A curfew has been reinstated in Melbourne as the city's lockdown is extended for a further two weeks. Premier Dan Andrews announced on Monday, August 16 that Melbourne's lockdown would be extended until September 2 as the state reached a "tipping point" in regards to the ongoing Delta outbreak.
In addition to the two-week lockdown extension, new restrictions will also be brought in from 11.59pm, August 16. The new restrictions include:
- A curfew will be in place every night from 9pm to 5am every night;
- Exercise can be done by yourself or with one other person, plus dependents if they cannot be left alone;
- Masks cannot be removed to drink alcohol in public;
- Playgrounds, basketball courts, skate parks and exercise equipment are closed;
- Religious broadcasts must have the same crew every week;
- Permits for authorised workers return (from 11.59pm August 17);
- Permits for authorised students (including tertiary students) will also be implemented; and
- Construction will be reduced, with large projects reduced to 25 per cent of staff, and small projects reduced to five people per site. Further restrictions will be in place regarding movement across sites
The additional restrictions are not in response to any one event, but to the ongoing levels of transmission in the community, as well as the number of mystery cases. "We see too many cases, we see too many mystery cases. We now have 12 or 13 different chains of transmission. The origins of some are unknown to us. That means that this is spreading in an undetected way across the community," said Andrews.