All Victorian authorised workers have been given two weeks to get their first COVID-19 vaccination to keep working on site, as the state’s construction industry prepares to reopen with strict safeguards.
Premier Daniel Andrews says all workers in Melbourne and regional Victoria on the state’s authorised worker list will need to have a first dose by October 15 and second by November 26.
Without meeting the statewide direction, they won’t be allowed to continue working on site.
The October 15 deadline will not replace Victoria’s vaccine mandate timelines for aged care, healthcare, freight, construction and education workers.
Mr Andrews said the decision would affect hundreds of thousands of Victorians and was based on advice from the Burnett Institute and Acting Chief Health Officer Ben Cowie.
“This is critically important to keep the case numbers down so that we can open up on 26 October, get our freedom back, get the economy going again and deliver the national plan,” he told reporters on Friday.
The state government also unveiled its plan to restart the construction industry after its two-week shutdown in Melbourne and other locked-down regions.
Under the plan, constructions sites can reopen from Tuesday for workers who show evidence to their employer of having had at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
Workforce caps will remain in place for some building sites, except for outdoor state government projects, and single-dose workers can set up ahead of Tuesday’s reopening.
Fully vaccinated workers can move between regional Victoria and Melbourne and tea rooms will reopen with enhanced cleaning, density limits and additional ventilation.
“The preference is for these meal breaks to be taken outside wherever possible,” Transport Infrastructure Minister Jacinta Allan said.
Widespread spread of the virus within the industry and poor site compliance were cited as reasons for the shutdown on September 21, the same day Melbourne’s CFMEU building was damaged by angry protesters.
Last week’s protests began in opposition to mandatory vaccinations for the construction sector and the closure of building site tea rooms before morphing into a wider anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine movement.
Treasurer Tim Pallas reaffirmed the shutdown was “necessary”, noting 73 per cent of building sites visited by inspectors on September 16 were found to be non-compliant with health directions.
To rectify the faltering compliance, a fully trained COVID marshal will be required to watch over every construction site in the state.
“We’re deadly serious about this,” Mr Pallas said.
When Victoria hits its 80 per cent double dose vaccination target, construction workforce caps will be removed and on-site workers must be fully vaccinated by November 13.
It comes as Victoria recorded 1143 new locally acquired COVID-19 cases and three deaths on Friday, taking the death toll from the current outbreak to 44.
The deaths involved a man in his 80s from Hume, a woman in her 70s from Alphington and a man in his 70s from Moreland.
Moorabool Shire will be plunged into a seven-day lockdown from 11.59pm on Friday after six new cases were detected in the region.
The restrictions will mirror those in metropolitan Melbourne, with the exception of the nightly curfew.
Residents of the local government area, to Melbourne’s west, are being urged to come forward for testing and two new pop-up sites will be opened to cater for the blitz.
For exposure sites visit www.coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites
AAP
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