Fully vaccinated residents will soon be allowed greater freedoms in a bid to see how reopening the economy will work. Here’s what we know.
With Australia’s vaccine targets getting closer each day, businesses and state governments are weighing up ways to safely reopen. There’s a long list of questions around vaccination status and what it means, particularly for access to hospitality venues. In a bid to address some of these issues, Victoria is beginning a vaccinated economy trial.
Some regional Victorians in areas with high vaccination rates will soon be able to take part in a test run, which will help the state government examine a number of issues. These include ways that vaccine passports can be policed, how venues can operate safely and how coronavirus could spread (or not spread) in regions with high vaccination rates.
In the two weeks leading up to October 26 – the date Victoria is expected to reach 70 per cent double-dose vaccinations – 20 trials in regional Victoria will test the systems we have (and don’t yet have) in place to safely reopen. The trials are expected to cover hospitality, hairdressing, beauty services and tourism businesses, concerts and other community meetings. Events will be held with higher-than-usual patron numbers, with all attendees being fully vaccinated.
Bass Coast, Greater Bendigo, Pyrenees, Warrnambool, Buloke and East Gippsland will be the first areas invited to host trials.
One of the key issues being raised around the state reopening is the proof and policing of vaccine passports. The state government says it will work with businesses to educate staff members on how to check visitor vaccination status.
There’s currently no digital system in place to police vaccination status, but the state government says it has plans to possibly link it to the existing QR code check-in app. Fully vaccinated people can access a digital certificate proving their status through their Mygov profile, but there isn’t a way businesses can confirm the authenticity of this at the moment.
A universal digital system and legal support would make it easier for businesses to enforce vaccination rules. There are a number of grey areas at the moment, and asking staff members to enforce a sensitive rule that isn’t backed by law could lead to conflict and a number of other issues.
It’s hoped the trials will help all the states answer some questions around the best ways to check vaccination status, things businesses can do to safely reopen and how coronavirus will behave in highly vaccinated populations. Ideally, the results will help us operate with an economy closer to normal than we’ve been used to for the last two years.
The trials will begin around October 11.
Photography: Kate Shanasy
