Message from the Publisher #024 – Victoria undergoes a 5-Day snap lockdown

Victoria undergoes a 5-Day snap lockdown

Happy Lunar New Year!

Many from the Asian cultures in Australia celebrated the Lunar New Year!

Unfortunately, Victorians would stay at home as a 5-day snap lockdown was announced on the first day of the Lunar New Year on 12 February. Up to 16 cases from the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn Hotel cluster with the UK strain of Covid-19 spread with tremendous speed had resulted in this lockdown. With three community transmitted cases in Auckland on Sunday, Prime Minister Jacinda Arden announced a three days stage three lockdown in Auckland and a stage 2 lockdown in other parts of New Zealand. As a result, arrivals from New Zealand to Australia would need to undergo 14 days of quarantine and the trans-Tasman travel bubble paused.

Some in Victoria blamed the Andrews government for the lockdown at one of the busiest weekends of the whole year leading to massive cancellation of bookings on Valentine’s Day and Chinese New Year. Restaurateurs complained of the great loss of pre-ordered food stock at last minutes and asked for compensation. Politicians claimed that this was a result of an ineffective contact tracing system and poorly designed and never fixed hotel quarantine. Many compared to measures imposed by Queensland and New South Wales governments in similar situations and concluded that Victorians suffered from harsh government policy instead.

The precautionary approach of the Victorian government is similar to that adopted in New Zealand which aimed at total elimination of the virus. However, the national strategy of Australia goes for suppression rather than elimination. I believe and hope that the current approach will keep Victoria clean and beneficial to Victorians. However, the Victorian government should provide greater support so that Victorians can endure the extra pain imposed by the government.

Yes, we support taking greater risks in holding the Covidsafe Australian Open at a Covid normal society at this moment. We believe this is beneficial to Victoria and Australia. However, the cost should not be born only by Victorians.

Raymond Chow
Publisher, BlessingCALD