‘IMPOSSIBLE’ PLAN: Backlash as Andrews’ lockdown target fails
There are renewed calls to end Victoria's harsh lockdown after Premier Daniel Andrews admitted it might now be be "as good as it will get".
Under Premier Daniel Andrews’ road map to recovery, the state required an average of five cases over two weeks to move into step three – but as of this morning, the metro Melbourne average was double that at 10.
Speaking at his daily press conference on Sunday, Mr Andrews said it was now “mathematically impossible” for Melbourne to reach its goal to easing restrictions as previously hoped by this weekend.
And yesterday, he repeated that message, telling reporters the road map to recovery will likely be overhauled.
“It may be at a point where we have to call it, where we have to say that this is as good as it will get — that means there is some greater risk, that means that the task of keeping this thing suppressed will be harder,” he said.
“If we open up right now, then it will be almost impossible for us to keep this thing contained and every jurisdiction in the world that’s done it has had that same challenge.”
Of yesterday’s 15 new coronavirus cases, 10 were linked to family outbreaks or known clusters and the remainder were under investigation.
The Department of Health and Human Services revealed four were linked to a family cluster in Melbourne’s southeast and two cases to a second family cluster in the capital’s north.
Yesterday, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg urged the Premier to open up the state, saying: “It’s time his government gave millions of Victorians their freedom back this weekend.”
Industry groups also called on the government to allow retailers to get back to work this weekend.
But Mr Andrews insisted his government was committed to seeing out the coronavirus crisis.
“Well, people across Victoria can be clear that we are focused and they can be confident that we are focused on doing what has to be done to drive these numbers down further and to have a proportionate public health response, one that can help us to find a COVID-normal and then lock that in,” he said.
“That’s what people can be absolutely and entirely confident of because that’s what we are all doing which is why I made the point off the top that whilst this is a significant development today, the public service is bigger than one person.
“This Government is working as hard as we possibly can with a massive team of people to see this strategy an absolute success around we’ll have more to say to that end on Sunday.”
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