This coronavirus article is unlocked and free to read in the interest of community health and safety. Get full digital access to trusted news from the Herald Sun and Leader for just $1 a week for the first 12 weeks.
Residents locked inside cramped public housing towers have rubbished government claims they are being looked after and even compared the high-rises to prisons.
Trapped in their homes, distressed residents of Racecourse Rd’s public housing apartments hit out at being kept in the “Flemington Penitentiary” as they completed their first day of the harsh lockdown.
Some covered their windows with posters comparing the towers to a prison, with one that read: “Treat us as humans, not caged animals. End this lockdown.”
Dozens of police surrounded the buildings as children pressed their faces up against windows and shouted out from the high-rise flats.
John, who has lived in 159 Melrose St, North Melbourne, for a decade, said on Sunday that residents had been left in the dark.
He said there were no police or healthcare workers patrolling the hallways and, just before 6pm he had still not received any food.
“No one has come to see us. We’ve been told nothing,” he said. “Daniel Andrews says we’re all going to get looked after — what a load of hooey.”
Some residents of 120 Racecourse Rd in Flemington were also without food for a day after the announcement on Saturday that nine public housing towers were going into immediate lockdown.
Police turned away family members and friends, including one visibly upset man, who brought food and care packages for the tenants.
“It’s not fair. They’re not animals,” he said.
Premier Daniel Andrews said it was a “massive logistic task” to organise food and supplies.
“It does take some time but we are all working as hard as we possibly can to protect those residents, to support those residents, and to protect public health more broadly.”
Foodbank and Sikh Volunteers Australia delivered food packages for authorities to distribute.
Victoria’s Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said demands for 500 police a shift to enforce the lockdowns were sprung on officers, who had received little training.
AIRLINE STAFF EMPLOYED TO TAKE OVER QUARANTINE DUTIES
Flight attendants and pilots are being hired to work in Melbourne’s quarantine hotels, after poorly trained security guards sparked a coronavirus outbreak in the city’s north and west.
A job ad said the staff would use their “positive influencing skills” to enforce coronavirus safety measures within the problem-plagued hotels.
The move comes as an emergency field hospital equipped with ventilators is being set up at Melbourne Showgrounds amid fears of a surge in serious COVID-19 cases in the nearby locked-down public housing towers.
Twenty-seven residents in the Flemington and North Melbourne estates have tested positive but authorities warn of the virus’s “explosive potential” to spread through the vulnerable community.
Australia’s acting Chief Medical Officer, Paul Kelly, called the towers “vertical cruise ships”.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Sunday refused to acknowledge a secret plan — revealed by the Herald Sun — to recruit up to 1000 airline and other workers to staff quarantine hotels. Victoria’s Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, also said he had no idea of the plan.
But a Department of Justice advertisement posted on Qantas’s internal job site states:
“You will work within a number of Melbourne CBD hotels to support the compulsory hotel quarantine arrangements for people arriving from overseas. This includes following infection prevention and control processes.
“Reporting to a team leader, you will use your positive influencing skills to ensure that physical distancing measures and good hygiene practices are being adhered to at all times.”
Sources close to the bungled quarantine program have raised concerns over the poorly trained security guards being replaced with airline staff with even less training.
The Herald Sun believes employees of the grounded carriers are already helping at several major hotels to replace private security operators, amid a major overhaul that has led to Corrections Victoria staff — including prison officers — being seconded.
A Qantas Group spokeswoman confirmed the government had offered resident support worker roles to staff who had been stood down.
The Transport Workers Union said it was concerned that frontline staff at quarantine hotels would have little to no training.
“In a time of economic and social uncertainty, the chance of employment is one aviation workers do not take for granted,” Victorian secretary John Berger said.
“However, during a global pandemic and in performing a frontline role as residential support officers — the safety of workers must be paramount.”
Opposition Leader Michael O’Brien said the government should use the Defence Force.
“We don’t need an army of flight attendants, we need an army,” he said.
Victoria on Sunday recorded 74 new coronavirus cases, following 108 infections on Saturday. New cases included two linked to the Stamford Plaza, one to the Truganina family outbreak, and healthcare workers at the Northern Hospital in Epping, Royal Melbourne Hospital and the Joan Kirner Women’s and Children’s Hospital.
Eight new, as well as existing, cases have also been linked to the Al-Taqwa College outbreak, taking the cases from 33 on Saturday to 59.
Amid fears COVID-19 could cause a disaster among vulnerable public housing residents, the Department of Health, Royal Melbourne Hospital and St John Ambulance will on Monday open a 24-hour, 30-bed field hospital at the Showgrounds.
