Yesterday Geelong and regional Victoria have narrowly escaped a forced lockdown, with news that Melbourne will revert back to Stage 3 restrictions have been validated by Daniel Andrews, following Victoria recording 191 new cases of COVID-19 over Monday night which brought the number of active cases in the state to 772.
The Stage 3 restrictions will see people from metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire return to an earlier reality – one that was experienced during late March, April and early May. Such restrictions will mean that from 11:59pm on July 8 and for the next six weeks, Melbourne residents will be unable to leave their homes for any reasons except for exercise, shopping for food or essential items, to provide caregiving or to seek medical treatment, or for work or study if you are unable to do so from home.
This news, while good news for regional Victoria, also raised a lot of concerns that residents in lockdown areas would travel areas outside their homes to escape the stage 3 restrictions.
Today Premier Daniel Andrews said there were 134 more cases of coronavirus recorded in the state overnight, with 11 of those 134 cases connected to contained outbreaks, and addressed the safeguarding and ‘opening up’ regional Victoria.
Mr Andrews said the situation for regional Victoria was very different for the Melbourne lockdown area, with vast areas within regional Victoria where there is no community transmission, other parts of regional Victoria where there are small numbers of cases.
“We have to safeguard the status of regional Victoria and, as I said yesterday, we are doing the hard work to look at options to accelerate opening-up in regional Victoria for regional Victorians,” he reveals.
“That comes with significant economic benefit, for them and therefore the whole state.
“That is only possible if we continue to safeguard the very low COVID or COVID-free status of large parts of regional and country Victoria.
“To achieve that outcome, then we do have to have a hard border between those 31 metropolitan LGAs, and Mitchell Shire, and regional Victoria.
“Again, no-one is pleased to be in that predicament, to having to confront those circumstances, but there is enormous benefit across regional Victoria if we can get that job done.”
Victoria Police, with support from the ADF, some 264 ADF personnel, will be providing logistical support, practical support, to Victoria Police.
For us in Geelong, concerns were raised about the Princes Freeway between Wyndham and Geelong. This will not be closed, even though Wyndham is caught up in the fresh Melbourne lock-down and Geelong is not, but instead Operation Sanus will use rolling stoppages and random checks to ensure Melbourne drivers do not attempt to venture into regional areas.
Booze buses and mobile police facilities will also be deployed to ensure that anyone moving between the two cities has a valid reason for travel, while passengers and drivers will be checked to ensure they are complying with the lock-down, which finishes at Little River.
“If you don’t have a reason to leave, you will be turned back around,” Chief Commissioner of Victoria Police Shane Patton said today.
“If someone breaches those guidelines and leaves when they shouldn’t, you’ll receive an infringement — $1,652.”
These measures will be put in place from midnight tonight.
More on this to come.
