Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has today announced a number of new restrictions for Melbourne and regional Victoria, including an increase in restrictions and an 8pm curfew for Melburnians as Victoria is declared a state of emergency for at least the next six weeks.
In a press conference on Sunday afternoon, Andrews made the call to declare Victoria a state of disaster as stay at home restrictions are enhanced.
Statement on Melbourne moving to Stage 4 restrictions: pic.twitter.com/mFu1Kr1NO0
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) August 2, 2020
The new restrictions aim to limit movement and the number of people Victorians come in contact with.
“Ultimately, all of these changes are about limiting movement,” Andrews said.
Most notably, the state will introduce a curfew from 8pm Sunday night, prohibiting movement between 8pm and 5am daily.
“The only reason to be out of your home between the hours of 8:00pm and 5:00am is to get care, to give care, or to go to and from work or be at work. We can no longer have people visiting others. We can no longer have people simply out and about for no good reason whatsoever,” Andrews explained.
Additionally, Victorians are no longer able to leave the home and go further than a 5km radius from your primary residence. This includes for the purpose of shopping.
Furthermore, only one person per household will be able to go grocery shopping once per day, and they will be required to remain within 5km of their home.
Other restrictions regarding exercise and the operation of local businesses will also be introduced, including a maximum of one hour per day for exercising.
Additionally, regional Victoria is set to head into Stage 3 restrictions as of Wednesday night as the state ramps up its fight against the coronavirus pandemic.
Andrews’ decision comes after a wild 24 hours of speculation online, with an additional 671 cases being recorded today (including 7 fatalities). This brings the state’s total to a staggering 6,322 active cases.
The news comes after the state had multiple record-breaking days throughout the week, including 49 cases yesterday that authorities “simply cannot trace.”
As it currently stands, there are a staggering 760 cases across Victoria that are unable to be traced back to an original source, which is of utmost concern to the Andrews government.
The new restrictions will be in place until (at least) September 13, 2020.
