Victoria starts fourth COVID-19 lockdown
VICTORIA STARTS ITS FOURTH COVID-19 LOCKDOWN
* Four new cases, taking the City of Whittlesea outbreak to 30
* 39 active cases (including hotel quarantine)
* Record testing, with 47,462 in the 24 hours to Friday morning.
Also 17,223 vaccine doses, taking Victoria past one million jabs
* 15,000 primary and secondary contacts, including 1452 primary close contacts
* Victoria has asked the federal government for 160 Australian Defence Force staff to help with doorknocking of positive cases and primary close contacts
* First case of community transmission in the outbreak, with an infection at the Sporting Globe in Mordialloc
EXPOSURE SITES
* More than 150 exposure sites across the state, including private sites (e.g.
homes). There are 121 public sites
* Health officials particularly concerned about contact tracing at five entertainment venues:
The Local, Port Melbourne, May 21 from 1.40pm to 3.30pm
Palace Hotel, South Melbourne, May 21 from 5.45pm to 6.45pm
Three Monkeys, Prahran, May 22 from 9.10pm to 11pm; and May 23 from 12.30am to 2am
Somewhere Bar, Prahran, May 22 from 10.30pm to 1am
Sporting Globe, Mordialloc, May 23 from 6.17pm to 9.43pm
* Full list of exposure sites available at coronavirus.vic.gov.au/exposure-sites
VACCINES
* Pfizer vaccine available from Friday for Victorians aged 40-49.
The vaccine hotline took 77,000 calls in 15 minutes after Thursday’s announcement
* Call capacity doubled in last 24 hours, with more than 630 people working in contact centre
* 10,000 bookings confirmed on Thursday, another 2000 before 9am on Friday
VICTORIA’S SNAP LOCKDOWN RULES FROM 11.59PM MAY 27 TO 11.59PM JUNE 3
* Five reasons to leave home: food and supplies, authorised work, care, exercise (up to two hours a day with one person), to get vaccinated
* 5km travel radius from home for shopping and exercise
* Cannot relocate to another residence
* Face masks mandatory inside and outdoors, not at home
* Private and public gatherings banned
* Community sports cancelled
* Professional sports (e.g.
AFL) to go ahead without crowds
* Intimate partner visits and single bubble allowed
* Schools return to remote learning for most students
* Pupil-free day on Friday for state schools to prepare
* Child care and kinder remain open
* Supermarkets, food stores, bottle shops, banks, petrol stations and pharmacies remain open
* Cafes and restaurants takeaway only
* Gyms, hairdressers, community facilities and entertainment venues closed
* Funerals limited to 10 guests
* Weddings banned except on compassionate and deportation grounds
* Hospital visitors limited to end of life, partner support during childbirth, accompanying a child
* Emergency dental allowed
* Elective surgery paused apart from the highest category
* Victorian border residents can go to work in NSW and SA, subject to approval from those states
COMPLIANCE
* On-the-spot fines of up to $1652 for adults and up to $9913 for businesses deliberately breaching public health orders
* $200 fines for mask breaches
* No state government announcement on Friday, but Acting Premier James Merlino again said there would be one “in the coming days”
INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS
* International flights into Victoria continue
COURTS
* Courts to continue with jury trials already underway
* No new trials to begin until restrictions ease
TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS
WESTERN AUSTRALIA
* Hard border
QUEENSLAND
* Border closed from 1am on Friday
* Queensland residents may re-enter but must follow lockdown rules
TASMANIA
* Border closed, only essential travellers permitted
SOUTH AUSTRALIA
* Border closed with Greater Melbourne
* Road border checkpoints established
NSW
* No border closure
* Anyone entering NSW from Victoria after 4pm on Thursday must follow lockdown rules
* Residents told not to go to Greater Melbourne or Bendigo
ACT
* Border closed to non-ACT residents leaving Victoria from 11.59pm on Thursday
* All arrivals after then must travel directly home and follow lockdown rules
NORTHERN TERRITORY
* Border closed to Greater Melbourne and Bendigo
* Anyone arriving from those areas must quarantine for 14 days