Victoria’s Premier Warns Residents of a Potentially Difficult Winter Period Ahead

A person crosses Bourke Street in Melbourne, Australia, on July 20, 2021. Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has warned the state’s residents that they may face an upcoming challenging winter with a combination of flu and COVID-19 on the horizon.

Speaking in front of reporters on March 17, the premier did not provide a specific timeline for the state government to lift the remaining pandemic measures for the public, such as mask mandate for hospitality and retail workers and some primary school students.

“At this stage, I’ve got no advice that we'll be able to take off those mask rules,” he said.

“We are open, and things are closer to normal than they have been for a long time.”

Nevertheless, the Victorian government is trying to get more residents to take the third dose of COVID vaccine before winter comes with the establishment of 120 pop up vaccination hubs, as the state has witnessed the more contagious BA.2 sub-lineage of the Omicron variant quickly become widespread and dominant.

“Winter will be challenging. It always is whether you’ve got a pandemic or not, flu for instance, always knocks our health system around every single winter,” Andrews said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews addresses the media during a press conference in Melbourne, Australia, on Jan. 11, 2022. Diego Fedele/Getty Images

Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that there has been no evidence of the new sub-variant of the Omicron strain being more virulent than the older BA.1 variant, and experts have advised state governments against imposing further restrictions on their jurisdictions.

Regarding the premier’s comments, opposition Leader Matthew Guy pointed out that the state should remove the mask mandate completely and put the pandemic behind it.

“How’s it fair that there’s 60,000 people at the MCG, sanctioned by the state government, but kids in primary school in grades four, five and six are wearing a mask? That’s ridiculous,” Guy told reporters.

Meanwhile, Victoria’s public transport minister Ben Carroll confirmed on March 17 that he was infected with the coronavirus following his daughter returning a positive COVID-19 testing result on March 12.

Carroll said he was keeping his symptoms in check while his daughter was in good condition.

His situation comes right after Health Minister Martin Foley entered self-quarantine on March 16 after a family member got the virus.

According to Victoria’s Department of Health, the state reported 9,752 new cases of infection and seven deaths on March 17.

The people passing away were in their 70s, 80s and 90s, with one case of death occurring in the week commencing March 7, five in February and one in January.

In addition, 197 people in the state are currently hospitalised because of the virus, with 23 staying in the intensive care unit and four on ventilators.

The booster vaccination rate for Victorians who are 18 years old and above has reached 63.1 percent, and 94.2 per cent of people aged 12 and over in the state have had two doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.