ALI Cupper said she would not yet join the chorus of people calling for an end to lockdowns in regional Victoria.
The Member for Mildura said with the Delta variant running rampant through New South Wales, including growing cases in Wilcania and Broken Hill, and case numbers popping up in different regions across Victoria, it was not yet safe to open back up in Mildura.
“I would like to reserve my judgment and see where NSW is at before I get behind any campaign for easing or lifting of restrictions,” Ms Cupper told Sunraysia Daily on Monday.
“When I think about my position on a regional exit plan, there are a number of factors that I have to consider.
“And one of those things is that NSW adopted a LGA (Local Government Area) approach and look how badly that is going for them. I also think about the prospects of NSW over the coming weeks.
“They are at 1200 cases daily and while the death rate is low, there is a lag with the death rate. The other thing in NSW and we may see this over the coming weeks is the capacity of their hospitals to cope.
“When hospitals become overwhelmed with an acute respiratory disease that is highly contagious, it is not just Covid cases that are jeopardised, it is women having babies, it is people wanting to access cancer treatments. It will be interesting to see what plays out there in the next few weeks.”
Ms Cupper said as a mother of a four year-old son who “cries when we tell him he can’t go to the park”, she understands the impact lockdowns were having across the region.
“I am not commenting on this as someone who is having a good time or finding lockdown easy,” she said.
“We are all finding it tough. It is hard enough for me as someone with a stable income to deal with this, so I can’t imagine how difficult it is for those who don’t have that. For those people, if the support of the state or federal government is not enough, get in touch with me. That is something constructive I can do.”
Ms Cupper maintained vaccinations were “the only way out” and said there was light at the end of the tunnel.
She said based on the current rate of COVID-19 vaccination in North West Victoria, the region could hit the milestone of 80 per cent by Saturday, November 6.
“These figures are based on the rate of vaccination in the last week, and there’s no reason why we can’t reach this target sooner,” Ms Cupper said.
“In North West Victoria, 70 per cent of our population aged over 16 will have had at least one dose of vaccine by September 25,” she said.
“Meantime 60 per cent of us will be fully vaccinated by October 6, and 70 per cent will be by October 21.”
Ms Cupper is hoping the community look at these dates and consider them a benchmark, not a barrier.
“Whatever your motivation is, use that, consider a vaccination and do your bit to help us get to 80 per cent,” she said.
