"But if you are in certain areas where you know you are in even greater risk, as low as four weeks is acceptable. "I am highlighting that the risk is ever present and remember, what I'm reading you today is what has happened overnight so tomorrow, there might be different sites," Dr Chant said. On 26 September at 11:59pm, the 7 day Geelong and Surf Coast lockdowns ended as scheduled, but Mitchell Shire's lockdown was extended with no end date set. 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. log in. Victorian Acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie said it would be likely that come January 10, Victoria's testing system would have diagnosed "more people than it did for all of 2021". A lot of people have gotten one or more of the various vaccines. Australia has been the most locked-down country since the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, but residents are growing frustrated with cases still rising. This is how the news unfolded on Wednesday. There are growing calls for Greater Sydney to be placed into a hard lockdown similar to the one imposed in Melbourne last year, but chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant insists NSW is already under "hard" restrictions. 'Shadow lockdown': Dan responds to critics - news Now that has ended too. The lockdown covers only Melbourne and an area to the north called the Mitchell Shire. We uncover the best of the city and put it all in an email for you. Victorians are anxiously waiting to see if they will be plunged into yet another lockdown, as the state government weighs fresh restrictions amid a worrying rise in Covid-19 cases brought in from NSW. 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. Mr Byrne said mobility at the moment was roughly equivalent to the 2020 period before Melbourne moved from stage threeto stage fourlockdown. Here's how likely you are to get it more than once, Charting the COVID-19 spread: Australia passes 10,000 coronavirus deaths, Self-help author Marianne Williamson launches primary challenge against Joe Biden for 2024 Democratic nomination, Chinese migrants walked a gruelling 500km to Victoria's goldfields in the 19th century. Among the potential exposure sites are a major Melbourne shopping centre and an AFL game. The state government put Melbourne into its second lockdown in early July after cases exceeded 100 cases per day. It is very strange to watch the rest of the world say we will go out and it will be fine and we will get sick and it will be fine. But as a wave of Omicron infections wreaks havoc across workplaces and the healthcare system, data suggests Victorians are voting with their feet and staying close to home. Some wouldn't survive. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has issued an ominous warning as the southern state prepares to come out of lockdown. #CovidVic. NSW records 20,794 cases while Victoria's tally hits 8,577 as Scott In the early part of the pandemic, the amount of effort needed to reach these groups was underestimated. They may also have more extensive family and community networks that arent in the minds of health officials when laying down a one-size-fits-all set of rules. On Thursday the NSW premier will announce the policy reversal following Covid crisis talks with fellow state leaders and Prime Minister Scott Morrison. Two had travelled to Wuhan, China, and the third was a close contact of the two travellers. This is clearly a very rapidly moving situation," Victoria's Covid-19 Commander Jeroen Weimar said. But will it be safer for women? They are also furious that the virus was spread to Melbourne by removalists who failed to follow the rules of their workers' permit, did not wear masks and have not been cooperating with authorities. 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. Ashleigh Cooper has spent the new year indoors. The first Covid-19 vaccine doses are administered in Australia. 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. Victoria's health minister hasn't ruled out mask mandates or work-from-home rules after the state's pandemic powers were extended for another three months. It is up to individuals to determine and manage their own risk. Australia COVID Omicron update: How coronavirus situation unfolded in It just feels like theres no plan and younger people are bearing the brunt of it.. With the lockdowns extending into the 2022 financial year, we will no doubt be assisting with working from home tax deductions in the 2022 financial as well. The residents of Melbourne have spent more days in lockdown 262, to be precise than people anywhere else in the world. A new 'veloway' is welcome news for Melbourne's cyclists. I know and understand that this is challenging and there is no family that has not been touched by that over the last few years and certainly many touched by that over the last few weeks and months, he said. Other business owners say they are finding this summer more difficult than previous seasons because there was no financial aid available. There are confirmed positive cases on board at the time, and 130 people test positive within a week. One of the things that makes Victoria so vibrant is its a melting pot of cultures. I would not be fine I had my booster shot last week and was severely unwell for five days. We must invest in these community partnerships to ensure all communities are more resilient and protected. August 5, 2021 Victoria. More than two years old, we've passed another grim milestone: 10,000 people have now died of Covid-19 in Australia. Covid-19: Victoria goes into lockdown as Melbourne outbreak grows Join the conversation, you are commenting as. NSW recorded 97 new locally acquired cases of COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8pm last night. This from tonight's CHO report in Victoria: Wastewater detections in Geelong BEFORE the Sydney removalists crossed the border. Almost everyone has a pre-existing condition, Cooper says. He added that the government was encouraging dance floors to be closed. Look out for your first newsletter in your inbox soon! It comes after NSW extended the Greater Sydney lockdown by at least another two weeks until the end of July, with another 97 cases on Wednesday bringing the total outbreak to 864. The Premier said it isn't "fair" to compare the two. The first Covid-19 case was detected in Australia on January 25, 2020. The jump in cases in NSW - which is nearly 2,000 more than the 3,763 infections reported on Wednesday - comes after a major backflip on restrictions in the state with millions once again required to check into venues via QR codes. Omicron variant of coronavirus led to huge spike in cases over New Year but has since subsided, prompting Boris Johnson to drop social restrictions . In the midst of the ongoing pandemic, some individuals in Australia have still managed to avoid contracting Covid-19. 'Like a lockdown': in 2022, Australians are still feeling the fear and When it comes to responding to a pandemic, however, this presents its challenges. Australia's two largest states have kicked off 2022 with record COVID cases - while others have opted to change restrictions. The anxiety of past outbreaks has been replaced with anger at state and federal governments, and a growing sense of despair that the pandemic will not end, at least not any time soon. And the Omicron variant, which has ripped through the country since December, appears to result in a less severe illness, in most cases, than previous variants of Covid-19. Every single one of us was double-vaccinated as soon as we were eligible but we are not eligible yet for a booster. 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. Melbourne exits its sixth lockdown, after 263 cumulative days. 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Covid Australia: Melbourne, Victoria could go back into Christmas lockdown But if we were to say it is all too hard lets stop isolating, lets stop getting tested, lets stop acting based on symptoms, then we would not have one thousand people in hospital, we would have many, many thousands. Which in normal times would mean nothing as Covid is not really any different from the flu. That's a higher turnout than the first day last year, when 17,922 attendees were recorded. More than 90 per cent of those who had a positive RAT result, ended up with a positive PCR test, he said. We hit the streets of Sydney and find the normally bustling metropolis completely empty. We are waving, we have our hand up and it is code red in the small and medium business sector. She still cant smell or taste anything and several of her friends remain unwell. Here we are in early January 2022 and it's a wet day today (Sunday) in Melbourne, even though it's summer. "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.