Melbourne’s lockdown has been extended by another week after Victoria recorded 20 new local COVID-19 cases overnight, five of which are still under investigation.
That means until 11:59pm next Thursday, people in Melbourne are only allowed to leave the house to shop for essentials, seek medical attention, for authorised work or study, to exercise for up to two hours or, most importantly, to get vaccinated.
“This is very challenging for every single Victorian who would like to be going about their business, they would like to be open and have a degree of freedom that is simply not possible because of this Delta variant,” Premier Daniel Andrews said at the daily coronavirus press conference on Wednesday morning.
“The extreme infectivity of this virus, in a very short space of time, if we were to open, we would see cases akin to what is tragically happening in Sydney right now.”
Andrews noted that there were 112 active cases in the state, and 12,000 active close contacts in Greater Melbourne alone.
“This is how quickly the Delta variant is spreading in the community,” he said.
“It means we need to limit movement for a longer period of time so contact tracers can get ahead of the virus, just like they have done before.”
You can view a list of exposure sites in Victoria here. Depending on which site you may have visited, you likely need to get tested ASAP and isolate.
One new restriction being brought in is that people in rural Victoria who fall under the NSW/Victoria cross-border bubble will from Friday night need to apply for a permit to cross state lines.
“If this virus can get from Sydney to Byron Bay, to Armidale, then only a fool would think it couldn’t get to Albury,” Andrews said.
“I apologise for any inconvenience but frankly the inconvenience of having to get a permit is nothing compared to having cases.”
More to come.
All adult Aussies (yep, even if those of us under 40) are currently able to get the safe and effective AstraZeneca vaccine through a GP. Click here to see which clinics are offering it, and talk to a doctor to see if it’s right for you.
Alternatively, you can triple-check to see if you’re eligible for the Pfizer vaccine here.
The best vaccine is the first one you can get, and that’ll be our ticket out of this mess.
