There’s finally light at the end of the tunnel for our brothers and sisters in Victoria, and their web searches tell us that they are very thirsty.
In case you’ve been living under a rock, the whole state has been on tenterhooks about whether Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews would announce an easing of COVID-19 restrictions.
And at a press conference today, wearing his North Face jacket which has come to be seen a a good omen, the premier said the state’s harsh restrictions would be lifted slightly following the first day without any new COVID-19 cases or deaths in quite some time.
And while there were many questions about how the path out of restrictions would work, there was one question on the lips of many.
The first question that was asked to the premier by a journalist following the announcement was about his now famous catch phrase: was he was saying that Victorians could now get on the beers?
“I might go a little higher up the shelf,” he said.
But his fellow Victorians were happy right where they were. Per Google Trends (which measures search traffic), searches for “beers” skyrocketed as soon as Dan Andrews started his press conference.
Some of this search is no doubt related to Andrews’ “get on the beers” mantra, one of the rising terms associated with ‘beers’ searches was the catch phrase (which has subsequently been made into a very catchy remix).
And Victorians weren’t just thinking of enjoying a frothy at home: searches for ‘pub’ also skyrocketed.
And you know what? Good on you Victoria. The state has dealt with some of the strictest restrictions in the world while numbers dwindled but cases still lingered. People have given up so much — freedom, money and more — just to help each other out.
So enjoy a beer. Head out to a pub. Enjoy your freedoms responsibly, Victoria.