Daniel Andrews targets sick Victorians failing to self-isolate as cases continue to spike
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has warned the number of coronavirus cases will continue to rise and lockdowns will be extended if people do not self-isolate after showing symptoms and getting tested.
Two weeks after the state implemented Stage 3 ‘Stay at Home’ orders in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire, Andrews said the government was “certainly not seeing numbers come down as we would like them to”.
He said 53 per cent of the 3,810 positive cases recorded between July 7 and 21 did not isolate while waiting for their COVID-19 test result.
“We certainly cannot have one-in-two people who are waiting for a test result simply going about their business as if they didn’t have symptoms, as if they weren’t waiting for a test result, as if this wasn’t a global pandemic,” Andrews said.
Nine out of 10 people in the same group did not self-isolate after feeling sick and before undertaking a test, the premier said.
“Unless we have people who get tested staying at home and isolating until they get their results, then we will not see these numbers come down,” he said.
“They will continue to go up and up. And a six-week shutdown will not be for six weeks. It will run for much longer than that.”
Andrews said workers who are falling ill should ring 1800 675 398 and apply for the $1,500 one-off relief payment from the state government.
“There is a large proportion of these people who are making these choices because, in their judgement, they’ll look at their bank balance, they’ll look at the fact that, if they don’t work the shift, they won’t get paid for the shift, they don’t have sick leave – this is a commentary on insecure work,” he said.
“That’s where that $1500 payment hopefully deals with the financial driver.”
On Wednesday, Victoria recorded 484 new cases, the highest daily increase of any Australian state so far.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the state could soon see up to 600 new cases per day.
“I absolutely don’t want us to go there,” Sutton said.
“We have to reinforce the things that we know will make a difference. And that is the very simple principles of isolation and quarantine.”