About 3,500 people have been tested in the northern suburbs on Saturday. Eight-hundred people are already isolating due to the East Preston Islamic College outbreak. Seven new cases of coronavirus have been detected in Metropolitan Melbourne, Sun 25 Oct, resulting in a rolling 14-day daily average under five i.e. 4.6.
The Premier had previously stated a figure under five would allow the easing of restrictions. Victorian Opposition leader Michael O'Brien says it is unfair for the premier to keep "moving the goalposts".
In one of her first public statements since stepping down as the state's health minister, Jenny Mikakos criticised the delay in reopening as a "paralysis in decision-making" in a statement on Twitter. The Australian Business Council says it is "at a loss" to understand why effective controls can't be put in place, considering the lower-case numbers in the state.
Owner of Colombian restaurant La Tienda, John Gomez, says the delayed reopening is devastating.
We've just had enough of, you know, the carrot being dangled in front of us, and not being able to reach it. They [the state government] say they have got everything in place, but it is obviously not working in comparison to what the rest of the country is going through. So yeah [I'm] disappointed, angry, frustrated -- and pretty much just had enough of it.
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