Regional areas without cases shouldn't be left in Victoria's lockdown, says a mayor whose city has been subject of false alarms.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Viral fragments were detected in Benalla sewage on Thursday for the third time.
Mayor Danny Claridge said it was important people get tested if unwell but didn't believe one-off detections in Wangaratta or Benalla justified a statewide lockdown.
"If you've got two or three days of positive tests, then you would be very concerned.
"People who have had COVID can continue to shed fragments of the virus for up to eight weeks, so they're fully recovered people who are legitimately going through Benalla.
"There's no justification in continuing to keep regional Victoria locked down."
Mr Andrews did not confirm if zero cases outside of Melbourne or the implementation of a ring of steel would set the regions free early.
"I've got no announcements to make ... I know that's very frustrating," he said.
"But I would just make the point, the last outbreak made its way to Mildura, and you probably can't get further from Melbourne than that.
"Cases have gone from Sydney to Armidale."
Armidale has gone into a snap lockdown but not neighbouring areas, an approach Cr Claridge wants to see in Victoria.
"If Portland has a positive case, it doesn't mean Mildura and Wodonga need to be locked down," Cr Claridge said.
"People were understanding (of lockdowns) to start with ... but now it's got the stage where some people are ready to hand the keys back and just walk away."
Victoria Police established a checkpoint on the Hume Freeway at the weekend for the first time beginning soft border controls since June 27.
While Victoria has continually called for a ring of steel in NSW, Cr Claridge said it "didn't work" in Melbourne's second wave.
IN OTHER NEWS:
"I think there has to be a better way than lockdowns, but the old ring of steel was not the answer," he said.
"I spoke to people who had a legitimate reason to go backwards and forwards to Melbourne, and quite often they were never stopped, they just drove straight through."
"And it gives us a false sense of security in a way, because you think 'Melbourne's locked down, so therefore people won't be traveling to the North East', but in fact, they probably still were."
Indi MP Helen Haines said the restrictions should be eased when safe to do so.
"On the current evidence, it appears there is no community spread of COVID-19 in regional Victoria," she said.
"As public health officials consider the information about the latest outbreaks in Melbourne, it is important that regional Victoria and Melbourne are not treated the same, but each area is treated according to its circumstances.
"It is not fair for regional Victoria to be treated the same as Melbourne when the situations are so different."
Dr Haines said it was a positive step the Victorian government would make AstraZeneca available to 18-39 year olds at some state-run vaccination hubs, including in Mansfield.
"I am hearing more and more from people in that age group that they want more opportunities to be included in the vaccine roll-out, and this is a step in the right direction," she said.
"Early reports indicate demand is already high for the AstraZeneca vaccine at those state-run hubs, and I would like to see the opportunity for 18-39 year olds to get vaccinated be expanded to more vaccination hubs across the state."
