Regional Victorians have been mostly spared from new COVID-19 rules that are being implemented in Melbourne in response to the latest COVID-19 outbreak.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
New restrictions on face masks and gatherings have been announced in greater Melbourne, although a full lockdown has not been implemented.
As of 6pm on Tuesday, a suite of new rules will be implemented in Melbourne, according to acting premier James Merlino.
The rules will be in place until at least June 4.
The new rules in Melbourne include:
- Private gatherings: Limited to five visitors per day
- Public gatherings: Maximum of 30 people
- Face masks: Mandatory in indoor spaces outside the home for all over-12s unless an exemption applies
There are no changes to schools, hospitality venues or density quotients.
People are allowed to freely move between Melbourne and regional Victoria.
The rules do not apply in regional Victoria, however people who are travelling from Melbourne must adhere to the restrictions.
Melbourne people visiting Ballarat must also adhere to the rules wherever they go.
For Ballarat people returning from Melbourne who have visited the city for either work or leisure, the rules DO NOT follow them when they return home.
IN OTHER NEWS
The acting premier confirmed genomic sequencing showed the Whittlesea outbreak was "closely related" to a man in nearby Wollert who tested positive earlier this month after returning from hotel quarantine in South Australia.
Health authorities have now identified 10 exposure sites as they race to contain the COVID-19 outbreak.
Testing sites serving the city's north were straining to cope with demand as people heeded public health advice.
Nando's Epping and Woolworths Epping North joined Jump! Swim Schools Bundoora and Highpoint Shopping Centre as tier one exposure sites in the new outbreak, meaning anyone who attended those places at specified times must be tested and isolate for 14 days.
Futsal Brunswick, Epping North Shopping Centre, House and Party at Epping, Urban Diner Food Court at Pacific Epping Shopping Centre, Shells Coles Express Reservoir and B.T. Connor Reserve are tier two sites - meaning affected people must get tested and isolate until they have a negative result.
The family cluster - originally involving a man in his 30s, a man in 70s, a woman in 70s and a pre-school aged child from three households in the Whittlesea area - emerged on Monday.
The health department last week admitted it had listed the wrong supermarket as an exposure site when the Wollert man tested positive earlier this month.
More household contacts of the new cases have been put into isolation despite testing negative so far.
Victoria Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton has said the first Whittlesea man is carrying a high viral load and warned the community to brace for more possible cases.
All domestic borders remain open despite most states and territories issuing updated travel advice for recent Victorian arrivals.
The latest outbreak snapped Victoria's 86-day streak without a locally acquired case.
Victoria has 14 active cases, with the rest in hotel quarantine, and 14,892 tests in the 24 hours to Tuesday.
We have removed our paywall from our stories about the coronavirus. This is a rapidly changing situation and we aim to make sure our readers are as informed as possible. If you would like to support our journalists you can subscribe here.
