Pressure builds on Andrews over borders, tennis double standard
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The state government continues to stand firm on its policy of preventing Victorians in COVID red zones of Sydney and Brisbane from returning home, despite growing criticism of its decision to welcome 1240 international arrivals from around the world for the Australian Open.
Criticism from the state opposition, stranded families and the head of the nation s largest airline came as a leading infectious diseases expert said Australia s public health effort could do without the Open, predicting a 2 per cent COVID-positive rate among the 1240 people due to arrive in Melbourne for the event.
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Queensland authorities have refuted reports of a possible COVID-19 protocol breach after a woman infected with the highly infectious UK variant left quarantine to accompany her father to hospital.
According to The Courier-Mail, the alleged incident involved a woman staying in Brisbane s Grand Chancellor Hotel after arriving from Lebanon with her father on New Year s Day.
The pair had been quarantining at the facility, where the worrying new variant has been detected in six people, forcing the transfer of 129 guests on Wednesday.
However Queensland Health has issued a statement denying any breach occurred. All protocols were followed in this case, it says.
A really nice Band-Aid : Funding boost for Melbourne music industry
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The owner of Melbourne s Cherry Bar says a $5 million state government rescue package to help music venues survive will be a big help but won t cover the magnitude of losses suffered from the COVID-19 shutdown.
Creative Industries Minister Danny Pearson on Wednesday named 68 venues – including Cherry Bar, Revolver Upstairs, Section 8, and Geelong s Barwon Club Hotel – that would share in the latest round of the live music venues program.
Over 51,000 Victorians Leave NSW ‘Orange Zone’ After Long Wait
The Victorian government lowered the CCP virus risk status of New South Wales to orange allowing tens of thousands of stranded people to travel home for this first time since New Years Day.
Over 51,000 Victorians were granted permits on Monday but only after waiting for almost three hours because of “technical matters” on the states COVID-19border entry online system.
State Health Minister Martin Foley apologised for the delay in getting the system operational.
“So there was a complex system of both policy and technical matters that I wanted to make sure that we got right before we went live,” Foley told ABC radio on Monday.
New hotel cluster forces some Victorian travellers back into isolation
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The Victorian health department is ordering anyone who completed hotel quarantine at the Hotel Chancellor in Brisbane to urgently test and isolate after a six-person cluster of the extra-infectious UK strain of the virus emerged yesterday.
The advice, released late Wednesday, says that anyone who quarantined at the hotel on or after December 30 should isolate and contact the coronavirus hotline immediately.
Victorian Health Minister Martin Foley said there were a number of factors behind the state s hotspot declarations.