As new COVID-19 cases continue to emerge across the country, new lockdowns and stricter restrictions are being implemented across the country. Currently Australia's three most populous cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, are under lockdown measures. Here’s what you need to know.
Victoria
Victoria will go into a seven-day lockdown starting today, Thursday August 5, from 8pm. This means that as of this evening, residents are expected to follow the same rules as the last lockdown which ended only a week earlier. These rules include:
- Only leaving the home for essential reason such as obtaining groceries or medications, for healthcare or support of a vulnerable person, for work that cannot be completed from home or for exercise.
- Masks must be worn outside of the home.
- Private and public gatherings are not permitted.
- Hospitality businesses are only permitted to provide takeaway services. Indoor and outdoor dining is not permitted.
- Any venues that are permitted to remain open must follow all COVIDSafe requirements and follow the Density Quotient rule.
The lockdown will last at least seven days and is expected to end at 8pm on Thursday August 12.
Queensland
As of 4pm on Saturday July 31, southeast Queensland has been under a one-week lockdown. Residents of 11 local government areas are expected to stay at home unless for essential reason. These LGAs include:
- Brisbane
- Ipswich
- Logan City
- Moreton Bay
- Redlands
- Sunshine Coast
- Gold Coast
- Noosa
- Somerset
- Lockyer Valley
- Scenic Rim
Under these measures, restaurants, bars, cafes, pubs must remain closed unless for takeaway services. It is also mandatory to wear masks when outside of the home.
This lockdown is expected to lift at 4pm on Sunday August 8, 2021
New South Wales
As of 5pm today, Thursday August 5, the LGAs of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Port Stephens, Cessnock, Dungog, Singleton and Muswellbrook will go into a one-week lockdown.
This comes on the back of the lockdown that is already in place in the Greater Sydney area. The areas of Sydney, the Blue Mountains, Central Coast, Wollongong and Shellharbour have been under stay-at-home orders from late June and orders are only expected to lift on August 28. Eight more LGAs have also been added to these measures, which include Fairfield, Canterbury-Bankstown, Liverpool, Cumberland, Blacktown, Parramatta, Georges River and Campbelltown.
The Australian Institute of Food Safety (AIFS) will continue to monitor the situation and provide updates.
