Regional Victorian families and businesses are back in lockdown because Daniel Andrews isn’t prepared to do the hard work to get gold standard contact tracing in place.
While all Victorians are forced to again live under harsh restrictions, New South Wales has successfully put processes in place that ensure the state can continue to function – even despite localised outbreaks.
It’s months since the ring of steel lifted, so there’s no excuse for failing to do the work to improve contact tracing that will keep our businesses open, while also protecting public health.
Victorians have always been prepared to do what’s needed to get this virus under control, but to be back in lockdown as a result of more failures in Labor’s hotel quarantine and contact tracing is a bitter pill to swallow.
Daniel Andrews’ eleventh-hour lockdown left country hospitality, retail and tourism businesses forced to again tell staff to stay at home and throw out thousands of dollars’ worth of stock they’d purchased ahead of the busy Valentine’s Day weekend.
Despite no cases in regional Victoria, country kids are again forced out of the classroom and families separated – all because Daniel Andrews let the virus out of hotel quarantine in Melbourne.
Daniel Andrews promised this wouldn’t happen again.
Daniel Andrews promised the Government had learned from its mistakes.
But we now know Daniel Andrews still can’t get the basics right.
Regional Victorians must not be forced to again pay the price for Daniel Andrews’ failures in contact tracing and hotel quarantine in Melbourne.