Read court news: Teen arrested after allegedly punching a police officer in a court lobbyThe very real threat posed by COVID-19 and a surge in exposure sites and in cases over the past fortnight has seen the number of people getting tested and equally the number of Victorians lining up for the jab soar to record levels.

It would be foolish, and we risk undoing so much good work if instead of continuing to do the right thing and to line up and get our jabs when we can, we instead became too fixated on whether or not we can once again stand up to have a beer at the local pub, or if we can have visitors back in the home here in Victoria.

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The welcome changes to restrictions that we've seen before are indeed a cause for celebration, when they come, but the reality is, we are likely to have some rules in place for the foreseeable future, and that's for our ongoing safety and protection.

Regional Victorians have done a great job, time and time again, to help reduce the risk of further outbreaks and to respect the need to follow the rules, no mater how much we might not like them.

But with this latest lockdown, there's been a noted increase in anxiety levels from especially workers who feel more vulnerable and exposed without whatever safety net they might once have had in the form of JobKeeper.

The changes we all want might be announced today, and when they are, there's indeed cause for celebration.

But more importantly, we should also remember that these are hard fought wins and that nothing should be taken for granted.

Face masks, hand sanitiser, social distancing and QR codes will be with us for a while yet.

And while all this is going on, we should all heed the advice to line up for our vaccine when we can because it gives us the best shot at putting the pandemic behind us.

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