Regional Victoria has been plunged into lockdown following a growing number of Delta cases in the Shepparton area and across the state. The lockdown applies from 1pm on August 21.
The rules are the same as in metropolitan Melbourne, except there is no curfew. That means everyone in regional Victoria must stay at home, except for the now familiar five reasons:
- For authorised work if it cannot be done from home;
- For medical care or caregiving;
- For no more than two hours of exercise or to buy essential supplies within 5km of home;
- To get a Covid test;
- To get a Covid vaccine.
Authorised workers will need to have a permit for on-premise work in order to go to work. There is no curfew in regional Victoria.
Playgrounds, skate parks and outdoor exercise equipment is closed, and all hospitality venues can provide takeaway or delivery only. Only essential shops like supermarkets and pharmacies are allowed to be open; other shops can provide click and collect only. Masks are mandatory everywhere outside the home.
Childcare is now restricted to vulnerable children and the children of authorised workers. A permit system is being implemented.
Premier Dan Andrews urged all Victorians to get vaccinated as soon as they could with any vaccine they could access. There are thousands of unfilled appointments across the state for both Pfizer and AstraZeneca. "Lockdowns are our short-term solution, but our long-term strategy to ... live in a very different world is to reach that 80 per cent target."