October 2, 2020
Reopen regions: MP By Luke Voogt
Battler Ollie shows heart Ollie Paterson’s heart was the size of a thumbnail when a scan 20 weeks into mum Millie’s pregnancy uncovered a very rare congenital condition. Millie barely got to hold her newborn boy before he was “whisked away” to Royal Children’s Hospital before undergoing surgery four weeks later. “I didn’t get to see him for three days,” the Barwon Heads mum said. “You get plunged into a world you know nothing about. We lost control of the birth, the pregnancy, everything.” The lower chambers in Ollie’s heart are reversed and the condition will likely affect him his whole life, Millie explained. Ollie, who turned two in April, underwent a subsequent 18-hour operation and is now awaiting surgery, delayed by COVID-19 restrictions, to replace his current pacemaker. “They needed to basically fix the plumbing,” Millie said. “They couldn’t change the anatomy of the heart but they could change the way it was all connected.” Children’s charity HeartKids supported Ollie and his family with food, toys and check-ups throughout their ordeal. The energetic, cheeky and intelligent two-year-old is now HeartKids’ new Geelong ambassador and he is encouraging locals to get involved in its Two Feet and A Heartbeat Walk on October 18. Details: www.heartkids.org.au/whats-on/ two-feet-a-heartbeat-2020
(Rebecca Hosking) 216948_01
State government faces mounting pressure to ease COVID-19 restrictions further in regional Victoria with no active Geelong cases and just three outside of Melbourne. Western Victoria MP Bev McArthur demanded the government allow regional Victoria to move to the last step of its reopening roadmap, independent of Melbourne, when it reached zero cases. The last step allows up to 50 people in outdoor gatherings and inside hospitality venues, 20 visitors at homes and the reopening of gyms and libraries. But the step requires all of Victoria to have zero new cases for 14 days, which Mrs McArthur labelled “outrageous”. Geelong Chamber of Commerce president Mark Edmonds supported the call provided “we hit the numbers”. Mr Edmonds said the safety of the move also would depend on Melbourne’s COVID-19 figures and possible restrictions on Melburnians visiting the regions. While businesses were keen to reopen, a regional spike causing them to close again would “absolutely cripple” them, he warned. Tourism Greater Geelong and the Bellarine acting executive director Tracy Carter stopped short of supporting Mrs McArthur’s call. But she said she would “absolutely” support the move if health officials deemed it safe and urged them to consider it. Lara MP John Eren questioned Mrs McArthur’s expertise in health matters and said her plan risked putting Victoria “in jeopardy of a third wave”. “I’m not sure what degree she has. She is quickly becoming the Karen of COVID.” After recently being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, Mr Eren warned that “COVID-19 is a very dangerous virus” for everyone, especially for people with pre-existing health conditions. “We can’t just muck around with it.” He said he was only open to regional Victoria moving to the last step independently if health authorities advised it was safe. Premier Daniel Andrews hinted yesterday that Melbourne could move to step three of the roadmap by October 19, with the possibility of additional restrictions on Melburnians travelling to regional Victoria.
Luke Voogt
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