Australia state of Victoria reintroduces lockdown provisions as cases reach two-month high
5152 Mins Read
Victorian premier Daniel Andrews has announced a return of coronavirus restrictions after the state recorded 25 new Covid-19 cases in 24 hours, the biggest increase in two months.
The state has recorded 91 new cases in the past seven days, three times more than were recorded in the previous week.
On Friday, health authorities reported 13 new cases, bringing the state’s total to 1,792. The biggest day was Wednesday, when 21 new cases were recorded.
It’s just two weeks since Victoria celebrated its first ever 24-hour period with no new cases.
Restrictions are currently seat to ease in the state on Monday, with gyms, indoor sports centres, and bars and clubs set to reopen. Restaurants and pubs and cafes serving food were also due to be able to increase their patron limit from 20 to 50.
Now, the number of guests people can have in their home will be reduced to five, and restaurants and pubs will have to remain at the limit of 20 guests until at least 12 July.
Community non-contact sport can continue, he said.
Andrews said that the Victorian government has followed the advice of public health experts “all the way”.But you can have the best chief health officer, you can have the best public health team, but if individual families decide that they won’t isolate, they will instead go and visit in large numbers other families, then all of that is for nothing. We’re all in this together. And whilst I am deeply frustrated by this, and saddened to have to reimpose the household gathering limits, and to make the decision not to proceed on Monday with a number of further restriction easings, that is the responsible thing to do.
He said if they receive health advice that he can ease restrictions before 12 July, then he will.
“My message is very clear. If you are sick you cannot go out. If you are sick you cannot go to work. If you are sick you cannot — even moderate symptoms, mild symptoms — you cannot go and visit family and friends. If you are told to isolate, you must isolate. You cannot make your own decision because it is not your decision to make. You are putting the rest of Victoria at risk…. These steps are necessary. They’re challenging, but they’re necessary. I know they will add to frustration in the community.
But the one thing that I cannot do… is join those families in pretending that this is over because we want it to be over. We just can’t do that. That would be irresponsible and that will set us back.”
