Victoria Minister of Health Jenny Mikakos yesterday resigned in the fallout from an inquiry into why security guards were used instead of police or the military at quarantine hotels.
Lapses in security at the hotels were given as the major reason for a second wave of COVID-19 cases.
Yesterday, Victoria state reported just one more COVID-19 death as Melbourne’s case average continued to fall.
Photo: AFP
Melbourne residents, who have been in lockdown for more than one month, are waiting for the easing of restrictions on Monday.
It is expected to include a staged return to school for some students and outdoor gatherings of five people from two households.
Mikakos issued a statement confirming her resignation, just a day after Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews gave evidence to the inquiry and pointed partial blame at Mikakos for her role in the bungled quarantine program.
“I am disappointed that my integrity has sought to be undermined,” she wrote in a one-page statement. “I have never shirked my responsibility.”
She said that she also plans to resign from the Victoria Parliament.
Mikakos appears to be taking the blame when no one else would.
After six weeks of hearings into the hotel inquiry, it is still not known who made the decision to use security guards instead of police or soldiers, which were used in other Australian states.
Andrews; Minister for the Coordination of Jobs, Precincts and Regions Martin Pakula; and Minister for Police Lisa Neville all denied being involved in the decision.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton; his predecessor, Graham Ashton; Victoria Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton; and multiple senior public servants also said that it was not their decision.
In other regional news, India reported 85,362 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours with infections slowing down this month.
The Indian Ministry of Health yesterday raised the nation’s confirmed total to more than 5.9 million.
It said that 1,089 more people died in the past 24 hours, for a total of 93,379.
Authorities have decided to hold the first legislative election in Bihar state since the pandemic.
Nearly 72 million people are eligible to cast votes during three days beginning at the end of October with social distancing restrictions.
The average new cases in India have fallen by about 7,000 daily over the past week, after reaching a record of 97,894 on Sept. 16.
However, authorities are preparing for a major religious festival season beginning next month that generally sees huge congregations in temples and shopping districts.
South Korea has reported 61 new cases of COVID-19, the first time in four days that its daily increase fell below 100, as officials call for citizen vigilance ahead of a major holiday.
The numbers released by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency yesterday brought the national caseload to 23,516 cases, including 399 deaths.
Forty-one of the new cases were reported in Seoul, where infections have been linked to churches, restaurants, nursing home and schools.
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