Victoria, NSW left out of bubble

VICTORIA could be excluded from a travel bubble allowing some Australians to crisscross the country.

But as South Australia opens its borders today to residents of select states, other jurisdictions are questioning moves to exclude Victoria and NSW from the bubble due to ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks.

The bubble could cover SA, Queensland, Western Australia, Canberra, Tasmania and the Northern Territory.

Victoria was forced to close its third school this week after a Strathmore Primary School student was among nine new cases confirmed yesterday.

Victoria’s deputy chief health officer, Annaliese van Diemen, said the easing of SA’s borders was a decision for its government.

“It is clear WA and NT have less cases than Victoria … so I can see how they have done it,” Dr van Diemen said.

“Victoria’s position has always been that our state borders have remained open.”

From today, people from WA, NT and Tasmania will be able to travel into SA without having to stay in quarantine for 14 days, while easing restrictions on Queenslanders is also under consideration. But WA Premier Mark McGowan said he had advice that discriminating against Victorian and NSW travellers was unconstitutional.

Victoria’s coronavirus cases have climbed to 1741, including 51 that are still active.

Despite closing Strathmore Primary for cleaning after a student tested positive, Dr van Diemen said there were no major concerns about the wider education system.

Two of the new cases are linked to a Monash Health cluster, while another is a contact of an extended family outbreak tracing back to Coburg.