Victoria will test more people for COVID-19 than any other state across Australia after extending its testing criteria.

Health Minister Jenny Mikakos said today focus had now turned to community transmissions, and it was vital to track down all confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Any Victorian who presents with relevant symptoms will now be eligible for COVID-19 testing.

Until now testing had been largely limited to people who had travelled overseas and the elderly.

Ms Mikakos said before restrictions could be eased, which she said would not be before May 11, community transmissions had to be better traced.

It came as Victoria’s confirmed coronavirus cases continued to stabilise with another 10 cases identified overnight.

It brings the state tally to 1291, with 14 deaths.

Forty people remain in hospital, with 15 in intensive care.

A total of 71,000 have been tested.

In the past 24 hours, police have issued 99 fines to people breaching the stay at home restrictions.

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507 SPOT CHECKS DURING EASTER BLITZ

One of Victoria’s top cops has vowed to check every fine issued to the public for flouting COVID-19 restrictions.

The response from Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton comes after an email he sent to all Victorian Police members asking them to use discretion in issuing fines to the public while enforcing measures outlined by the chief health officer.

Mr Patton said that while police would continue to enforce the law and fine people for “blatant breaches’’ as part of Operation Sentinal, the force did not need to use a “sledge hammer’’ approach to the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.

He said his directive to members on the street was to use discretion and common sense.

“It’s important that we’re using discretion in maintaining the public confidence in us in the way we’re applying those,’’ Mr Patton said.

“On a daily basis, every infringement that has been issued will be reviewed by the superintendent in charge of Operation Sentinel and I’ll be personally provided a report and I will review every one of those personally...’’ he said.

“....We’re going to be proactively looking at this. We’re not waiting for people to come to us and say this is wrong.

“We’re going to be every day looking at these infringements to make sure we’ve got it right because I want to be absolutely certain we do have it right and that’s why I’m personally going toy be looking at the entire list of infringements every day.’’

Mr Patton said police were human and mistakes occured.

“We’re happy to admit when we are wrong,’’ he said.

“When we do get it wrong, we’ll fill fix it.’’

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We don't want to issues fines - Patton Victorian Deputy Police Commissioner Shane Patton wants people to do the right thing and does not want to be issuing fines

Mr Patton said the measures were being undertaken to enforcement notices were being appropriately issued and that common sense being applied.

“These are really important factors for us,’’ he said.

“So on a daily basis when we review these, if some of those are not properly issued, or don’t pass that common sense test, they will be withdrawn.’’

“We will adopt that approach effective from today.’’

Mr Patton said over the Easter long weekend 532 infringements were issued for non-compliance to the chief health officer guidelines to stay at home unless grocery shopping, exercise, providing health care or essential work.

Yesterday, 99 fines were issued.

There has been 1249 infringements issued since police began issuing fines on March 21.

Overall, police have conducted 20933 compliance checks since the operation began.

Mr Patton said police would rather not issue any fines for people flouting the restrictions.

To date, police have ‘’proactively withdrawn’’ less than 10 infringement notices issued incorrectly.

But he said police were still encountering dinner parties with up to 20 people in attendance during their checks.

“We’re not trying to be heavy handed. We’re trying to do the right thing,’’ Mr Patton said.

“We are giving hundreds and hundreds of warnings each day.’’

Of almost 2000 breaches reported to police yesterday, only 99 fines were issued.

CRUISE PASSENGERS ALLOWED TO ROAM FREE

Victorian passengers from the Ovation of the Seas have slammed authorities for allowing them to disembark freely and spread the COVID-19 virus.

A woman and her husband, who contracted COVID-19 on the ill-fated Royal Caribbean-owned ship, have told the Herald Sun they weren’t informed of their exposure to the virus until three days after they disembarked.

The pair said it was announced on-board the ship that they did not need to self-quarantine when they disembarked in Sydney on March 18.

It wasn’t until late on March 20 that NSW health authorities informed passengers that there had been a confirmed case on-board, and that they needed to remain in “home isolation” for 14 days.

“My husband just got a cough, so you can be like a silent traveller not knowing,” the woman said.

Furious at health authorities and the cruise operator, Royal Caribbean International, she added: “We boarded the Ovations of the Seas, believing we were safe and not in harm’s way, we believed if there was an issue that the cruise line would have cancelled the cruise,” she said.

