Unvaccinated Victorians to be locked out of pubs sporting events

By Cassandra MorganUpdated September 3, 2021 â€" 1.34pmfirst published at 8.42am

Victorians who have not been vaccinated will be “locked out” of a plethora of venues, including pubs and sporting events, once the state reopens and double-dose COVID-19 vaccine targets have been met.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday started to reveal the liberties the government is considering for vaccinated Victorians when targets are reached, hinting that there would be several venues closed to “people who won’t protect themselves”.

Long lines of people wanting to get vaccinated against COVID-19 are seen at Melbourne Town Hall on Friday.Credit:Paul Jeffers

“If you’re vaccinated, you are going to be able to participate in the economy, you’re going to be able to go to a pub, the cinema, to a sporting event, you’re going to be able to do all sorts of things that an unvaccinated person is not going to be able to do,” he said on Friday.

“Far from being locked into your house, you will have freedoms that others won’t have - they will be locked out of a whole range of venues because they could be vaccinated, and they’ve chosen not to [be].”

The comments come after Victoria recorded 208 new local coronavirus cases and as the number of potentially high-risk exposure sites swelled.

Friday’s case number is the highest recorded in more than 12 months.

The state has also recorded another COVID-19 related death, a man in his 60s from Altona North. It is the third fatality this week from the state’s Delta outbreak.

Ninety-six of the new COVID-19 cases are connected to the current outbreaks, and authorities are investigating the acquisition source for the remaining 112 cases.

Health authorities listed nearly 150 new exposure sites on Thursday. Credit:Getty

The Department of Health did not specify how many of Friday’s new cases were in isolation for their entire infectious period, with authorities to update the public over the weekend.

Friday’s cases were recorded from more than 48,570 COVID-19 tests.

Victoria records 208 new local cases

Two cases in Shepparton

Forty-eight in the western suburbs

One hundred and twenty-eight cases in Melbourne’s northern suburbs

Thirteen cases in the eastern suburbs, including three new cases in Richmond, and two cases in Prahran

Seventeen cases are in other LGAs

One new case was recorded in the state’s hotel quarantine, and more than 33,500 people received their COVID-19 vaccine doses in the past 24 hours.

Friday’s figures come as restrictions for playgrounds change and children under 12 are allowed, for the first time in weeks, to use playgrounds.

A playground in Brunswick is reopened on Friday.Credit:Darrian Traynor

Only one parent or carer can accompany their children to a playground, and when there, adults must check-in using a QR code, and they should not remove their masks to eat or drink.

Also, as of 11.59pm on Thursday, in-home carers, such as babysitters, are allowed for school-aged children, as long as both their parents are authorised workers.

The Department of Health says a positive COVID case visited the Number 1 Fertility clinic on Collins St between 8.00am and 6.30pm on Monday and Tuesday this week.Credit:Justin McManus

Authorities identify more exposure sites

Victorian health authorities identified nearly 150 new COVID-19 exposure sites on Thursday, with more than 70 listed after 10pm.

Among the late additions was an inner-city fertility clinic, an early learning centre and an apartment complex at Coburg.

Kids on the Avenue Children’s Centre in Coburg is also listed as an exposure site from August 26 to August 29.Credit:Justin McManus

A construction site at 35 Hancock Street at Southbank has also been declared a tier-1 site.

Melbourne’s Royal Botanic Gardens was also declared a tier-2 site earlier in the evening.

There are currently more than 1000 Victorian venues, transport routes, residential buildings and other places listed as exposure sites.

Border bubble arrangements with NSW tighten

Authorities have also narrowed the definition of “specified workers” who can enter Victoria.

From 6pm on Friday, those who do still make the list will also be subject to more rigorous COVID-19 testing - they will need to be tested within 72 hours of entering Victoria, as well as on days six, seven, or eight after they enter, and again on day 13 or 14.

Border bubble arrangements with NSW were tightened at 11.59pm on Thursday, with people no longer allowed to cross the border to go to physical recreation facilities.

A number of communities are now excluded from the bubble: Greater Bendigo, Greater Shepparton, the City of Benalla, Buloke, Loddon, Yarriambiack in Victoria, and Broken Hill and Edward River in NSW.

That means residents of those areas are no longer eligible for a cross-border “extreme risk zone” permit to enter Victoria, or return from NSW.

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