As the state records another 270 cases of coronavirus and around 22,000 tests conducted yesterday, Victoria will reportedly close its borders to international arrivals for the “foreseeable future”.
In a press conference in Victoria this morning, Premier Dan Andrews said that the arrivals diversion will remain in place for the “foreseeable future.”
BREAKING: Victoria will not take international arrivals for the foreseeable future. #springst #auspol
— Shannon Deery (@s_deery) July 14, 2020
International flights have been diverted from Melbourne’s international airport since early July, under the request of Premier Andrews, and it was previously reported that he requested that Prime Minister Scott Morrison extend that initial diversion for a further two weeks.
At the same press conference, the state’s Chief Health Officer Prof. Brett Sutton warned that hundreds of Victorians could be hospitalised with positive cases over the next few weeks of the Stage 3 lockdowns.
As reported by The Guardian, Prof. Sutton urged GPs to refer patients early to acute care, to begin management before their condition deteriorates too much.
“GPs have a really critical role in looking after these current individuals with coronavirus,” he said.
“I would just say to them please be in touch and make an assessment of the clinical needs of those individuals.
“If people are deteriorating, now is the time to make an early referral of linkage with acute care or the tertiary care system.”
The 270 new cases out of Victoria today has pushed the state number to 4224, and national case numbers to over 10,000. Around 1800 cases are currently active in the locked-down state.
At the time of writing, there are 81 people in Victorian hospitals with coronavirus, with 26 in intensive care.
