The Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria (RASV) announced the decision to cancel the show today, as the event would not be able to heed the state’s social distancing and mass gathering restrictions.
The show has only been called off on two occasions in its 165-year history: when Melbourne Showgrounds was requisitioned for the war effort in 1915 and again in World War II between 1940 and 1945.
Meanwhile, Premier Daniel Andrews has resisted calls for students to return to on-site learning in Victoria.
The premier has defended his decision to stick to remote learning for term two despite other states relaxing restrictions.
He noted seven coronavirus cases in Victoria have been traced back to schools, and the science on whether or not to keep children away from classrooms to tackle COVID-19 is “not settled”.
“We can guess, or we can have an abundance of caution and I’m happy to be criticised for being cautious in this,” Andrews said.
“I know what’s at stake.”
It comes after the state’s death toll climbed to 18 overnight.
A woman in her 80s died in hospital yesterday, taking the national toll to 89.
Victoria recorded three new cases of coronavirus overnight, taking the state’s total to 1354.
