Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced Victoria will go into a hard five-day lockdown from 11.59pm on Friday. It comes after the state recorded five new locally acquired cases of coronavirus overnight. There are now 13 cases linked to the Holiday Inn Melbourne Airport hotel, where several workers and travellers came in contact with the highly-contagious UK strain of the virus from a family of three return travellers. If all goes to plan, the lockdown will end on Wednesday at 11.59pm.
The state will go straight into Level 4 lockdown. The premier said there will only be four reasons to leave your home: shopping for necessary goods and services, caregiving or compassionate reasons, essential work or permitted education and exercise.
Masks will be mandatory across the entire state and private and public gatherings are also prohibited for the time being. Andrews added that the tennis will go ahead, but without spectators.
“In terms of special events, places of worship are closed other than for broadcasting of services,” Andrews said in a press conference, adding funerals can have no more than 10 people, and weddings are not permitted unless on compassionate grounds.
“Schools will close but will remain available over those three days — Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday — for vulnerable children or for the children of those who are permitted to go to work, those who can’t work from home,” he added.
Following the premier’s announcement, Health Minister Martin Foley said: “The important need to get ahead of this virus and to have a short, sharp circuit breaker is so we do not have a third wave. And a third wave would be catastrophic, particularly for our vulnerable Victorians.
“This is about getting ahead and not waiting for the problem to be in a position that it catches us. We’re gonna get ahead of this and we’re gonna squash it. And we will do that with all Victorians’ support whilst we look after each other and look after, particularly, our most vulnerable Victorians.”
It comes after Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said on Thursday she would reinstate border declaration passes for anyone travelling into Queensland from Victoria from 1am on Saturday. However, as of Friday, the sunshine state has declared Greater Melbourne a hotspot. Meanwhile, South Australian Premier Steven Marshall said on Wednesday, he was closing borders to those who have recently been in Greater Melbourne.
In Western Australia, where boarder restrictions were already in place, Premier Mark McGowan said Thursday the state’s borders will remain closed for another seven days. The ACT has also declared all of Greater Melbourne a hotspot. Meanwhile, the New South Wales-Victoria border remains open for now.