going into lockdown and this is the commitment that we gave to the people of Victoria,' he said. Australia COVID Omicron update: How coronavirus situation unfolded in 'Masks have a very small individual cost for us,' he said. Catherine Bennett receives funding from the Medical Research Future Fund. pic.twitter.com/YfNptxyua5. Sydneysidersare restricted to 5km of home. A legal stoush between Federal MP Monique Ryan and her former staffer has devolved into warfare with each side throwing allegations at the other, a court has heard. Decisions had to be made quickly, often with only limited and uncertain evidence, and most importantly, without the all-knowing benefit of hindsight. 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. "Clearly, what were saying is particularly in greater Sydney, I have said openly that if you have had your AstraZeneca shots, over four weeks ago, contact your GP and talk about bringing the second dose forward from the 12 week mark to around 6- eight weeks," she said. Almost everyone has a pre-existing condition, Cooper says. The Department of Health in Victoria has revealed "two unexpected detections of COVID-19 viral fragments" in wastewater around Geelong. My husband is working overtime, heaps of chefs and [front-of-house staff are] unwell or close contacts, and there is no support. 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? The public servant, 25, contracted Covid along with 16 others at a house party late last month. "Please note that we have always taken the position in New South Wales they will keep the community safe but also make sure that we keep livelihoods going.". Coronavirus in Australia: Melbourne begins new shutdown Dj vu! With daily case numbers in the tens of thousands, NSW health officialsand Victorian authorities are cautiously optimistic that the state has passed the peak of the current Omicron outbreak. Here we are in early January 2022 and its a wet day today (Sunday) in Melbourne, even though its summer. NSW records 20,794 cases while Victoria's tally hits 8,577 as Scott This article was originally written on July 4, 2022 and has since been updated and fact-checked. NSW announces more of its restrictions will ease, allowing people in the state to: Then-NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian announces that from July 1, the following will be allowed: Victoria announcespostcodes 3038, 3064, 3047, 3060, 3012, 3032, 3055, 3042, 3021 and 3046 will go back into lockdown from July 2. Melbourne, after 262 days in lockdown, celebrates a reopening. 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." The Department of Transport's figures show public transport usage steadily rose through December to hit 83 per cent of February 2020 levels before crashing to 32 per cent. The first person in Australia to die of Covid-19 dies in a Western Australia hospital. Ms Berejiklian said the impact of some of the more recent changes wouldn't be known for at least a few more days.