The Premier of the Australian state of Victoria has said that authorities “won’t hesitate” to go “door-to-door” to carry out mandatory covid tests on citizens if they deem it necessary, “popular or otherwise.”
The Premier, Daniel Andrews of the Australian Labor Party, made the remarks during a press conference about the country’s newest lockdown.
“We’re not at a point where we need to be going door to door,” he said.
“We’re not at a point where we need entire suburbs to come out and get tested. If we get to that stage, then we won’t hesitate. I think we’ve shown, in fact I know we’ve shown that we’re prepared to do what has to be done, popular or otherwise.”
🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯
Fresh hell coming to your street – threats ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/AjSCJzh8VT
— 🌸Valerie🌸 (@AussieVal10) August 13, 2021
Additionally, Andrews indicated that the government would impose restrictions on individuals who refused to get vaccinated, saying it was a “difficult conversation to have” and could seem like a “threatening tone.”
“There will come a time though when I think restrictions will apply to those who have not been vaccinated, rather than restrictions applying to all of us,” he said.
“Now if that’s not an incentive to go and get vaccinated, I don’t know what is. But I can see a time when to get into a venue, to attend a major event, to participate fully as a customer, a client, a ticket holder, a patron, a viewer, however you want to look at it, being vaccinated will mean that you get in, and being vaccinated will mean that you don’t.”
Here it is ⬇️ threats to the unvaccinated pic.twitter.com/DXFOb4TW6e
— 🌸Valerie🌸 (@AussieVal10) August 13, 2021
Australia has experienced one of the strictest lockdowns in the world, with parts of the country such as Sydney effectively under martial law.
good god pic.twitter.com/uf4c6VC0nZ
— Tim Pool (@Timcast) July 30, 2021
The country has enforced outdoor mask mandates, with one elderly man last week being confronted by police for exercising maskless outdoors.
Though the man told police that he was exempt from the mask mandate because he had a medical condition – namely a heart problem that made it difficult to breathe – police said they didn’t believe him and went to arrest him, whereupon he appears to have a seizure.
A video of a man having a seizure after being arrested for not wearing a mask has caused outrage on social media. WARNING: Graphichttps://t.co/fLnWoysjsy
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) August 4, 2021
Earlier in the year, a senior Australian government minister refused to rule out Australian citizens being forced to wear electronic ankle bracelets to ensure they adhere to home quarantine – even if they are fully vaccinated.
A senior Australian government minister did not rule out Australian citizens being forced to wear electronic ankle bracelets to ensure they adhere to home quarantine – even if they are fully vaccinated. #gript https://t.co/eM4pQNgR59 pic.twitter.com/9hgRzQTp03
— gript (@griptmedia) April 19, 2021
Notably, a fully-vaccinated Melbourne couple who had tested negative for covid-19 multiple times were forcibly quarantined away from their newborn baby boy for over a week as authorities strictly enforced their mandatory hotel quarantine policy.
A fully-vaccinated Melbourne couple who have tested negative for covid-19 multiple times have been forcibly quarantined away from their newborn baby boy for a week and have yet to hold or hug him.#gripthttps://t.co/Tl1vNPW2Ws
— gript (@griptmedia) June 9, 2021