Premier Daniel Andrews has been urged to provide assurances that Victoria's contact tracing system will work when coronavirus restrictions ease.
Tim Piper, the Victorian head of the Australian Industry Group, said his team would raise issues including the need to strike a balance between protecting people's health and livelihoods, recognising that businesses can operate safely, and not imposing a blanket ban on geographical locations or industries.
"People are coming to the end of their tether by being in these restrictions and it's not just a few, it's many people. So we have to understand what these restrictions are doing to people's lives, livelihoods and to our economy." "I think we face a prospect of a very different set of circumstances [compared to the end of the first wave], but at the same time we will need to be incredibly vigilant and that's why the team is working incredibly hard," Mr Andrews said.
Meanwhile, a claim filed in the Victorian Supreme Court last Friday says the government and its ministers were negligent and breached their duty of care through mismanagement of hotel quarantine.
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.
In the 50s, there were 600 Australian soft drink companies — now there may be only sevenThe survivors of Australia's once thriving soft drink industry are experiencing a revival as customers seek out nostalgia, enjoy unusual flavours and support local businesses.
Read more »
Schools to reopen in Wuhan as COVID threat eases | Sky News AustraliaSchools are set to reopen in Wuhan this week as life returns to normal in China. \n\nAlmost 1.4 million students will head back into classrooms in the country's hardest hit city with as many as 2,800 educational institutions to open their doors. \n\nWuhan officials have drawn up emergency plans to switch back to online learning should risk level change.\n\nStudents are advised to wear masks to and from school and avoid public transport where possible. \n\nImage: Getty
Read more »
Pics of the week: Santas learn social distancing ahead of ChristmasSantas in training, riots and storms in the US, NZ mosque survivors speak and more in our pictures of the week. 9News
Read more »
Victoria's virus cases are 'too high' to reopen state | Sky News AustraliaPremier Daniel Andrews says Victoria’s virus numbers are “too high” to open the state up and “still too high to put forward a definitive plan”.\n\n“We are seeing a fall across each of the key metrics, the strategy is working and that’s a credit to every Victorian who’s made a powerful contribution to that end,” Mr Andrews said.\n\n“But we just have to stay the course on this, at 100, at 94, or 114, whatever around that number we simply could not open up.\n\n“Those numbers would explode ... we would finish up in perhaps an even worse situation than we have been in recent months.”\n\n'Now, there will be a plan. It will come soon. But it will be one that we can be confident of, not something that potentially gets a few people being happier, but then ultimately has to be revised because it didn't mean much when you first announced it.'\n\nVictoria recorded 114 new coronavirus cases and 11 more deaths on Sunday.\n\nMr Andrews confirmed 472 Victorians are in hospital, 25 are in intensive care and 11 are on a ventilator.\n\nSunday’s reporting brings the state’s death toll from the virus to 524 and the national total to 611.\n\n'There are 4226 cases with unknown origin, that is an increase of three since yesterday’s report,” Mr Andrews said.\n\nPremier Andrews also confirmed there are 1,277 active cases in aged care and 406 active cases among healthcare workers.\n\nImage: News Corp Australia
Read more »
Thousands still without power after deadly stormVolunteers cleaning up after a deadly storm swept across Melbourne have returned for a third day as 13,000 homes and businesses remain without power.
Read more »
Why did the Government announce its plan for a veto over university agreements this week?Why did the Federal Government choose this week, of all weeks, to announce its plan to obtain the right to vet and veto agreements with foreign governments? Laura Tingle writes.
Read more »