'We don't want that here': Premier's fierce warning about easing coronavirus restrictions
Premier Daniel Andrews said Victoria has no plans to ease social distancing measures despite other states beginning to relax coronavirus restrictions.
“There are a number of cities and countries around the world that have eased off the sort of restrictions that they had in place. That might have made them very popular at the time, but not long after that, the virus got away from them,” Mr Andrews said on Monday.
“They were left in the terrible position where they had to wind back, they had to put even harder lock down provisions in place.
“We don’t want that here. We don’t want to have a situation where our frustration gets the better of us and we give back all the gains that we have made.
“However, if people follow the rules and get tested, we will have options. Those options will have been hard-won.”
With more than 104,000 tests conducted in the state since January, Mr Andrews said health authorities aimed to test another 100,000 Victorians in the next two weeks.
"This is the biggest public health testing program that our state has ever seen," Mr Andrews said.
"With that data, with those test results, we will have options to ease some of the restrictions that I know are frustrating and challenging and difficult, but restrictions that are working."
He said he has no intention of altering Victoria's stay-at-home measures until the state of emergency ends on May 11, despite moves by Queensland and Western Australia to ease some restrictions this week.
Other states relax restrictions
Other states around Australia are starting to ease restrictions, allowing residents to travel further and gather in larger groups but people will still need to remain 1.5 metres from each other.
Western Australia has announced the two-person gathering rule has now been increased to a maximum of 10 people and residents can now leave home for non-contact recreational activities.
Queenslanders will be able to visit national parks as they reopen from next weekend, starting at midnight on Friday. Residents can also travel up to 50km from home but Premier Annastacia Palaszcuk warned movement was limited to members of your own household.
"If we do see mass gatherings, I will not hesitate to clamp back down,” she said.
Northern Territory will also reopen parks and reserves this coming weekend as Chief Minister Michael Gunner reveals the gradual transition to “a new normal”.
The roll back of restrictions comes as Australia sees a drop in new cases of coronavirus and boosts testing around the country.
with AAP
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