Masks are mandatory and there will be more restrictions on movement as Ballarat wakes to stage four lockdown.
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From 11.59pm on Friday until 11.59pm on Wednesday, a "circuit-breaker" lockdown aims to stamp out the more contagious UK strain of COVID-19.
This means there will only be four reasons to leave the house - care and caregiving, work if you're unable to work from home, shopping for essential items, and exercise.
People must stay within five kilometres of their homes, unless there are no shops nearby.
The restrictions apply state-wide - Premier Daniel Andrews said at a press conference announcing the measures that regional Victoria was included to "keep the virus out".
"If we have rules that are softer, that are easier in regional Victoria, and barely enough time to set up a ring of steel - once you had it up, you'd almost be dismantling it at the same time - it's five days, it's not weeks. It's not a long-term thing," he said.
"If this was a longer-term proposition, then we would appropriately differentiate between Melbourne and regional Victoria, but my message to regional Victorians is we have no evidence of any cases, and that's how we want to keep it."
Many of the measures will be very familiar, though with this lockdown, non-essential retail will be closed.
Schools will also be closed with students returning to at-home learning, unless they are the children of essential workers or considered vulnerable.
Face masks must be worn at all times when outside of the home, and public gatherings of all kinds are banned.
Despite the devastating effect this five-day lockdown will have on some businesses, Ballarat's leaders are urging residents to be patient.
City of Ballarat mayor Daniel Moloney said residents had pushed through restrictions before to eliminate the virus.
"We're incredibly lucky to live here in Ballarat, I don't think we've had a COVID case since September last year, and no fatalities at this stage that I'm aware of.
"That's because Ballarat people have done the right thing, they've worn masks even when they're not required to - Ballarat and region people have responded so incredibly that as a result we've done comparatively very well."
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While council's community buildings will close, including the Ballarat Aquatic Lifestyle Centre and libraries, essential services like waste collection and Meals on Wheels will remain.
Cr Moloney also urged people to think of businesses who will be hit, and get takeaway food from their favourite hospitality outlets to support them.
"A lot of businesses have already been doing it incredibly tough and thought they were on the road to recovery - while this is short lived, they'll still need our support over the next few days," he said.
"Where we can legitimately and safely get takeaway, that's a good option for those hospitality businesses, but people need to be following the rules."
Committee for Ballarat chief executive Michael Poulton said it was disappointing and frustrating to see so many events at the weekend get immediately canceled, including Rock Ballarat, the Ballarat Gift, championship water polo, and the Head of Schoolboys regatta.
"As disappointed as we all are, we know it's the right thing to do - we just have to endure this for the next five days," he said.
"We all just hope the five day short lockdown, as it's done in Brisbane and Perth, does the trick for Victoria.
"We all understand it's got to be for the greater good, as hard as it is for accommodation providers, we can't allow it to get out of control."
The difference between the second lockdown in 2020 and this "circuit-breaker" lockdown was the unknowns in the new strain, Mr Poulton added, and how contagious it is.
Mr Andrews noted close contacts who were being traced were already infected, and there was no "lag" for health services to catch up like there was with the earlier strain.
"By the time we find that case positive, they've already infected their close contacts, their families, people they live with, people they've spent time with," he said.
"That makes it incredibly difficult to do contact tracing because there is no gap between the first case and their close contacts."
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Mr Poulton said that was a clear reason why the lockdown was necessary, despite the pain.
"We know what it's done in other countries," Mr Poulton said.
"We can't allow this to get into the community in any way shape or form, it's the price we have to pay."
Anyone with the slightest symptoms must get tested as soon as possible.
To book a test at Ballarat's clinic on Errard Street North, phone 4311 1571 or head to the UFS website.
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