“Given the fact they had passengers from all over the world, the cruise line knew and so did the NSW government that there was a high risk of infection on board this boat.”

media_camera The Ovation of the Seas cruise ship pictured in Sydney Harbour. Picture: Christian Gilles

The woman, who suffers from a pre-existing auto-immune disease, said she was deeply distressed when she began experiencing symptoms a few days into self-isolation.

“I felt as though somebody was squeezing my lungs and squashing them. I was so petrified that it would reactivate my disease. I was so distressed I cried myself to sleep,” she said.

Almost 100 cases have since been linked to the Ovation of the Seas cruise ship, which was originally bound for New Zealand and the Pacific but ended up returning to Sydney without going into port.

Fellow passengers Summar Sargent and her 68-year-old mother, Judy Magdziarz from Echuca, had already begun the journey home before they were told they needed to self-isolate.

“I can’t help but think of all the potential community transmission, we had a drink in the bar, we spoke to reception. You don’t realise how many people you come into contact with unknowingly,” Ms Sargent said.

The mother and daughter returned to Echuca to be met with a “barrage of horrific feedback” when news spread that Mrs Magdziarz had tested positive.

However, Mrs Sargent said it’s only “in hindsight” that everyone understood the full risk they posed of spreading the virus.

“Fast forward to now and of course it’s terrible what they did, but at the time we thought the risk that we were facing was low, we hadn’t stepped off in any different countries,” she said.

Royal Caribbean International said as the Ovation of the Seas was a domestic cruise, there was no need to inform passengers to self-isolate.

“As self-isolation was only required for cruises arriving from a foreign port, our guests were not required to self-isolate and were advised accordingly,” a spokesman said.

media_camera Alfred Hospital associate nurse manager Michelle Caulfield wearing PPE. Picture: David Caird

PARAMEDIC NUMBERS BOOSTED

Ms Mikakos also announced the fast tracked recruitment of 120 new paramedics.

”This is paramedics that would have been recruited in the next financial year - they will now be recruited by Ambulance Victoria in the months of May and June to enable 120 further paramedics to add to the workforce that Ambulance Victoria has, and that’s about us making sure that every part of our health system is as prepared as it possibly could be,” she said.

“While we’ve had a slow down in the growth of numbers over the last week, we’re not out of the woods yet.

“It’s important to stress if we were to lift the restrictions, today, tomorrow, we’d have 200 odd people walking around the community...by the end of the month we’d have thousands of new cases.

“It’s important we continue to drive down those numbers before we consider lifting restrictions.”

Ms Mikakos said the decline in numbers was due to the vast majority of Victorians doing the right thing.

“The only way we’re going to drive down the numbers...is if everyone embraces the spirit of what’s behind the rules, which is limiting our movements and staying at home.”

She urged Victorians to stop looking for loopholes and addressed concerns about confusion over the stay at home directions.

In particular Ms Mikakos said shops or businesses that remained open should only be used for essential reasons.

MORE CLARITY NEEDED ON RESTRICTIONS

Victorians have demanded clarity on the state’s tough coronavirus restrictions after a fine frenzy that included a hefty penalty for a couple who posted year-old travel photos on social media.

Authorities have asked Victorians to stop looking for loopholes but contradictory messages have been a source of frustration across the state.

A Victorian couple was fined for posting year-old holiday snaps of Lakes Entrance on Facebook.

Traralgon’s Jaz and Garry Mott were fined $1652 each for breaching stay at home laws by police.

The fine was delivered days after Mrs Mott posted photos, which were taken last June.

“I was actually wondering what they were doing at my house; the (police officer) goes, ‘I’ve got a fine for you and Garry’ and she was rude about it,” Mrs Mott said.

“It didn’t click at the time until Garry and I sat down and had a chat about it and we … worked out that it was the Facebook post.”

Police have since revoked the fine after the couple alerted the authorities to the mistake.

media_camera Carolyn, 55, from Caulfield.is one of many Victorians out and about despite COVID-19 restrictions. Picture: Jason Edwards

Victoria Police said officers were “not specifically monitoring social media accounts to identify breaches”.

“On occasion, errors will be made, however that is why a review process exists to ensure instances such as these are identified and rectified,” a spokeswoman said.

Other controversial fines include a now-waived $1652 penalty issued to a learner driver in the car with her mother and a fine for a Metung man who regularly travels to the shops by boat.

Victoria Police yesterday moved to clarify whether mourners could drop flowers at gravesites after Easter weekend confusion, saying it had issued “clear instructions” to its members last week.

