If you’re an unvaccinated Victorian, don’t be expecting to get back into your favourite venues anytime soon, not with Dan Andrews around.
The state’s Premier made it very clear in a press conference today that no concessions will be made for people who are unvaccinated, even managing to fit in a little dig at NSW in the process. NSW recently declared that unvaccinated people will be permitted to enter venues on December 1st.
“We won’t be doing that here,” insisted Andrews. “I’m not going to say to someone, ‘just wait us out, will ya? Just wait four or five weeks, and then you’ll be able to go to the pub.’ No. If you make the judgement to not get vaccinated, and you reckon you can wait out us, or the publican, or whoever you think you’re waiting out, you won’t wait out the virus, because the virus will be here for a long time and your only protection against it is being vaccinated.
Strong words indeed. Andrews continued by confirming that the vaccinated economy would go into next year. “This (vaccinated economy) will be well into 2022. Well and truly into 2022. Then we’re going to get into booster issues, so it won’t be, ‘have you had your first or second shot’, it will be, ‘have you had your third?’. And then the other issue will be, who knows what variants will be coming?
We’ve got every reason to be confident, we’ve got every reason to be upbeat, and Victorians have done an amazing job, but that job includes us making some difficult decisions, and that’s to keep people who are not vaccinated out of some of those venues.”
Andrews wasn’t ready to offer an official date for when unvaccinated people would be allowed back into venues. “I can’t put a date on it, but I can say it will not be when we reach 90 per cent. It will not be anytime soon. That (vaccinated economy) is going to function for a period of time, well into 2022.
For instance, I’ll give you an example: the Grand Prix’s in April. I don’t think there are going to be crowds at the Grand Prix made up of people who have not been double dosed.”
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He ended by reminding everyone once again that getting a vaccine in Victoria had never been easier. “If you are unvaccinated by choice… you will make the job of our nurses harder. For heaven’s sake. It’s free, it’s safe, it works. And 5 million of your fellow Victorians have had at least one dose. No one has the right to contribute to other people getting sick.”
Check out today’s full press conference:
