Melbourne is set to find out whether its ongoing lockdown will be extended further on Friday, with government sources saying some restrictions will remain.
Victorian government sources said the city’s lockdown will be lifted as scheduled at 11.59pm on Thursday, with restrictions likely easing to those currently in place in regional Victoria.
‘We are certainly on course to lift the lockdown as scheduled unless there is a massive shock, we would be expecting that to happen,’ one senior source told the Herald Sun.
An urgent alert has been issued for McDonald’s and other Melbourne takeaway shops after Covid-infected customers attended the venues over the weekend.
If health bosses were to uncover infections linked to any of these venues, they could extend lockdown further as it would be deemed as uncontrolled community spread.
The latest exposure sites include Chemist Warehouse in South Melbourne, IGA in Southbank and two McDonald’s stores in Flemington and Campbellfield.
Twenty & Six Espresso in the CBD, Red Rooster Strathmore, Pho Noodle House in Coburg North, Bardali Dine Restaurant and Bar in Glenroy and Honker Burgers in Mickleham have also been added to the list.
Twenty & Six Espresso in the CBD, Red Rooster Strathmore, Pho Noodle House in Coburg North (pictured) have been added to the exposure sites list
The latest exposure sites include Chemist Warehouse in South Melbourne (pictured) and IGA in Southbank
Anyone who has visited the new locations must urgently get tested and isolate until a negative result has been received
Victoria recorded 11 new locally acquired Covid cases on Monday, including two linked to the Arcare Maidstone aged care facility reported on Sunday.
Anyone who has visited the above locations must urgently get tested and isolate until a negative result has been received.
The new cases, all of which are linked to current outbreaks, bring the total number of local active cases to 81.
With no new exposure sites linked to the 11 new cases, Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said Melbourne’s lockdown was on track to end at 11.59pm on Thursday, though he ruled out a return to the relaxed restrictions in place before the outbreak.
‘It is certainly not a snap-back to large gatherings and a full MCG,’ he said.
Asked what restrictions would look like come Friday, he said: ‘It’s not something I can speak to now. It’s early days still’.
Acting Premier James Merlino had previously flagged Melbourne would move to a similar set of restrictions to that of regional Victoria, with people unable to travel during the Queen’s Birthday long weekend.
Four of the new cases are linked to the city’s outbreak of the Kappa variant, which began in the City of Whittlesea and spread to several locations across Melbourne, including Port Melbourne.
That outbreak now totals 33 active cases in Whittlesea and 31 in Port Melbourne.
One of the cases is a cleaner at a construction site in Queen Street in Melbourne’s CBD, which has been listed as a Tier 1 exposure site.
About 400 of 500 close contacts linked to the site have tested negative so far.
The remaining three cases are linked to an outbreak of the Kappa variant at Arcare Maidstone in Melbourne’s northwest, two of which were announced on Sunday.
The additional case is an aged care worker.
Some 24,265 Victorians were tested on Sunday and 17,719 received a vaccine dose at state-run sites.
Health Minister Martin Foley confirmed four of the new cases were linked to the state’s outbreak of the Delta variant, which originated in India.
He said the cases – three children and an adult – were close contacts of people who had already tested positive for COVID-19.
The Delta variant outbreak now totals 14, though authorities are no closer to finding out how a family from West Melbourne first contracted the variant.
Victorian government sources said the city’s lockdown will be lifted as scheduled at 11.59pm on Thursday, with restrictions likely easing to those currently in place in regional Victoria.
‘We are certainly on course to lift the lockdown as scheduled,’ one senior source told the Herald Sun.
‘Unless there is a massive shock, we would be expecting that to happen.’
Downgraded restrictions implemented in regional Victoria when it exited lockdown on Friday include mask wearing indoors, caps on home and public gatherings, and capacity restrictions on offices, venues, bars and restaurants.
However, sources said Melbourne schools will likely return to in-class learning and children’s sports matches will be permitted.
Victoria recorded 11 new locally acquired Covid cases on Monday, including two linked to the Arcare Maidstone aged care facility reported on Sunday
It is understood the government on Monday notified key industries about the changes from midnight Thursday.
Victoria recorded 11 new coronavirus infections on Monday, but they are all close contacts of existing cases or people in quarantine.
Sources said a ‘lesser setback’, such as a couple of days of double digit case numbers, was unlikely to disrupt the plan as evidence shows the outbreaks are under control.
Thousands of primary contacts currently serving home quarantine will be screened with a 13-day Covid test in a bid to identify and contain any further cases.
The end of lockdown will offer relief for thousands of businesses who were forced to close and stand down staff when the state government introduced a seven-day ‘circuit breaker’ on May 27, which was extended in Melbourne a week later.
The insider information comes as Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Monday called on the Victorian government to lift lockdown restrictions as soon as possible.
Innes Willox from the Australian Industry Group said the prolonged Victorian lockdown seemed increasingly unnecessary and harmful, with only a handful of connected cases each day.
The prime minister said he also wants Victoria to reopen, particularly for parents with schoolchildren at home.
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