Wednesday, 18 March, 2020
Pakenham
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/PakenhamBerwickGazette
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Councillors in the IBAC hot seat
Principal loses locks for charity
Success in long search for family
Lesser known chapters of Berwick history
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SPORT
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Coronavirus chaos By Mitchell Clarke, Jessica Anstice and Russell Bennett The community’s most vulnerable have been deprived of basic necessities as the Covid-19 pandemic intensifies. With supermarkets at breaking point, a Pakenham aged care home has run out of food and is appealing for help. A state of emergency has been declared, as all mass gatherings of more than 500 people are cancelled including the Pakenham Show and Yakkerboo. Reports of local cases continue to surface, however, authorities are yet to officially confirm. An extra 140 hospital beds will open as part of a $30 million plan to commission the new Casey Hospital inpatient tower to boost capacity across the state’s hospital system. Despite repeated calls for calm, supermarket shelves are still being stripped, with Coles and Woolworths forced to implement drastic measures to ensure vulnerable customers don’t miss out. The supermarket will open stores an hour early, exclusively for the elderly and people with disabilities, to ensure they’re given a chance to stock up on vital staple items. The cancellation of online grocery orders have affected residents at a Pakenham aged care facility. Millhaven Lodge staff were forced to do the facility’s weekly shop in a local supermarket, but with chaotic scenes, more than 104 elderly people have been left hungry. The supermarkets may be jam-packed but Fountain Gate shopping centre was devoid of shoppers last week, essentially transforming into a “ghost town”. “It’s really shocking just to know that so many people are too scared to even come out of their homes,” one shopper said. Schools across the shire remain open, despite an online petition circling that all students should be sent home. But the State Government aren’t of the belief that mass closures are necessary yet, citing current advice from Victoria’s Chief Health Of-
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ficer and the county’s Chief Medical Officer. “At some point in the future, the government may receive medical advice to close schools, and if and when that advice comes, we won’t hesitate to act,” Education Minister James Merlino said. The Federal Health Minister was forced to issue a statement warning parents and guardians of a forged letter that circulated online falsely asserting school closures. Despite schools, shopping centres and some workplaces remaining open, a number of community events were cancelled. The Pakenham Show president called quits on the popular annual agriculture and horticulture event that was to be held on Saturday 21 March. A “heartbroken” committee were also forced to pull the plug on this year’s Yakkerboo Festival, as they now turn their attention to next year’s event.
Farm World was added to the list of cancelled events, which was set to attract more than 650 exhibitors and 50,000 visitors. Gumbuya World will close themed areas of the park in a bid to control visit numbers and limit the spread of the virus. The sporting landscape is starting to become clearer when it comes to how organisations are handling the crisis. Local football and netball seasons are fixtured to start in the coming weeks, but at the time of going to print rumours were circulating about their possible postponement. On Monday night, the West Gippsland Cricket Association announced its intention to proceed with its senior and junior grand finals this weekend, but an announcement late on Tuesday morning from Cricket Australia overruled that - recommending all Premier and community cricket be cancelled. After much deliberation, the WGCA ulti-
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mately complied - cancelling the deciders. Basketball Victoria, which typically draws larger crowds to games, made the call to suspend its programs until further notice. Both Athletics Australia and Little Athletics Victoria postponed events, as did the Berwick and District Tennis Association who were due to play semi-finals, and subsequent grand finals. Meanwhile, Cardinia Shire Council has launched a dedicated website for ratepayers, detailing up-to-date information during the evolving situation. “The health and wellbeing of our community and staff is of utmost importance and council is working closely with health agencies and following advice from the Victorian Government on the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus,” the council said in a statement. More Covid-19 coverage, pages 5-9, 11, Sport
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