Australians are airing their grievances with Victoria Premier Dan Andrews after he admitted he cited non-existent coronavirus-tainted sewage in his decision to lock down the state.Andrews announced a seven-day statewide shut down on August 5 in response to the “wastewater detection” of Covid-19 in Wangaratta, a rural city about 236km (147 miles) from Melbourne. The discovery creates the “potential that regional Victorians have been exposed to Covid-19,” Andrews explained. The decision to widen restrictions to include the whole state was designed to “keep regional Victoria safe,” the premier added.
The order means that, apart from emergencies and grocery shopping, Victoria’s citizens are required to remain at home. Public gatherings are prohibited, with people only able to meet one person in their social circle. Educational institutions will also revert to online teaching.
But the reasoning behind the draconian statewide decree was soon rubbished by local officials. Andrews initially claimed the sewage test had “pinged” positive, then went negative before turning positive again. According to local media reports, his explanation didn’t hold water. Less than 24 hours later, Wangaratta mayor Dean Rees challenged the premier’s chain of events. There had been several successive tests returning negative results following one positive detection on July 30, regional health officials confirmed.
Australians soon began to vent on social media about Andrews’ debunked coronavirus sewage. By Friday afternoon, “#FakePoos” was trending, with countless tweets calling out the premier for locking up the entire state on specious grounds.