"There is no need to continue the lockdown uncertainty another day and the Victorian Government should immediately announce that the State will be open for business from Thursday. Businesses cannot flick on and off and despite the positive signs and signals from the Government, there remains uncertainty and confusion," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group said today.

"Businesses need to replenish stock, call in staff and clear the decks for work and they cannot do that without a formal declaration the lockdown will end tomorrow night. 'Maybe' is not enough.

"Despite the hype, there has been no exponential spread of the UK strain and that will be as clear today as it will be tomorrow.

"These will not be the last cases in Victoria and it is time the Government learned to live with the virus and not be panicked into lockdowns in the future. Dragging this lockdown on further and the threat of more state-wide lockdowns only serves to drive people and investment away from the State that already trails the rest of the country on every key economic indicator in relation to handling and recovering from COVID," Mr Willox said.


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