What ARE they waiting for? Victoria records ONE Covid case but leaves Melbourne to suffer through another 48 hours of lockdown before a new set of restrictions come in - and Dan Andrews is NOWHERE to be seen
- Victoria has recorded one new locally acquired Covid cases on Wednesday
- Melbourne's extended 'circuit breaker' is set to end at 11.59pm on Thursday
- It will be replaced with restrictions similar to those currently in regional Victoria
- Melbourne's 10km limit on travel from home is likely to be extended to 25km
Victoria has recorded just one new COVID-19 case in the 24 hours to Wednesday morning - but there will still be no move to remove the draconian lockdown until Friday.
Just one infection was recorded, and it was linked to an already existing case andwas in quarantine anyway, meaning they are extremely unlikely to have infected anyone else.
Melbourne's lockdown is set to end at 11.59pm on Thursday, however many restrictions are expected to remain in place, such as limits on numbers at gatherings and mask use indoors.
It was also reportedly set to include a 25-kilometre radius on permissable travel to prevent people spreading illness into the regions over the coming Queen's Birthday long weekend.
Victoria has recorded just one new Covid case as Melbourne prepares for the end of lockdown on Friday with a new set of eased restrictions
'It remains the public health advice that for a period of time we will have different settings between regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne,' Acting Premier James Merlino told reporters on Tuesday.
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'There are very good reasons for that. We absolutely want to run this into the ground and ensure that there's no risk of this spreading out into regional Victoria.'
Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien wants Melbourne gyms to reopen as well, although that is unlikely given they currently remain closed in regional Victoria.
'On what planet is it safe to go and get a tatt but you can't go and do a workout,' he told reporters on Wednesday.
'The restrictions that are put in place, they're not consistent. There's no common sense, and that's all people want. People aren't silly. We know there's a virus out there.'
A final decision on eased restrictions for Melbourne and regional Victoria is expected to be finalised later Wednesday.
Victorian tracers were currently working on the case of a man in his 40s, who returned from Sri Lanka on May 8 and was now considered to be the likely original source of the Delta strain that spread across Melbourne.
Genomic sequencing showed his infection was identical to one of two families linked to the North Melbourne Primary School, which has emerged as the epicentre of the West Melbourne outbreak.
Tracers were trying to establish the link between the man and that outbreak, with no obvious breach of infection prevention control protocols.
Deputy Chief Health Officer Allen Cheng said there were four main theories, including that the man transmitted the virus to a staff member while in transit or to a fellow guest inside one of the hotels.
It may have then entered the community.
Emma Cassar, the head of COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria, said the man also mistakenly opened his room door soon after entering hotel quarantine, but she did not believe the incident was responsible for the virus escaping.
Victoria's deadly second wave of coronavirus in 2020 was sparked by leaks in hotel quarantine.
It led to a major overhaul of the hotel quarantine system after Melbourne spent 112 days in lockdown.
'You just wonder has the government really learned anything from the mistakes that were made last year,' Mr O'Brien said.
The government was locked in 'positive' discussions with health officials on Tuesday night about plans to lift the lockdown. The details will be finalised on Wednesday
The 'Delta' Covid strain outbreak in West Melbourne has been linked to a man who stayed at the Holiday Inn (pictured) in May
The revamped program restarted in December, only for it to be paused in February as a leak from the Holiday Inn grew to nearly 25 cases and triggered a three-day lockdown.
Last week, Victoria secured federal government support to construct a purpose-built quarantine facility in the state despite the ongoing rollout of vaccines which was meant to preclude the need for quarantine.
Meanwhile, the absence of Premier Dan Andrews continues to hang over Victorians after he suffered five broken ribs and a fractured T7 vertebrae after falling on 'wet and slippery' stairs at a holiday home on the Mornington Peninsula, south of Melbourne on March 9.
Media experts have told Daily Mail Australia it was more than likely Mr Andrews had embarked on an extended break in a tactical play to rebuild his image to Victorians, who had him earmarked as a 'control freak'.
'The problem is they let him sit on the sidelines too long, and now it's come back to bite them,' a source said.
Word of Mr Andrews' injury had quickly spread throughout Melbourne's media, but the intel was light on to say the least.
Mr Andrews was later transferred to the intensive care unit at The Alfred hospital. Pictured: getting a haircut while on leave
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews (right) and his wife Catherine Andrews. They had been staying in Sorrento when the Premier took a spill
Daniel Andrews in a tweet on April 18. It was the last time anyone saw him until this week
The Premier's office was bombarded with inquiries, which fueled speculation something massive had transpired.
It took the Premier's media team a good six hours to go public with the fall.
Mr Andrews was later transferred to the intensive care unit at The Alfred hospital.
Suddenly, a man Victorians had seen on their screens for 120 days straight during the second lockdown, was gone.
Photographers who even tried to get close to the Premier were chased-off by his massive security force.
The rumour mill went into overdrive.
Why had Mr Andrews been on the Mornington Peninsula and with whom had he been with?
The name of trucking magnate Lindsay Fox was instantly linked to the fall.
Just a week before the accident, Mr Andrews had been forced to defend his relationship with the billionaire amid accusations he had been given preferential treatment over a proposal to build a quarantine facility at Avalon Airport.
The Premier has a close personal relationship with Lindsay Fox’s son, Andrew Fox, who is responsible for Linfox’s airport and property arms.
