Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a five-day lockdown in response to the growing outbreak of the UK coronavirus strain.
From 11:59 tonight 12 February, until 11:59pm Wednesday 17 February, the state of Victoria will enter a “short, sharp lockdown”.
There will only be four reasons to leave home:
- Shopping necessary goods and services
- Caregiving and compassionate reasons
- Essential workers, or where you cannot work from home
- 2 hours exercise per day with household or one other people from another home.
Victorians must stay within their 5km home radius and masks must be worn everywhere except the home.
There will no visitors permitted to anyone’s home and public gatherings will be banned.
Schools will be closed until Wednesday – but will remain open for vulnerable children and children of essential workers.
The Australian Open will continue as planned, minus the crowds, despite the stage 4 lockdown.
What’s going on?
The 5-day lockdown is in response to the growing UK variant outbreak linked to the Melbourne Airport Holiday Inn.
There are currently 13 cases linked to the Holiday Inn and an airport cafe in terminal 4, named Brunetti, has been added to the public exposure site list.
NSW Health is calling on anyone in NSW who was at Melbourne Airport, Terminal 4 (Jetstar) from 4:45am – 2pm on 9 February to immediately isolate, get tested and remain in isolation for 14 days since you were there, regardless of the test result.
NT & QLD declare Melbourne a hotspot
The Northern Territory health authorities have today declared Greater Melbourne a COVID-19 hotspot effective immediately.
Anyone arriving into the NT from Greater Melbourne will be required to enter mandatory quarantine at Howard Springs.
Anyone who arrived from Melbourne Airport from February 7 would be required to self-isolate and get a COVID test, and would have to stay isolated until they returned a negative result.
Queensland will also close the border to Greater Melbourne for fourteen days.
The Acting Health Minister Steven Miles announced the border closure will begin at 1:00am tonight.