Regional Victorian quarantine floated as testing confirms new hotel worker case is UK COVID-19 strain
TueTuesday 9
updated
TueTuesday 9
FebFebruary 2021 at 2:45am
A second hotel worker tests positive for COVID-19 in Melbourne, prompting the idea of regional quarantine facilities.
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Health experts and a local MP suggest quarantine in regional Victoria could be an option
National Cabinet says existing hotel quarantine arrangements will remain
The Victorian Government has confirmed, after genomic testing, that a hotel worker at the Holiday Inn at Melbourne Airport has contracted the UK strain of the COVID-19 virus.
It has prompted health experts to consider the idea of using regional Victoria for quarantine at locations.
The push to reunify Euroaâs east and west: Overpass plan divides town
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For more than 50 years, a road overpass rising above the railway line in Euroa has been a visible marker between the townâs east and west.
Most of Euroaâs charm lies on the east side, with historic buildings, cafes and shops, while the west has mostly industrial sites, some housing and just one pub.
The road overpass in Euroa.
Credit:Joe Armao
Many residents are now hoping to seize the chance for reunification as part of a major upgrade to the rail line and do away with the âunsightlyâ bridge that was built in the 1960s.
Is Hughes the next Warringah? Inside the campaign to unseat Craig Kelly
The local community group, We are Hughes, has been very busy this week.
Yesterday, as Craig Kelly publicly lambasted Tanya Plibersek, Linda Seymour’s phone lit up.
As the convenor of a group trying to unseat the member for Hughes, she is used to responding to the MP’s unscientific theories about COVID treatments and climate change. But this week, as Kelly’s radio interview with renowned anti-vaxxer Pete Evans went viral and Scott Morrison defended Kelly at the National Press Club, Seymour has been under siege.
So many people engaged with the website of community organisation We are Hughes that she was forced to mute her notifications. Between that and responding to media calls, the architectural project manager barely had time to eat.
A loose confederation of current and former independent politicians will hold a national conference later this month to discuss strategies to win seats at the next federal election. The conference, “Getting Elected”, will bring together high-profile independents including Warringah’s Zali Steggall, Indi’s Helen Haines, the former member for Wentworth, Kerryn Phelps, South Australian senator Rebekha Sharkie and Tasmanian senator, Jacqui Lambie as.
Craig Kelly’s controversial appearance on a podcast hosted by disgraced celebrity chef Pete Evans saw the Liberal MP attack health bureaucrats who he claimed were giving “dud advice” to government, as the men bonded over what they perceived to be unfair media reporting.
Just hours after the podcast was published on Evans’ subscription-only website, Mr Kelly tangled with Labor shadow minister Tanya Plibersek in a hallway argument, before he was privately and publicly rebuked by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.
“Views expressed by the Member for Hughes do not align with my views, or the views of the advice that has been provided to me by the Chief Medical Officer,” Mr Morrison told the federal parliament on Wednesday.