Country communities are worried about the spread of COVID-19 out of Melbourne after the Andrews Government’s failed management of hotel quarantine and contact tracing.
Regional Victorians are demanding Daniel Andrews puts tougher measures in place to deter locked down Melbourne residents from travelling to country areas.
Reports that thousands of Melburnians have attempted to escape the city lockdown by travelling into regional Victoria or interstate show people aren’t taking this crisis seriously.
The case of a Melbourne resident driving to Sydney on July 7 before testing positive for COVID-19 is another reminder of just how easy it is to spread the virus long distances and put other people’s lives at risk.
The Australian Medical Association Victoria’s call for testing to be done at checkpoints on the fringe of lockdown areas is a sensible measure that will help with contact tracing and to give country communities peace of mind.
In normal circumstances, visitors from Melbourne help to drive our regional tourism sector, but the crisis we are currently enduring is anything but normal.
There will be a time to welcome Melbourne residents back to country Victoria once the Andrews Government fixes its mess and gets the city outbreaks under control.
