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Lockdown-weary Victorians have caught a glimpse of the light at the end of the tunnel, without any illumination on when it will happen.
The Australian state government has announced that its “reopening roadmap” – the plan to ease Melbourne’s stage four coronavirus restrictions and Victoria stage three measures – will be released on Sunday.
Significantly, there is no confirmation yet on whether those restrictions will end on September 13.
State Prime Minister Daniel Andrews’ announcement about Sunday came as Australia had its worst daily death toll, although the number was not what it seemed.
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Monday’s 41 deaths easily eclipsed the previous mark of 25 on August 17.
But the prime minister said only eight of the deaths were new, the rest were nursing home deaths that had occurred before Aug. 27 and were reconciled with the Department of Health and Human Services on Sunday.
Darrian Traynor / Getty Images
Victorian Prime Minister Daniel Andrews says he will reveal a roadmap out of the Australian state lockdown on Sunday, but has not released details, saying that the Covid-19 case numbers for the next week were “critically important” .
Overall, Victoria virus statistics continue to trend well, with 73 new cases on Monday, the lowest figure since July 3.
Still, Andrews continues to give no guarantee that the expiration date of the restrictions, September 13, will be when they will be eased.
“We cannot rule out adjustments in two weeks. It is very difficult to know what those adjustments will be,” the prime minister said.
“What we will provide on Sunday will be the plan that we intend to implement, the plan that, all other things being equal, we will implement.
“Everything has to have that asterisk next to it. I know it’s deeply frustrating. It’s frustrating for all of us.”
Health Director Brett Sutton also urged the Victorians to stay the course.
“We are all fed up with it, absolutely fed up with it,” said Professor Sutton.
“But staying the course, even when we hit these very low numbers, is absolutely critical to getting that control that we can be confident we will maintain.”
He expects the number of new cases to drop to 40-50 by the weekend.
Earlier Monday, Deputy Medical Director Nick Coatsworth said it was difficult to see Melbourne break out of its stage four restrictions on September 13, given current numbers.
He said Victoria needed to be close to the lower numbers in New South Wales and Queensland.
“But again, the rate at which (decreasing) the number is getting faster in Victoria, so you never know and we just have to observe it on a daily basis,” he said.
In addition to the daily case numbers, Sutton said it was also critical that “mystery” community transmission cases were reduced as low as possible.
Andrews said the government would use the next few days to consult with industry, unions and community organizations on what “normal Covid” will look like before Sunday’s announcement.
Meanwhile, the Victoria Police Association, nurses, paramedics and the Australian Medical Association have called for the powers of the state of emergency to be expanded.
Negotiations continue between the state government and interlocutors about what should happen when the provisions of the state of emergency expire on September 13.
The government wants 12 months, but that is doomed before Parliament votes on the amendment when it returns Tuesday.
Adem Somyurek, a former member of the Australian Labor Party powerhouse, will abstain from voting on any bill pending a corruption watchdog investigation into the branch build-up allegations.
When asked if he was disappointed in the decision of the fired deputies, Andrews said “I have not been disappointed in Adem Somyurek for a long time.”
Melbourne is subject to another fortnight of strict stage four restrictions, including an 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew and a ban on travel beyond a five-kilometer radius from home.
Regional Victoria is under slightly less stringent stage three restrictions.