Twenty-six patients are in hospital, including three in intensive care, but Prof Sutton warned the outbreak at the towers was expected to grow.
“I do expect more to be found,” he said. “The reason why these measures are in place is because this environment, this specific setting, has genuinely explosive potential for the spread of this virus.”
Mr Andrews moved to reassure more than 3000 residents in the towers they were being “protected”, not “punished”, by the extreme lockdown measures.
As well as offering free rent for a fortnight to residents, the state government will provide $1500 hardship payments for those who cannot attend work, and $720 for households where no one is employed.
Residents in towers who need assistance can call the Housing Call Centre on 1800 961 054
CALLS FOR FREEZE ON LIFTING OF RESTRICTIONS
The county’s top health body is calling for an immediate pause on easing virus restrictions until Melbourne’s hotspots are under control.
Australian Medical Association President Dr Tony Bartone warned Saturday’s spike to 108 cases was the second highest daily spike in Australia and the battle was far from over.
“These new outbreaks send a strong signal that the other States should rethink the pace of easing of their COVID-19 restrictions until community transmission in Melbourne is under control,,” Dr Bartone said.
“We all want to get our lives back to normal, but it has to be a gradual and cautious process.
“All our governments are dealing with the enormous challenge of protecting the public health and generating economic activity to protect businesses and jobs – and in an ideal world allow people to return to everyday social activity.
“But as pubs and restaurants open up to more people, as the restart of elite and community sporting events picks up, and as the return to workplaces for thousands of workers accelerates nationally, the COVID-19 spikes in Melbourne are a warning for all Australians how quickly virus outbreaks can occur anywhere in the country.”
Dr Bartone clearly pointed to the AFL and said the breaches were worrying as “some players have disrespected these privileges”
ROADS KEY TO GETTING VIC ECONOMY BACK ON TRACK
Dangerous roads and rails will be improved and school zones made safer under a $525 million joint federal and state plan to get Victoria’s economy back on track.
The half-a-billion-dollar cash injection will support construction jobs as part of Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s “tradie-led recovery”.
The Victorian Government has committed $205.5 million and the Federal Government has added $320.3 million.
Among the projects chosen was the Princes Highway East duplication between Traralgon and Sale, which will receive a further $121 million.
Thirty high-speed, high-risk rural intersections will be upgraded with $20 million.
Projects to make pedestrian and school zones safer will also share in just under $20 million.
Mr Morrison said the cash was part of the JobMaker plan and would “improve safety and boost jobs at a time we need it most”.
“Partnering with state and territory governments to invest in more infrastructure projects across Australia is a key part of our JobMaker plan to rebuild our economy and create more jobs,” he said.
“This funding injection means we have brought forward or provided additional funding in excess of $830 million to Victoria in the past eight months.”
Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he would work closely with all levels of government to “get Victorians home sooner and safer while creating jobs and supporting our economic recovery”.
Victoria has taken a massive hit from the COVID-19 shutdowns — pain further exacerbated over the past two weeks as cases again surged.
A further $178.2 million will go to the state’s Regional Rail Revival, taking the federal government’s contribution to the project to $1.8 billion.
Connecting major regional centres and boosting the hard hit economy were key aspects of the plan, Premier Daniel Andrews said.
“This partnership with the Commonwealth will build projects regional communities need and help keep our construction industry strong — which is more important than ever right now as we rebuild from the pandemic,” he said.
Federal Urban Infrastructure Minister Alan Tudge said the cash would benefit Victorians travelling around the state.
“At the same time, investment in targeted road safety works and the Princes Highway duplication will mean safer, reliable roads for thousands of Victorians,” he said.
The package would deliver safe roads, State Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said.
“We’re building the transport infrastructure to support better connections to our regional cities and country towns and deliver safer roads and more reliable regional rail journeys,” she said.
CALLS FOR CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION INTO QUARANTINE FIASCO
HOW CORONAVIRUS HAS DECIMATED MELBOURNE’S CBD
RESIDENTS LOCKED IN BUT GENEROUS VICTORIANS READY TO HELP
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMilAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5oZXJhbGRzdW4uY29tLmF1L2Nvcm9uYXZpcnVzL3Jlc2lkZW50cy1pbi1oaWdocmlzZS1sb2NrZG93bi1mdXJpb3VzLWF0LXByaXNvbmxpa2UtY29uZGl0aW9ucy9uZXdzLXN0b3J5L2NmY2ZlNjk1ZmIxMDNiYWRmNjE2MWI5ZGE4MTNhMjFh0gEA?oc=5
2020-07-05 17:07:58Z
52780899588900
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Residents in high-rise lockdown furious at ’prison-like’ conditions - Herald Sun"
Post a Comment