Premier DanielAndrewsMP has labelled criticisms he has shifted Victoria's COVID-19 approach from a suppression strategy to an eradication strategy 'nonsense'.
Premier Daniel Andrews has labelled criticisms he has shifted Victoria's COVID-19 approach from a suppression strategy to an eradication strategy "nonsense".
The Victorian Premier defended his approach claiming it was agreed upon by the National Cabinet that "very low, to no mystery cases" would be a crucial component of dealing with the virus. "In order to have confidence you can keep numbers low for the long term, you need to get numbers low, as low as you possibly can to have confidence," Mr Andrews said.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Andrews ‘secretly changes COVID strategy’ from suppression to eradication | Sky News AustraliaNationals Senator Matt Canavan says there has been a “secret change in strategy” in Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ approach to managing the coronavirus.\n\n“Effectively the Victorian government adopted a strategy of elimination,” he told Sky News.\n\nIn Victoria’s newly released roadmap to recovery, the Andrews government requires the state to record zero cases for a 28-day period in order to transition to a COVID normal level of function. \n\n“Why would you be going for that target when we’ve all been saying we should be flattening the curve and we need to get our health system up to scratch”.\n\nMr Canavan said Victoria’s roadmap to recovery was “kind of friendless” and was not being backed by most public experts or the business community in the state.\n\nThe Nationals Senator said the Victorian Premier needed to explain “why he has chosen certain thresholds” and he needed to release the modelling supporting his plan.\n\n“It just seems completely crazy to set these very low thresholds before people can get out and about in Victoria”.\n\n“If Dan Andrews wants to stick with Dan Andrews plan, well Dan Andrews should be sent the bill. The bill shouldn’t be coming to Canberra and all Australian taxpayers”.\n\nImage: Getty
Read more »
Victoria's eradication strategy will be 'ineffective without a vaccine' | Sky News AustraliaSky News host Rita Panahi says it is utter madness for the Victorian government to be pursuing an eradication strategy to deal with COVID-19 while there is still no vaccine. \n\nVictorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Sunday, tentative dates for the easing of restrictions, should new case numbers remain low. \n\nThe Melbourne metropolitan area will continue with its stage four lockdowns until at least September 28.\n\nThe premier said the state would return to a COVID normal state on November 23 if there were no cases for 28 days, and no active cases in the state.\n\nMs Panahi said Victorians had no security the restriction would be lifted even by late October because “the benchmarks (it) has to hit are utterly insane”. \n\n“This government is pursuing an eradication strategy that can only work with a safe and effective vaccine,” she told Sky News host Peta Credlin.\n\n“It is utter madness.”\n\nImage: Getty
Read more »
COVID-19 vaccine would be a 'gamechanger' for Trump | Sky News AustraliaUnited States Studies Centre CEO Simon Jackman says the development and distribution of a coronavirus vaccine before the November election would be a “gamechanger” for President Trump.\n\n“If there were a vaccine rolled out and it was efficacious and it was widely distributed and really knocked this thing on its head before election day, that would be nothing short of a political triumph,” he told Sky News.\n\nThe President faces a political deficit on the pandemic with COVID-19 the “single biggest factor” where Donald Trump has a negative rating relative to Democratic nominee Joe Biden.\n\nMr Jackman also highlighted the widely publicised news story reporting Donald Trump made disparaging remarks about America’s fallen soldiers. \n\n“The idea that the commander in chief was reported to be talking that way about people who serve, people who have died for their country, that is a massive political dagger,” he said.\n\nAccording to Mr Jackman the significance of this news story was it “put Trump on the defensive” and resulted in a situation where he was not in control of the agenda for a good two or three news cycles over the Labor Day weekend.\n\nImage: AP
Read more »
AstraZeneca suspends trials of COVID-19 vaccine | Sky News AustraliaPharmaceutical company AstraZeneca has suspended its COVID-19 vaccine trial after a participant suffered an adverse reaction, casting doubts on whether the vaccine would be ready by early next year.\n\nSky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell said it was 'pretty optimistic' to suggest a COVID-19 vaccine would be ready by 'early next year'.\n\n“I was surprised that Scott Morrison and Greg Hunt were so definitive the other day,” he said.\n\nMr Clennell pointed out the statement from Astra Zeneca “doesn’t even definitively say the illness from the person in the trial was related to the trial” but said he had always thought the development of a vaccine would take 2-3 years.\n\n“I guess I saw this coming,” he said.\n\nHe said while it was important for the Morrison government to give people hope, the public would not be overly kind if the Prime Minister “overpromises and under-delivers”.\n\nThe federal government sealed a deal to ensure priority access to an Oxford University developed trial vaccine which would be manufactured in Melbourne and distributed by AstraZeneca as part of its $1.7 billion commitment.\n\n
Read more »
Victoria’s roadmap is really a ‘journey of despair’: Sarah Henderson | Sky News AustraliaGeelong Liberal Senator Sarah Henderson has described Victoria’s COVID-19 exit strategy as a “journey of despair” rather than a roadmap to recovery.\n\n“It is so contingent on Victoria reaching very, very low levels of community transmission and also mystery cases,” she told Sky News.\n\n“There is real fear that pubs and clubs and cafes and restaurants may not be able to open by Christmas time.”\n\nSenator Henderson said the roadmap’s requirement of five daily cases per day before curfew and other restrictions could be lifted appeared “arbitrary”.\n\nShe also criticised the Victorian government's broad approach to managing regional Victoria.\n\n“There is no basis for locking down one part of regional Victoria when there are no active cases,” she said.\n\n“This should’ve been a much more sophisticated plan with a clear road out of what we are currently experiencing.\n\n“The high levels of community transmission in Victoria have been caused not just by the hotel quarantine disaster but also by the breakdown in contact tracing, and we still have seen no details from Premier Andrews as to the resources being placed into contact tracing\n\n“So we still have no confidence it’s being done properly.”\n\nImage: News Corp Australia
Read more »