The announcement comes after Melbourne recorded five mystery cases overnight.
Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has announced a lockdown extension for metropolitan Melbourne after recording 20 new locally-acquired COVID-19 cases overnight.
The seven day extension means the lockdown is now expected to lift on 11:59pm on Thursday August 19.
What you need to know
- Melbourne’s lockdown has been extended until 11:59pm on Thursday August 19
- Fourteen of the 20 new cases were in isolation for the entirety of their infectious period
- Bus and train routes have been added to the list of exposure sites
Stay up to date with what’s happening in Melbourne here.
With five of the new cases not yet linked to known outbreaks in Victoria, the number of exposure sites now at 290, 116 active cases and over 12,000 active primary close contacts, the Victorian government saw no alternative but to extend the lockdown.
“If we were to open, we would see cases akin to, tragically, what’s happening in Sydney right now,” said Andrews.
The current restrictions will remain in place for the seven day extension.
Andrews also announced that residents of the New South Wales/Victoria border bubble will be required to obtain a permit to cross the border as of 6pm Friday August 13 to help track who is entering the state.
Due to the current level of community transmission of coronavirus in Victoria from the recent NSW incursions, the CHO has declared that the current lockdown across Melbourne will be extended until at least 11.59pm 19 Aug, to stamp out this Delta variant and keep Victorians safe. pic.twitter.com/KWzMWWK3ZT
— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) August 11, 2021
For more information, visit the DHHS website.
