COVID Australia: Dan Andrews offers relief to Victorians struck in NSW as new ...

COVID Australia: Dan Andrews offers relief to Victorians struck in NSW as new ...
COVID Australia: Dan Andrews offers relief to Victorians struck in NSW as new ...

Premier Dan Andrews has announced fully-vaccinated Victorians currently trapped in New South Wales can return home within a week. 

The state has broken two grim Covid records on the same day as it prepares for its outbreak to get even worse. 

Mr Andrews announced double-vaccinated Victorians in extreme risk zones will be eligible to return home if they have a negative test 72 hours prior to their departure. 

Returnees will be required to quarantine for 14 days upon their arrival in Victoria, with the new rules to come into place from September 30.  

Melbourne shattered the world record for the most days in lockdown since the pandemic with 235, and recorded 766 new Covid cases and four deaths. 

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews (pictured) has provided some much needed relief for Victorian's trapped in New South Wales with new rules on interstate travel

Victorian Premier Dan Andrews (pictured) has provided some much needed relief for Victorian's trapped in New South Wales with new rules on interstate travel 

Mr Andrews said the new travel rules would provide some much needed relief for residents who have been trapped in NSW for a 'lengthy period'.  

'I know it has been a real inconvenience and challenge for those people and their families,' Mr Andrews told reporters on Thursday. 

'It is essentially home quarantine, if you are double vaxxed and have a negative test within three days of coming home, then that all begins on the 30th.'

Returnees will also undergo a test at the start and end of their quarantine period.  

Mr Andrews estimated there were several thousand Victorians currently trapped in Greater Sydney and the ACT that can apply for a new travel permit. 

He said if a traveller doesn't have a safe place to go on their return to Victoria the state government would provide arrangements for that person. 

Victoria's 766 new cases is the highest number of daily infections the state has reported throughout the entire pandemic.   

Argentinian capital Buenos Aires held the unfortunate record with 234 total days stuck in lockdown until today when it was surpassed.

Melbourne has suffered through six lockdowns, the longest being about five months last year during its second wave that killed more than 900 people. 

That outbreak peaked at 723 new cases on July 29 last year, 43 fewer than today's total with warnings it will pass NSW's high watermark of 1,599 on September 11.

Melbourne broke the world record for the most days in lockdown since the pandemic with 235, and recorded 766 new Covid cases (pictured, women exercise in Melbourne)

 Melbourne broke the world record for the most days in lockdown since the pandemic with 235, and recorded 766 new Covid cases (pictured, women exercise in Melbourne)

Melbourne has suffered through six lockdowns, the longest being about five months last year during its second wave that killed more than 900 people (pictured, a rapid Covid test)

Melbourne has suffered through six lockdowns, the longest being about five months last year during its second wave that killed more than 900 people (pictured, a rapid Covid test)

It comes modelling warns daily cases could climb as high as 4,000, in contrast to the premier's boast he would crush the outbreak with a one-week lockdown.

Instead, the lockdown is in its 11th week and included desperate measures including a curfew, and closing playgrounds and golf courses.

Melburnians are not due to leave lockdown until October 26, by which time it will have spent 267 days in lockdown, but only outdoor retail and hospitality will open.

Victoria's 766 new cases were diagnosed from 62,408 tests and 40,957 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday.

To further boost this vaccination rate, which hit 45.2 per cent on Wednesday, teachers and early childhood workers must get the jab by November 29.  

Of the four deaths recorded on Thursday was a man in his 80s from Moreland, a man in his 70s from Hume, a man in his 80s from Hume, and a woman in her 90s from Hume.  

There are 257 people currently in hospital with Covid-19, with 60 in intensive care and 41 currently on a ventilator. 

Education Minister James Merlino on Wednesday announced all Victorian staff at government and independent schools and all early childhood centres will need to be vaccinated (pictured, Keilor Views Primary School)

Education Minister James Merlino on Wednesday announced all Victorian staff at government and independent schools and all early childhood centres will need to be vaccinated (pictured, Keilor Views Primary School)

Education Minister James Merlino on Wednesday announced all staff at government and independent schools and all early childhood settings will need to have their first jab by October 18, or have a booking within a week of that date. 

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The Catholic Education Commission of Victoria says it will also make the Covid-19 vaccine mandatory for teachers and staff in its 498 primary and secondary schools, sticking to the same timelines.

All government school staff will be entitled to half a day of paid time off to get vaccinated.

'Children under 12 do not have access to a vaccine, so we've got to protect our kids, both from contracting the virus and also transmitting the virus when they go home to their families,' Mr Merlino told reporters.

'The best way to do that is to ensure that people who work with our children in early childhood, in care settings, in our schools, that they are all required to be vaccinated.'

Victoria's 766 new cases were diagnosed form 62,408 tests and 40,957 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday (pictured, a vaccination clinic in Broadmeadows in Melbourne)

Victoria's 766 new cases were diagnosed form 62,408 tests and 40,957 vaccine doses were administered on Wednesday (pictured, a vaccination clinic in Broadmeadows in Melbourne)

All staff will have to have their first jab by October 18 or have a booking within a week of that date (pictured, a woman receives a Pfizer vaccine)

All staff will have to have their first jab by October 18 or have a booking within a week of that date (pictured, a woman receives a Pfizer vaccine)

He said priority access would not be given to staff to receive a vaccine as there was 'plenty of capacity' at the state-run hubs, pharmacies and GPs, while a recent survey of 33,000 teachers found 75 per cent were already fully vaccinated.

The Australian Education Union and Independent Education Union as well as the Early Learning Association of Australia welcomed the

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