‘It’s a head to head experiment’: The Project stars insist Dan Andrews WAS taking aim at Sydney with barbed comments about Melbourne’s new lockdown – as Lisa Wilkinson gives her verdict
- Victoria has called a snap five day lockdown after a surge in Covid infections
- The Project hosts say it will be ‘a head to head experiment between Vic and NSW
- Covid cases of the Indian Delta variant have sprialled to more than 800 in NSW
- NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian has been criticised for not locking down earlier
- Vic Premier Daniel Andrews says he is not going to make the same move
Victoria’s snap five-day lockdown to stop the spread of newly-imported Covid cases from New South Wales will be a ‘head to head experiment’ between the two states, stars of The Project have warned.
New South Wales has recorded 929 infections since June 16 – when a limo driver is thought to have caught the virus ferrying international flight crew – and are now in lockdown until at least July 30.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian held off on calling a full-scale lockdown for almost two weeks, a move slammed by her Victorian counterpart Daniel Andrews.
Since the virus came into Victoria from Sydney, 18 new cases have been recorded in the state after a team of infected removallists from Covid-ravaged western Sydney travelled to Melbourne for work.
‘Good on Daniel Andrews for recognising the mistakes that have been made here in NSW,’ Lisa Wilkinson (pictured) said
‘It’s a tale of two cities. We now have a test case on how to deal with the Delta strain,’ co-host of The Project Peter Helliar said.
‘Sydney has done it their way and Melbourne will try to do it this way.’
Fellow host Waleed Aly said Premier Andrews sounded ‘quite pointed’ in the way he spoke on Thursday with barbed comments directed at how NSW has handled the worrying outbreak.
‘He said “we’re not waiting, we know what happens when you wait”,’ Aly said.
‘And that sounded like he was talking about Sydney. There were constant references to the situation in Sydney.
‘So this is like a head to head experiment.’
Channel Ten stars of The Project say Victoria’s snap five day lockdown after a string of Indian Delta Covid cases will be like a ‘head to head experiment’ between Sydney and Melbourne
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (left) held off on calling a full-scale lockdown for almost two weeks – something her Victoria counterpart Daniel Andrews (right) says he is not going to do
For long-suffering Victorians this will be the fifth lockdown since the pandemic hit Australian shores, including the gruelling 112-consecutive day stay-at-home order which were in place last year.
Although Helliar said being thrust back into lockdown feels like ‘a nightmare,’ the panel said this time around it feels different given the spiralling number of cases which have ravaged Sydney.
‘We didn’t want to be the test case,’ Sydneysider Wilkinson said.
‘But good on Daniel Andrews for recognising the mistakes that have been made here in NSW.
Health workers at Ariele Apartments in Maribyrnong, north-west of Melbourne are seen on Thursday (pictured) after it was declared an exposure site
‘It’s a tale of two cities. We now have a test case on how to deal with the Delta strain,’ host of The Project Peter Helliar said. Pictured: Pedestrian wearing face masks walk in the CBD of Melbourne on Thursday
‘I mean, even today, with cases being in the mid-60s, down from just over 100 two days ago, that’s a good sign, but the really worrying thing continues to be the number of people who are still out there, infectious in the community.’
‘And that doesn’t seem to be shifting and that’s what we are all worried about.’
As part of Victoria’s strict new measures there are now only five lawful reasons to leave home – essential shopping, exercise, medical care, work or study that cannot be done from home, daily exercise and to go and get vaccinated.
The stay-at-home orders will be in place from Thursday July 15 at 11:59pm to Tuesday July 20 at 11:59pm.
‘I think everyone will be moving their own furniture from now on,’ Helliar joked.