State records nine new COVID cases as Victorians wake to eased restrictions

Cafe tills were ringing and school bells chiming once again across Victoria on Wednesday morning as the state cautiously emerged from its fifth coronavirus lockdown.

The sun even made a brief appearance to welcome more than one million Victorian students back to school as cafes and restaurants served seated customers once more and gyms reopened after the state’s 12-day lockdown.

School’s back! Students return to their classrooms at Resurrection Catholic Primary School in Kings Park. Credit:Jason South

Victoria recorded nine new local cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday. Eight were announced via the usual morning tweet, all linked to the current outbreaks and all in quarantine throughout their entire infectious period.

However, another new case was revealed at a late-morning state government COVID briefing.

Health Minister Martin Foley said the new positive case had worked in traffic control at the Moonee Valley Racecourse testing site for two days while infectious. The site has now been closed.

“They are not an existing primary close contact and we do know that symptoms began on Monday evening with the person. They were tested Tuesday, and the positive result has come in this morning,” Mr Foley said.

“Case interviews are underway to get an understanding of the movements, and the interactions of this person.”

There were 35,862 tests results received while 19,349 Victorians received a first or second COVID-19 jab.

In Melbourne’s north west, the courtyards of Resurrection Catholic Primary School in Kings Park were alive with the sounds of hundreds of excited children half an hour before bell time.

Rahab Chege dropped off her two daughters Carol, 7, and Genevieve, 5, before work. An essential worker in the health sector, Ms Chege had continued to go into work each day while her husband, who is in IT, supervised the two children at home.

Rahab Chege with her daughters, Carol and Genevieve, at Resurrection Catholic Primary School.Credit:Jason South

The two girls used learning packs the teachers had personally delivered to the school’s approximately 500 students.

“They have done really well,” Ms Chege said. “The teachers told us during lockdown, this is what you need to catch up on with your child.”

The eased restrictions also enabled Northcote local Christopher Ong and three-year-old daughter Ava to start their day with a croissant at Northcote cafe Bicycle Thieves.

“Now that lockdown’s over, it’s almost like daddy-daughter time. We spend half an hour in the morning colouring before she goes to preschool,” Mr Ong said.

Christopher Ong and daughter Ava, 3, enjoy a coffee at Northcote cafe Bicycle Thieves as Melbourne emerges from its latest lockdown.Credit:Chris Hopkins

“During lockdown we would just go to the park, just walk around, it gets freezing, it’s wet and it’s cold, so this is good.

“I just hope that one day it can be somewhat permanent.”

Herbert Cafe manager Sam Shayler said it was a delight to see the smiling faces of regulars again, even if they were obscured by masks.

“The best part of it is having all our regulars back and seeing everyone in a better mood, seeing everyone happy again,” Mr Shayler said.

Taylor from The Herbert Cafe, Northcote, readies the venue for patrons as Santa Maria College students return to school.Credit:Chris Hopkins

The cafe, located opposite Northcote train station, welcomed students from Catholic girls’ school Santa Maria College grabbing a coffee before heading to class.

“During lockdown everyone was in a low sort of place, so it’s sort of back to the smiling faces,” he said.

The cautious reopening came as the Victorian Transport Association warned that thousands of truck drivers are crossing the state’s border each day without a permit and shunning testing requirements designed to shield against the NSW coronavirus outbreak.

The peak industry body estimates between 15,000 and 19,000 trucks are entering Victoria daily, the vast majority from NSW. A Victorian government spokesperson said there were 9800 valid permit holders.

Under the Victorian government’s freight permit scheme, drivers are required to get a COVID-19 test every three days.

Victorian Transport Association chief executive Peter Anderson said drivers had complained of difficulty parking large vehicles near testing sites and that long queues meant drivers were getting tested outside working hours, reducing rest time and increasing fatigue. Others complained of skin abrasions and bleeding noses caused by frequent testing.

The transport associations of each state wrote to the federal government this week proposing less invasive - but less accurate - rapid antigen tests for drivers to increase compliance and stop drivers flouting the rules. They want the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee to agree to a national scheme to be taken up by all states.

“It’s scary to think people aren’t getting a permit,” Mr Anderson said. “There’s so many gaps in the process.”

“We don’t want to spread the disease. We want to be responsible and protect the community, but one rogue operator and the whole sky falls in.”

David Estcourt is a court and general news reporter at The Age.

Adam Carey is Education Editor. He joined The Age in 2007 and has previously covered state politics, transport, general news, the arts and food.

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