It said any fines issued to people visiting cemeteries, “in the absence of any other factors which may have led to an infringement being issued”, would be withdrawn.

While 19 Melbourne cemeteries operated by the Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust remain open, people are urged to stay away.

“Unless attending a funeral, we urge visitors to stay at home unless absolutely necessary,” Greater Metropolitan Cemeteries Trust chief Deb Ganderton said.

Businesses have also called for clarity.

media_camera School zones will begin today to coincide with term two in Victoria.

SCHOOL ZONES START TODAY

Drivers have been reminded that school speed limits will return today.

Speed zones around schools will operate from 8am to 9.30am and 2.30pm to 4pm from today as schools reopen today for term two, even though students will not return until tomorrow.

Most students will resume their studies from home as per government directives, while schools will keep their doors open for children who cannot learn from home, including vulnerable children and the kids of essential services workers.

WARRNAMBOOL HITS BACK AT STREET DRINKING CRITICISM

A Victorian mayor who police are investigating for drinking and socialising on the street has spoken out against a rise in vigilantism in enforcing social distancing.

Warrnambool City mayor Tony Herbert was caught on camera drinking a beer with several others on Tuesday 7 April at about 9pm outside a pub in the city’s CBD.

Cr Herbert told the Herald Sun he was on the way to the supermarket when he made a spontaneous stop to talk to local business owners, and one of them passed him a beer.

The mayor said though he had made “some mistakes”, the moment captured in the photo wasn’t a planned social gathering, but an “impromptu” moment.

“It was a chance, unplanned encounter I would call it. When I saw the business owner put his hand up I thought it was, ‘Hey Mr Mayor, I need to talk to you’,” he said.

“I’ve made some mistakes but my first instinctive reaction was to support my community I suppose, and that can sometimes be a downfall.”

media_camera Mayor Tony Herbert is under investigation after a photo of him drinking and appearing to socialise outside a pub. Credit: Carol Altmann/The Terrier

The mayor said the incident was part of a rise in vigilantism in the community around enforcing social distancing laws.

“I understand people’s concerns but we don’t want to be vigilantes. It is scary, it’s unprecedented times and I think people in leadership are potentially under the most scrutiny, I understand that,” he said.

“It’s been a very short time to prepare for all this I suppose and it’s not anyone’s fault it’s just new and difficult.”

Victoria police confirmed it was investigating reports of a gathering on Liebig Street but the exact circumstances surrounding the incident are yet to be determined.

“It’s believed those involved may have been drinking in the street outside a licensed premise,” a police spokeswoman said.

Police can issue fines of $1652 for breaches of social distancing rules.

READ MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE HERE

VICTORIA’S CORONAVIRUS RECOVERY COULD HANG ON CONSTRUCTION

Construction will be key to helping Victoria recover from the economic shock of the coronavirus pandemic, premier Daniel Andrews says.

The Premier said on Monday big construction jobs across the state would become more important than ever.

“These construction jobs have always been important to me, and now they are more important than ever for every single Victorian,” he said.

“We have the biggest construction program in the state’s history, and it will need to get bigger once this crisis is over as we push out of what is a really significant shock to our economy.”

Mr Andrews said while the state had suffered “unavoidable damage” to the economy “construction will be a very big part to the recovery from the coronavirus crisis.”

It came as the Premier announced the early completion of the level crossing removal at the Toorak Rd and Monash Freeway interchange.

The site is one of the most congested intersections in Melbourne, with about 37,000 vehicles travelling through it each day in normal periods.

The road will reopen to motorists today after crews worked around the clock for nine days to complete the project.

The level crossing was the 35th to be removed under the Andrews government, with the Premier confident of hitting a government target of 50 level crossing removals by 2022.

Strict protocols are in place on all Major Transport Infrastructure Authority worksites to protect the health and safety of construction workers and the community.

“Work looks a little different on our big build – with extra physical distancing precautions in place due to coronavirus, so we can protect our workers and protect their jobs,” Mr Andrews said.

Transport Infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan said the level crossing removal was one of several significant construction projects continuing across the state.

They include the Metro Tunnel Project, the North East Link Project and the Regional Rail Revival program.

Active COVID-19 Cases in VIC Source: Vic DHSS

- with additional reporting by Rhiannon Down and Brianna Travers

Originally published as Top cop will ensure fines pass ‘common sense test’