Victorian Opposition Leader calls for COVID-19 isolation rules overhaul

Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has called on the Andrews government to overhaul COVID-19 isolation rules for household contacts, saying people who test negative should be able to “get on with life”.

Mr Guy announced on Tuesday morning he was forced into home isolation for seven days after the youngest of his three sons, Alex, aged nine, tested positive for the virus.

Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy, who announced on Tuesday his son had tested positive for COVID-19. Credit:Paul Jeffers

He said while he and his family would make isolation work and always follow the rules, “it is very weird when it happens to yourself because then you realise you haven’t planned out your whole week to be at home”.

“I mean, I’ve got things to do,” Mr Guy said on a press conference via Zoom. “I’m meant to be on the Peninsula today and then going over to Geelong. I’ve got a very, very busy week coming up, but you have to make things work.

“But it does tell you in many ways, the isolation rules – are they sensible? I’m not sure they are.”

Mr Guy said he, his other two sons and his wife had all tested negative for the virus, and, “no wonder half the state’s in a semi-lockdown because we’re all in isolation from family members”.

The opposition leader called for “common sense” on isolation rules, saying if people were doing COVID-19 tests, returning them negative, and feeling fine, they should get on with life. He noted he tests for the virus everyday, if not twice a day, and usually tests his children a few times a week.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Monday he had tested positive for COVID-19 and was also isolating for seven days.

“If you’re doing tests, and you’re negative, and you feel fine, then you should get on with life,” he said.

“That’s the most sensible way to conduct yourself; that’s how other states are doing it.

“I just don’t see why in Victoria we’ve got thousands of people sitting at home who are constantly reporting negative tests, and yet they’re sitting at home.

“It doesn’t make any sense why [we] are isolating thousands and thousands of Victorians, which affects hospitality, which affects so many different industries.”

Mr Guy noted he has called out COVID-19 isolation rules before, and was not just talking out against them because he was isolating. He said there were thousands of staff in Victoria’s healthcare system furloughed “for this very reason”, and laws around the virus were still holding the state back.

“The state government is still obsessed with making laws to hold us all back. It’s about time we just recovered and got on with our lives – that’s the most sensible way forward,” he said.

Mr Guy said in a statement on Tuesday morning he would return to work on Tuesday, April 5, and David Southwick would act as the state’s Liberal Party leader in the meantime.

Jacqueline Maley cuts through the noise of the federal election campaign with news, views and expert analysis. Sign up to our Australia Votes 2022 newsletter here.

Most Viewed in Politics

From our partners

Source: Read Full Article