The Big Day Finally Arrives

In a few short hours all of Melbourne will be watching and listening for the long awaited announcement from Dan Andrews about what, if any, changes will be made to our lockdown rules. After enduring months of the most severe lockdown restrictions on earth, people are now at breaking point and desparately in need of some light at the end of this seemingly endless tunnel.

The last few days have finally seen a dramatic drop in the number of new daily cases. The past three days' critical numbers were 4, 2 and 1. A few minutes ago we heard that today's number was 2 (with no deaths). This brought the rolling `14 day average down to 7.5 for Metro Melbourne.

In spite of this, we are continually being warned to not expect too much change to the current restrictions. The most hated restriction is the 5 km travel limit. This is the one that everyone really wants to be scrapped. Apart from split families, the other major group suffering at the moment is the retail sector. With the majority of retail shops still closed, there is a very real danger that many will not survive if they cannot open and start to gain even some benefit from the upcoming Christmas period.

So what else has been happening over the past week ? For people looking for some diversion from the doom and gloom of Covid, we have had the AFL football season finally limping towards a conclusion. With the MCG closed, all matches have had to be held interstate. The final preliminary final was held last night at the Gabba in Brisbane. The two teams fighting for the final spot in the Grand Final were Brisbane and Geelong. Although Brisbane put up a brave struggle for most of the match, they were overun by Geelong in the final quarter. The final margin was 40 points. This now gives rise to a somewhat ironic situation where, for the first time in history the Grand Final will be held outside of Melbourne, but the two teams competing are both from Victoria. Geelong will now face Richmond for the title of the weirdest premiership ever. I will be barracking for Geelong.

Later today I will post an update with what changes have been announced to the lockdown. In the meantime, I will have some fun by making a few predictions.

I predict
1. That the 5 km travel limit will be increased to 20 km.
2. That Melbourne will still be cut off from regional Victoria.
3. That some retail shops will be allowed to reopen (eg hardware, clothing, etc)
4. Cafes will still only be able to sell take away.
5. Groups of up to 10 people will be able to meet outdoors.
6. No indoor gyms, dining, etc.
7. No change to mask wearing laws.
8. All students to return to school as soon as possible.
9. Next major date for updates will be 8th November

I don't pretend to be Nostradamus, so I wonder how many I will get correct.

Update at 1.30 pm
Now that the important press conference has been held, I can report on what sort of score I received for my predictions.
1. Almost correct - the 5 km was actually increased to 25 km.
2. True - Melbourne is still surrounded by a ring of steel.
3. False - most shops remain closed for another two weeks, but somewhat amazingly, hairdressers can reopen.
4. True - cafes still closed, apart from takeaway.
5. True - groups of 10 can meet outdoors, but only if they are from no more than two households.
6. True - gyms and restaurants remain closed
7. True - masks will be worn for just about forever.
8. True
9. False - next major announcement will be on the 1st Nov.

I think that means I got about 6 and half out of 9 - a reasonable pass grade.Read more