Victoria records 114 new coronavirus cases, 11 more deaths but Daniel Andrews says numbers are too high to reopen yet

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says daily coronavirus case numbers are still too high to provide a detailed plan out of restrictions, as the state records another 114 infections and 11 deaths.

Nine of the 11 deaths are linked to aged care settings.

The 114 new infections were detected from just over 14,000 tests processed on Saturday, down from a benchmark of about 20,000 authorities have been aiming for.

Mr Andrews again urged people to get tested for “even the most minor of symptoms”.

There were 94 new infections and 18 deaths on Saturday, the first time daily case numbers had fallen below 100 since early July. Thursday and Friday both saw 113 infections added to the state tally.

Mr Andrews said the downward trend was promising but it was still too early to announce if and how restrictions would ease in mid-September.

He said it “won’t be much longer” until the state outlined a road map, but the daily case numbers were “still too high” to formulate a definitive plan.

Mr Andrews said the “honest and frank answer” to whether stage 4 restrictions would continue in Melbourne past September 13 was: “It is hard to know, given the case numbers and the data.”

“We’ve got to have a plan that is not just statement of what we hope to be able to deliver, it needs to be a clear plan that we are confident we can actually deliver,” he said.

The Premier said with daily case increases sitting at around 100 in recent days, “those numbers would explode” if restrictions were eased now.

“These numbers are coming down. We will see some variation day today. It will bounce around a little bit. But in general terms, we are seeing a fall across each of the key metrics, and the strategy is working,” he said.

“And that is a credit to every Victorian who has made a powerful contribution to that end.

Federal Treasurer calls for more clarity, criticises ‘litany of failures’

Josh Frydenberg, Federal Treasurer and member for the Victorian seat of Kooyong, said the State Government needed to be “talking more about the road out”.

“I want to hear more about a message of hope for the people of Victoria,” Mr Frydenberg told Sky News.

He said there had been a “litany of failures in Victoria”, including the botched hotel quarantine system and the testing and tracing program, “which is not as good as it is in other states”.

“It is devastating what has happened in Victoria, and we are only two weeks away … from the end of the so-called stage 4 restrictions and businesses are in the dark about how they will get their workers back and their doors open,” he said.

“Kids need to know when, and if, they are going back to school.”

Mr Frydenberg said the “devastating economic situation” meant by Government estimates, up to half of the Victorian private sector workforce would be on JobKeeper.

Mr Andrews said while he had not seen the Federal Treasurer’s comments, “there is no economic recovery until you get the health problem fixed”.

The Premier said he would make announcements soon about how his Government would be engaging with industry about what opening up might look like.

Public housing tower residents offered opportunity to move

High-rise tenants living in public housing in Victoria will be offered private rental properties to keep them safe through the pandemic.

Nine Melbourne public housing towers in North Melbourne and Flemington were locked down in July to control the spread of a cluster of coronavirus cases.

The Government will lease up to 420 properties for two years, as part of a $31.7 million tower relocation program.

Tenants with medical issues and those living in larger households where the risk of virus transmission is higher will be offered the private rentals and can choose whether they want to move.

Relocating large families and residents with health issues who wish to move will reduce the risk coronavirus poses to these households,” Housing Minister Richard Wynne said.

The Victorian Public Tenants Association estimates there are 100,000 people on waiting lists for public housing, and a 2018 Victorian parliamentary report found chronic under-investment led to properties not being kept to an adequate level.

Negotiations continue on proposed state of emergency extension

Meanwhile, the Victorian Government is still negotiating with Upper House MPs to extend the state of emergency powers to deal with the pandemic.

Mr Andrews last week announced his Government would be attempting to amend the legislation to allow it to run for a further 12 months.

He called it an “insurance policy” during the pandemic, but the Opposition called it a “power   The current state of emergency, which grants the power to enforce coronavirus restrictions, expires on September 13.

Under current laws, the state of emergency legislation must be renewed each month and can last for a maximum of six consecutive months.

Upper House crossbench MPs baulked at the Premier’s plan to extend the powers by 12 months and some are supporting an alternative “one off” six-month plan put forward by the Reason Party’s Fiona Patten.

The Government needs to secure at least four non-Labor votes in the Upper House to pass the bill and a number of key crossbench MPs are still opposed to the deal.

Mr Andrews said there were “very productive discussions” with the crossbench on the legislation.

“State of emergency powers are not there to keep the place closed, it is there to allow us to open up,” he said.

Source. abc