The Victorian Government has announced that regional Victoria will enter lockdown from 1pm today, Saturday 21 August.
All metropolitan Melbourne restrictions – excluding the curfew – will be implemented across regional Victoria until 11.59pm Thursday, 2 September. This is due to the ongoing level of community transmission, the large number of mystery cases and a surge of new cases and exposures sites outside of metropolitan Melbourne.
For regional Victoria, this means:
- There are only five reasons to leave home:
- to get the food and the supplies you need
- to exercise for up to two hours (no more than 5km from your home)
- for care or caregiving
- for authorised work or education if you can’t do it from home, or
- to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location
- Face masks will still be mandatory outdoors and indoors (not at home) unless an exception applies – this includes all workplaces.
- To give industry time to adjust, workforce permits will be required to leave the house for authorised work from 11.59pm Monday 23 August.
- Workforce limits apply to the construction industry from 1pm today, however industry will be engaged about safely reducing staff numbers as they secure sites.
- Playgrounds, basketball hoops, skate parks and outdoor exercise equipment will be closed.
- Masks will also not be able to be removed to drink alcoholic beverages.
- Exercise will be limited to just one other person, plus dependants if they can’t be left at home.
- People cannot have visitors to the home.
For a detailed overview of the restrictions, see the Table of Restrictions or visit coronavirus.vic.gov.au.
Accommodation
Hotel and accommodation providers can stay open to support guests already on-site. Existing guests are encouraged to stay where they are for the duration of current restrictions. If they must leave, they should travel directly home and minimise movement.
Guests who are already staying on-site and are from multiple households but sharing one accommodation premises will be treated as a single household for the duration of their stay.
Communal facilities, such as toilets and laundry facilities, can remain open if required for the health and safety of guests.
Hotel and accommodation providers can only accept new bookings and new guests in exceptional circumstances, including:
- a person who lives in the accommodation facility
- a person who is ordinarily a resident of Victoria but has no permanent home in Victoria
- a person who has a home in Victoria but whose home is temporarily unavailable
- a person who has no home in Victoria because their home is interstate or overseas
- a person who has travelled to Victoria for temporary work purposes
- a person who was already a temporary guest of the accommodation facility at 8:00pm on Thursday 5 August
- a person who requires emergency accommodation, including due to family violence and other vulnerable groups
- a person who requires accommodation for work purposes, where their work is for the purposes of responding to the State of Emergency under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act
- a person who is subject to a Direction and Detention Notice or the Diagnosed Persons and Close Contacts Directions.
Additional restriction changes for metropolitan Melbourne
The curfew of 9pm-5am remains in place in metropolitan Melbourne.
Further, changes will be made to metropolitan businesses operating in high-risk industries – like abattoirs, meat, poultry, and seafood processing – with additional obligations such as workforce limits and mandatory surveillance testing to be implemented.
Closure of childcare and attendance permit system
Childcare centres across Victoria will be closed except to children whose parents are authorised workers and cannot be supervised at home. A permit system will apply, and further details will be provided. Vulnerable children will be permitted to attend.
Mask recommendation for primary school aged children
Victoria’s public health team is also strongly recommending that primary school aged children, when they are not at home, also wear a mask as an extra precaution against this virus.
Vaccination appointments update
The best vaccine you can get is the one that you can get today.
There are more than 390,000 COVID-19 vaccine appointments available over the next four weeks. All eligible Victorians are being asked to book appointments today.
We strongly suggest that Victorians who have already booked in for their Astra Zeneca vaccine, do not cancel that appointment.
All Victorians are encouraged where possible to book their vaccination appointment by visiting portal.cvms.vic.gov.au or by phoning the Coronavirus hotline on 1800 675 398.
Business support / grants
Visit the ‘Business Grants’ page in our Industry Hub for a list of current funds open, and funds opening soon.
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