In news that quite literally has me jumping out of my seat with excitement, it looks like Victorian Premier Dan Andrews could ease further Melbourne lockdown restrictions this weekend if case numbers continue to drop.
Speaking to the media on Tuesday, Andrews said that we’re on track to make further “significant” announcements this weekend. If you remember back to last week, that’s the same word he used to describe everything announced on Sunday.
“We are well-placed this weekend to be able to make very significant announcements about a further step to opening,” he hinted in a press conference on Tuesday.
“We still have a few days, obviously, to run this week and things can change rapidly.”
But before you get your hopes up for the possibility of sinking beers at the pub for the AFL Grand Final this weekend, Andrews confirmed that there is no chance the changes will be made in time for the footy.
“No. We’ve been very clear that we want to look at numbers as they unfold this week. I’ll stand here on Sunday and hopefully be able to confirm for Victorians that when it comes to retail, pubs, restaurants, cafes, bars, as well as a number of other settings, that we can have what’s been termed a dark opening for, say, the first one or two days of next week and then we can be up and running from then,” he said when asked about the footy.
Although he understands our love of the footy, he simply said it’s not worth risking all the hard work we’ve put in this year so far.
“Ultimately, no one game of footy, no one barbecue or dinner with friends is worth all that can be on offered in a Covid-safe summer and a Covid-safe and Covid-normal 2021. I know it’s… I know what the footy means, whether your team is in the grand final or not. I know what that means.”
Andrews’ comments come after the news that today’s singular coronavirus case could be reclassified, marking our first zero day in MONTHS.
“I would just say when you look at these numbers, this could potentially be a day of zero and it’s been a long time since we had a day of zero and it’s a testament to the hard work of every single Victorian in the city, in the suburbs, in regional communities, large and small,” he said.
As much as it sucks that we won’t be at the pub this Saturday, if we all keep doing the right thing, we could see retail (and perhaps our beloved pubs) open even sooner than first thought.
Even if you don’t agree with Andrews, I implore you to do the right thing this weekend so we can all get back to work and normal life as soon as humanly possible. The one thing we *don’t* need this weekend is for another outbreak to occur because people prioritised their Grand Final BBQs over the good of society as a whole.
The pub is truly so close I can nearly taste it.
