Victoria’s state of emergency powers expire at 11.59pm on Wednesday and will be replaced by the government’s new pandemic laws.
Omicron scare at Melbourne nightspots
Hundreds of patrons who attended two popular nightspots in Melbourne’s inner-north last week have been asked to isolate after a fellow patron was later diagnosed with the Omicron variant of COVID-19.
Health authorities said the infected person spent several hours at Sircuit Bar in Fitzroy from about 9pm and then moved on to the Peel Hotel in Collingwood about 11.30pm and stayed until about 3am.
There were more than 410 people at Sircuit Bar and about 320 at Peel Hotel while the infected patron was present.
They have all been deemed close contacts of the case. Vaccinated patrons have been asked to get tested for COVID-19 and isolate for seven days, while those not fully immunised must isolate for 14 days.
People living in the same house as a close contact are not required to get a test, but they must isolate and get tested if they develop symptoms of COVID-19.
The Peel Hotel in Collingwood is one of the two venues affected. Credit:Chris Hopkins
Health officials are also contacting patrons who were at Sircuit between 6pm and 9pm on Friday.
With staff and hundreds of patrons in isolation, Peel Hotel owner Tom McFeely said the venue would probably close for the weekend.
“If your staff has to isolate, you can’t open, and it makes things extremely difficult, just when we thought we were getting back to normal,” he told radio station 3AW.
Mr McFeely, who reopened the venue two weeks ago, said the government’s directives on Omicron were “policy on the run” and felt like “water torture” for small businesses.
He said most people ordered to isolate were confused by the directions given by health authorities, claiming they differed from venue to venue and people had been given different information about when close contacts would be released from quarantine.
“People are confused over the times. They want to know where it came from and who this person was out and about, and [they want to] get the timeline correct. There was not enough information being given to us,” he said.
A Department of Health spokeswoman confirmed patrons who attended both venues before midnight last Friday would have to isolate until 11.59pm on Friday this week.
Those who visited the nightclubs in the early hours of Saturday morning would have to quarantine until 11.59pm on Saturday, she said.
Patrons who visited the Sircuit Bar last Friday have been told to isolate. Credit:Chris Hopkins
The Omicron scare comes as NSW authorities investigate more than 200 coronavirus cases linked to a nightclub superspreader event in Newcastle.
All the cases are likely to be sequenced as the new Omicron variant, as the state deals with its largest COVID-19 surge in more than two months.
Loading
Omicron cases in Victoria grows to 10
Victoria has recorded four new cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases of the strain in the state to 10.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton announced the new cases at Wednesday’s press conference but did not elaborate on how they had been infected with the virus.
Four of the positive cases were air passengers who travelled to Melbourne from Dubai on November 30, while one was a traveller who arrived in Victoria from the Netherlands and went straight into hotel quarantine on December 3.
A sixth case was a household contact of one of the travellers.
While the full impact of the Omicron strain remains largely unknown, an analysis conducted by the South African Medical Research Council and Discovery Health, the country’s largest private health insurer, found the variant appeared to cause less severe disease than previous versions of COVID-19.
The findings, which were released on Tuesday local time but were yet to be peer-reviewed, also showed the Pfizer vaccine offered less defence against infections from the variant but still good protection from hospitalisation.
A two-dose Pfizer-BioNTech vaccination appeared to provide just 33 per cent protection against infection during South Africa’s current Omicron wave, but 70 per cent protection against hospitalisation.
Omicron has overcome Delta as the main strain in South Africa, accounting for more than 90 per cent of all new infections in the country. It has also caused a “tidal wave” of infections in the UK, which has recorded the first death of a patient infected with the strain worldwide.
There are 365 Victorians with the virus being treated in hospital, including 84 in intensive care, with 46 on a ventilator. There are also 44 patients in intensive care who have been cleared of the virus.
More than 10,780 Victorians were vaccinated against COVID-19 at state-run clinics on Tuesday, taking the total number of doses administered at state facilities to almost 5 million, which means about 92 per cent of Victorians aged 12 and over are now fully immunised against the virus.
Australia reopens to international students, temporary migrants
Australia has reopened its borders to international students, backpackers and temporary migrants for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.
Loading
The policy will allow about 150,000 study visa holders and another 200,000 holders of temporary and skilled migrant visas who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus to enter the country without needing a travel exemption.
Businesses hope the international travellers will help to address ongoing labour shortages, but arrivals are anticipated to trickle rather than flood into Australia, with Qantas reporting no hikes in tickets booked for the coming days and Melbourne backpacker hostels experiencing few reservations.
Tasmanian border open for Victorians
Tasmania opened its borders on Wednesday to Victorians, other Australians, and international travellers, although there were still a few rules in place for those visiting the state.
Loading
Melbourne, Geelong, and surrounding shires were designated “high-risk areas” by the Tasmanian government, which meant people visiting Tasmania from those areas must present a negative result on a COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of their departure.
Tasmanian Premier Peter Gutwein said at a press conference on Tuesday that all visitors must also register for a Tasmanian travel pass.
Travellers must be fully vaccinated, or seek approval from the government to enter the state and then quarantine on arrival.
“While other states have opened their borders at 80 per cent, we took the very sensible decision, in my view, to wait until we had hit 90 per cent,” Mr Gutwein said on Tuesday.
“We will be reopening as one of the most vaccinated places on the planet.”
The Tasmanian Premier said 89 per cent of the state’s population aged over 12 was fully vaccinated as of Tuesday, and officials expected to reach the 90 per cent milestone on or about Friday.
Western Australia also chose to keep its borders shut until it reached the 90 per cent double vaccination milestone.
Premier Mark McGowan earmarked February 5 as WA’s reopening date.
With Cassandra Morgan, Noel Towell and AP
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Mandatory jabs scrapped for most Victorian retail settings, but masks to remain
Source: Philippines Alive
