Though the call for Victoria – Melbourne in particular – to be put under some sort of mythical Stage 4 lockdown has been growing for a little while now, the reality is that the City of Melbourne, and neighbouring Mitchell Shire, are effectively already under Stage 4 restrictions. At least, that’s according to Premier Dan Andrews who very slyly admitted as much yesterday.
In case you missed yesterday’s daily press conference – and, honestly, having a Sunday off from existential press conference anxiety absolutely counts as self-care – Premier Andrews casually revealed that the mandatory wearing of masks meant that Melbourne and Mitchell Shire was “effectively” now already operating under Stage 4 restrictions.
Andrews explicitly used the “Stage 4” term in addressing the issue of people not isolating properly either after developing symptoms or between getting tested and receiving results.
“If you have symptoms, get tested and get tested quickly. Wait for your results at home. Don’t go to work, don’t go shopping, don’t leave your house. That is a really important, powerful contribution that everybody can make. If we do, together with all the other restrictions we have in place, and in particular the universal wearing of masks which the Chief Health Officer has indicated is essentially our Stage 4, that will start to see not just the stability that we seem to be enjoying at the moment, but it will start to drive numbers down,” Andrews stated.
State Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton addressed the concept of tougher lockdown measures, asserting that they’d be largely ineffective due to the location of the current outbreaks that are pushing Victoria’s numbers upwards, namely aged care facilities, hospitals, and food processing plants, which would all have remain open even in the event that the Government opted to impose ultra-strict movement restrictions.
“People have talked about stage four and a broader shutdown but the very places where we are seeing outbreaks, the very places where we are seeing transmission, are the places that would remain open if we went to a stage four sectoral shutdown,” Sutton stated.
There is some suggestion that today’s number of new coronavirus cases in Victoria could exceed 500 for the first time, with a press conference from the Premier expected at some point in the coming hours.
