Dan Andrews singled out for praise by world media
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<p>Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has been heckled since introducing some of the toughest lockdown restrictions in the world.</p>
<p>He has been vindicated by a <em>CNN</em> report that says that his strict shutdown is the blueprint to containing coronavirus.</p>
<p>The report says that policy makers and critics were sceptical of the strict lockdown that was initially adapted at Wuhan, but the situation in Victoria proves it works.</p>
<p>“The situation in Victoria proves that the lockdown strategy does work elsewhere, and that, given the proper information and reassurances, people are willing to make the sacrifices required to contain the virus,” the <a rel="noopener" href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/09/21/australia/australia-coronavirus-lockdown-intl-hnk/index.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink">CNN piece</a> declared.</p>
<p>The report also contains comments from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention chief epidemiologist Wu Zunyou, who explained that the strategy had been adopted to suppress a range of outbreaks across China.</p>
<p>“The COVID-19 epidemic in our country has gone through four waves,” he said on the weekend.</p>
<p>“Besides the first wave (in Wuhan), the other epidemic waves were clusters that were regional and small-scale and were effectively controlled.”</p>
<p>Victoria and its strict lockdown laws have featured in major news outlets around the world, including <em>The New York Times, Bloomberg </em>and<em> NBC</em>.</p>
<p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/it-just-feels-surreal-military-posted-checkpoints-australian-state-extends-n1237068" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink"><em>NBC</em></a> focused on the "surreal" nature of military members knocking on Melbourne residents doors during lockdown, saying that it was "draconian".</p>
<p>“They are living under some of the most draconian lockdown restrictions in the world,” <em>NBC</em> wrote.</p>
<p>“And any hope people had of returning to something like normality has been abandoned.”</p>
<p><a rel="noopener" href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-30/australia-says-victoria-jobless-surges-as-lockdown-cuts-spending" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink"><em>Bloomberg</em></a> looked at the "jobless surge" in Victoria as workers were driven from workplaces due to the shutdown of a range of industries.</p>
<p>“Victorian household spending is now down 30 per cent year-to-date, from flat mid-July, even as Australia-wide it has declined 3 per cent” <em>Bloomberg</em> wrote.</p>
<p>Finally, <a rel="noopener" href="https://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2020/09/07/world/asia/07reuters-health-coronavirus-australia-cases.html" target="_blank" class="editor-rtflink"><em>The New York Times</em></a> explored the idea of "hotspot contact tracing".</p>
<p>“The Victoria outbreak – it now accounts for about 75 per cent of Australia’s nearly 26,400 cases and 90 per cent of its 770 deaths – has brought the most visible rift between a state government and Australia’s Federal Government over the country’s handling of the pandemic, which has included an emergency Cabinet of leaders from both levels of government,” the <em>Times</em> article read.</p>
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