Hundreds of thousands of Victorians across the state are living in coronavirus-free zones. But for now, they're still subjected to a tough stage 3 lockdown.
Key points:Regional Victoria has a rolling average of 4.5 new daily casesBut for now, they're still subjected to a tough stage 3 lockdown."The frustrating part that a lot of people don't understand is that if you have no cases, why can't you open up?" he said.
"Common sense would suggest that any region, town or area that doesn't have any active cases should be allowed to be able to fully open," he said. "I have a unique understanding of how frustrating it is for those who don't have much — or any — virus, and the fact that rules apply to them."There are more than 676,000 people living in regional and rural Victoria in LGAs with no active cases.
Mr Andrews said that would involve divvying up the state into lots of different zones, drawing boundaries and having them policed by checkpoints. "The date, I'd say, is sort of like a due date for a pregnancy. Only 5 per cent of babies are born on the actual due date, and there's a range before and after," Professor Cheng said.There has been added emotion and complexity for regional Victorians living in border towns.
"Our businesses have been really resilient, and doing the absolute best they can. But unfortunately, it's just been extremely difficult," she said."We do recognise the lines do have to be drawn, however, there is definitely frustration around making sure that everyone is treated equally when things aren't always equal."
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.
The coronavirus roadmap numbers to watch in Melbourne and regional VictoriaHow the daily average case rate and the number of cases with an unknown source will set the pace for Victoria's reopening under the state's roadmaps.
Read more »
Call for regional bubbles for zero case communitiesBusiness owner Kim Rycroft says businesses in her shire should be allowed to serve people who come from other communities with zero cases.
Read more »
Victorians told to ‘boot Dan out’ in new lockdown protestAfter mass arrests at an anti-lockdown protest at the weekend, a fringe political group has come up with a new way to protest against Premier Daniel Andrews from home.
Read more »
Live: Daniel Andrews says relaxing restrictions in specific regions with no coronavirus cases would be problematicThe Victorian Government is under pressure to lift restriction in regions without coronavirus cases, but Daniel Andrews says this would be a problematic exercise.
Read more »
Restaurant reopens after one lunch service led to 103 COVID-19 cases — but diners stay awayWestern Sydney's Thai Rock restaurant made national headlines when more than 100 coronavirus cases were linked to a lunch service — it reopened last week, but now, there's another problem.
Read more »
Live: Victorians urged to avoid being a 'loopholer' as Queensland expands list of locations visited by positive casesVictoria's Department of Health and Human Services urges the state's residents to stop trying to find ways to avoid restrictions aimed at keeping coronavirus numbers down.
Read more »