A public campaign has been launched by a Melbourne woman, Gina Haitidis, and she is slamming Premier Daniel Andrews and the way he handled the pandemic.
The campaign also isn’t your classic one-woman show. There’s nothing low-budget about it! According to Sky News, it will air on television next week! So, Haitidis isn’t just handing out flyers in the street!
Sadly, the campaign was spurred on by tragedy. Haitidis lost her grandfather to COVID during the state’s second wave, back when that hotel quarantine turned into a COVID.19 outbreak.
The Herald Sun has reported that In the ad, Haitdis holds up a photo of her grandfather, speaks directly to the camera, and says, “You let the virus out of your hotels, which killed 801 people, including my grandfather.”
It’s raw, heartbreaking and hard to stomach. The ad basically points the finger at Andrews for the hundreds of deaths caused by COVID.19.
Whatever, side of the political aisle you are on, it is hard to watch.
Perhaps, because clearly, this woman is struggling with grief and has turned that grief, rightly or wrongly, into an ad that serves as an anti-Andrews ad.
TV advertisement from Melbourne mother Gina Haitidis. Doesn’t pull any punches, capturing the feelings of many in the lead up to the State election #dontforgetvictoria #RememberInNovember
— Andrew Laird (@andrewwlaird) September 2, 2022
The Herald Sun has reported that a government spokeswoman has responded to the ad and said: “Since the outbreak of Covid, the Victorian government has worked with public health experts on a response to Covid that protects lives and livelihoods.
“As a part of the overall public health response to a once-in-a-100-year pandemic, measures were necessary to protect all Victorians from risk, especially the most vulnerable in our community – particularly given the slow roll out of vaccines by the Morrison government.”
“Victoria Police did an incredible job keeping Victorians safe throughout the pandemic when we asked more of them than ever before – and we thank them for all they did and continue to do everyday protecting our community.”
“We have been clear that quarantine should be managed in a purpose-built facility, not hotels, and while we wish we’d had it before the pandemic with the Victorian Quarantine Hub now available that’s exactly how travelers who need to quarantine in Victoria will be managed if we ever again find ourselves in those unprecedented circumstances.”
