‘Super Saturday’ hopes rise as Vic races to 80% vax target

Melbourne could be in line for a “super Saturday” with Victoria to hit the key 80 per cent double-vaccinated mark as early as October 29.

The prediction comes as 30 new walk-in clinics will be opened to further supercharge the jabs rollout.

Melbourne’s gruelling sixth lockdown was lifted at 11.59pm Thursday night after the state passed the 70 per cent double-dosed target.

The jabs needed to reached the target were given on Wednesday, with the figure confirmed on Thursday morning and Melburnians getting their first taste of freedom in the early hours.

The state now stands to hit the next milestone – 80 per cent – as early as next Friday or Saturday, well ahead of the November 5 prediction.

Data analyst Anthony ­Macali, of website Covid Live, said Victoria was delivering 57,000 second doses a day over a seven-day average, and if that rate continued, the state would hit 80 per cent on Derby Day, October 30.

It could be one day earlier if the daily average of jabs rose to 65,000.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive Paul Guerra said the state deserved to celebrate the massive uptake in jabs the ­moment this goal was met.

“Victorians have done everything asked of them and we are smashing the vaccination targets, which should be rewarded with a Super Saturday reopening,” he said.

“The Victorian Chamber hopes that the Premier stands up this Sunday and announces the next step in the road map for reopening from 11.59pm next Thursday so that every business in Victoria can get back to work and we can all get back to doing what we love.”

Melburnians will head back to pubs and restaurants after the world’s most locked- down city emerged from a ­collective 263 days under stay-at-home orders.

Under the current rules, non-essential retailers can only open for outdoor trade and many stores are waiting for this restriction to ease ­before opening again.

Australian Retailers Association chief executive Paul Zahra said it was important ­retailers got back open and trading as quickly as possible.

“Once we hit 80 per cent in Victoria, businesses should be given the green light to open their doors the next day,” he said. “The past 11 weeks have pushed many small businesses to the brink, and they shouldn’t have to stay closed for longer than is absolutely necessary.

“We’re heading into Christmas – the most critical time of year on the retail calendar when every day of trading counts.”

Victoria hit another important milestone on Thursday, with 90 per cent of the population now having had at least one jab.

The state government announced 30 new clinics targeted across those suburbs which are lagging behind. Melbourne’s northern suburbs need about 10,000 to hit a first-dose rate of 85 per cent. Another nine pop-up clinics will appear at Headspace centres.

Deputy Premier James Merlino said: “We’ve got a promise with Victorians – when we get to 80 per cent double-dosed there’s further easing of restrictions. We will bring it forward as much as we can.”

VICTORIANS TO FOLLOW NSW BORDER RULES

Travellers entering New South Wales from Victoria must continue to abide by the northern state’s stay at home orders until November 1 when the restrictions will be lifted.

People coming into NSW who have been in Victoria in the past 14 days must also complete a declaration form upon arrival.

When the stay at home orders lift on November 1, unvaccinated people who have been in Victoria in the past 14 days will be barred from entering NSW for holidays or recreation.

NSW Health confirmed exemptions would be granted for border community residents.

On Thursday night, a statement issued by NSW said: “There are still places of high concern (close and casual contact venues) in Victoria. People who have been to these venues at the relevant time and date must continue to follow the rules for close and casual contacts.”

It comes as Victoria is set to drop its quarantine requirements for all fully vaccinated Australians returning from overseas from as early as November 1.

Cabinet ministers were meeting on Thursday night to sign off on the plan, which would match conditions in NSW. Multiple sources told the Herald Sun the date for major quarantine shift could be as early as November 1.

MASK STUDY RUBBISHED BY EXPERTS

A “world-first” study that celebrated Victoria’s mask mandate is riddled with errors, experts say.

The Burnet Institute study, published in the journal Plos One early this year, purported to show mandating masks was the “single most important control measure” that “turned an exponential increase in community transmission into an exponential decrease, almost overnight”, a press release said. But University of NSW medical researcher and PhD candidate Kyle Sheldrick said the research was “very, very low quality”. Another, an eminent Australian clinician and scientist, said: “It’s crap.”

The study relied on news images from the Age to conclude mask usage rose from 43 per cent to 97 per cent after the mandate came into effect. Dr Sheldrick said it was “hard to think of a worse methodology”.

The paper singled out masks as the key reason for a fall in Melbourne’s community transmission. But the paper’s authors said transmission also fell in rural areas where the mandate was not introduced.

The Burnet Institute said it “stands by our paper”.

Originally published as Melbourne exits sixth lockdown as key 80pc vax rate approaches