Premier Daniel Andrews has extended Melbourne’s lockdown 6.0 for two weeks (until September 2) and re-imposed a night curfew from 9.00PM to 5.00AM in Melbourne metropolitan area.
The harsher restrictions come as Victoria recorded 22 with at least 5 people recorded as mystery cases not linked to known clusters. Of those linked, there were some active in the community while infectious.
Premier Dan Andrews said the lockdown will now aim to end on September 2nd.
The curfew will take effect at midnight tonight. From 9pm to 5am, residents of Metropolitan Melbourne will not be allowed to leave their home unless they have a permit to conduct essential work.
Over the weekend, people were ordering takeaway alcohol outside pubs in an attempt to dodge restrictions.
Thus, people will no longer be able to remove masks to consume alcohol outdoors.
“You will no longer be able to remove your mask to drink a cocktail at a pop-up beer garden on a footpath as part of a pub crawl,” Mr Andrews said.
“I understand Victoria Police are looking at what occurred at the weekend at a number of licensed venues.
“Pubs are shut for a reason. It is not safe for them to be open.”
Playgrounds, basketball courts, skate parks and exercise equipment will also be closed from 11.59pm tonight.
“This spreads amongst kids and we can’t have the potential transmission sites open,” Mr Andrews said.
Exercise will also be limited to be with just one other person, plus dependents if they cannot be left at home.
The state government has re-introduced permits for authorised work from 11.59pm tomorrow night.
“If you are an authorised worker, you will need a permit, just like you did last year,” Mr Andrews said.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton said tightening restrictions in the city was “difficult”, but necessary to stop cases from escalating.
“It is in response to a number of things that are showing that we are at the brink and we need to step back from the brink,” he said.
“We are not ahead of it in the way that we need to be in order to achieve control.
“It certainly is in response to continued daily cases in their 20s.”
Also read: One Million reasons for Victorians to get vaccinated
The new emerging mystery cases were particularly challenging, Professor Sutton said.
“We know that the principles that underlie these new directions are ones that can be successful and will be successful if we all pull together.
“We are right on the cliff edge here, but that if we can pull back from it, we can absolutely get to the finish line.”
Illegal engagement party, a super-spreader event?
Video footage has also emerged of an illegal engagement party in Melbourne with two guests infected with COVID-19 attended. Reports say many of those who attended were not wearing masks and keeping social distance from others present.
Authorities fear it might prove to be a super-spreader event. So much for others observing lockdown 6.0 rules who now face night curfew.
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