Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has made his first pandemic declaration since the controversial powers came into effect amid mass public and political outrage. The pandemic powers officially became law on Dec. 7 after a mammoth 21-hour debate in the Victorian Parliament over recently added amendments. The new legislation, which is set to expire on Jan. 12, was made to replace the existing emergency framework, which will come to an end on Dec. 15 – marking 640 days since it was first introduced on Mar. 16, 2020. Set to be the first of its kind, the pandemic law will strip the power to declare a pandemic from the Chief Health Officer and be transferred to the Premier, who will have the authority to extend it in three-month blocks. It will also grant Andrews Government the power to create pandemic laws that can discriminate against Victorians based on personal attributes such as vaccination status, …