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Topics: Coronavirus, News, Australia
Rachel Lang
Topics: Coronavirus, News, Australia
Premier Daniel Andrews has extended Victoria’s pandemic declaration for another three months.
The extension of the latest Covid-19 order will come into force from April 12, and will stay in place until July 12.
The move comes as the Victorian State Government claims Covid-19 still poses a 'serious risk to public health' in Australia, thanks to the recent surge in Omicron cases.
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The Premier said the extension will mean there is 'more support for health workers' on the frontline as a new variant called BA-2 starts to crop up overseas.
"This extension enables us to keep modest and sensible settings in place to reduce transmission and hospitalisation – that means more support for health workers and limiting its impact on our community,” Andrews said.
“We don’t want rules on any longer than they need to be – we’ll continue to follow the advice to protect what we’ve built while protecting our community.”
The declaration gives the state government the power to bring in rules to protect public health - like restrictions and lockdowns to protect Victorians from the virus.
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For those Victorians who may fear being thrown into another seemingly endless lockdown, Health Minister Martin Foley said the government is aiming to have 'the absolute smallest footprint of restrictions that we possibly can have'.
"Compared to certainly where we were in 2020, 2021 or indeed early 2022, the number of restrictions are very minimal," he told the Herald Sun.
“We will not have it (pandemic orders) for a moment longer than is absolutely necessary.”
Currently, only vaccinated Victorians can enter hospitality and entertainment venues.
Those who reside with someone who has contracted Covid-19 must also isolate for one week.
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Victoria's latest Covid-19 move comes as a new virulent strain has been detected in the UK, US, and Europe.
BA-2 is a mutated version of both the Delta and Omicron strains that is a hybrid version of the virus.
Scientists believe the mutation - which they've named Deltacron - may have emerged from a person infected with both strains at once, allowing them to become a human petrie dish.
It is believed to be as infectious as measles, with concerns growing after hundreds of infections have started cropping across the United Kingdom in recent days.