Dan makes major lockdown announcement

Premier Daniel Andrews has made a major change to lockdown restrictions in Victoria. Follow our live coverage.

Welcome to our rolling coverage of the Covid situation in Victoria.

Restrictions will be eased for the majority of Victorians in regional areas from Thursday at midnight.

All regional Victorian areas aside from the Greater Shepparton region will have their travel distance scrapped and restaurants and cafes allowed to open with numbers caps.

In these areas schools will be open for students in prep to grade 2 and grade 12.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Crosling

Premier Daniel Andrews hoped these restrictions would be sustainable.

“As I said, and I have said a number of times, it‘s not a snapback, it’s not Freedom Day, it’s not 100 per cent capacity down at the pub,” he said.

“We want to do this in a cautious way, but in a positive way in as optimistic way as possible.”

The Premier gave just two hours notice when he locked down regional Victoria on August 21 and warned there would be a significant police presence making sure people from Melbourne are not heading to the regions without need.

The only change for metropolitan Melbourne is that single parents can now access childcare regardless whether you are an authorised worker or not.

Covid by the numbers

Premier Daniel Andrews broke down the amount of Covid cases across Victoria.

There are currently 1920 active cases across the state.

The premier said of these, 285 are aged between zero and nine, 305 are aged between 10-19, 498 are in their 20s and 315 are in their 40s.

Overall, Premier Andrews said that 86 per cent of active cases are under the age of 50.

He also gave a vaccination update.

Premier Andrews said that Victoria was sitting at 66.2 per cent partially vaccinated and 38.6 per cent fully vaccinated.

The Covid family who keeps leaving home

A family of five have reportedly broken restrictions multiple times with government officials regularly called to their suburban home.

A Melbourne family have reportedly breached Victoria’s strict lockdown regulations repeatedly since contracting the virus last week.

The Daily Mail reported all members of the household had left their Newport home on multiple occasions since they received positive tests since August 30.

Victorian Police. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Sarah Matray

Furious neighbours told the publication their calls to police had been ignored but authorities were pictured at the property this week.

Health officials were photographed at the home on Monday where the mother engaged in a heated argument with them.

“We have to eat,” the woman said.

The officials were seen taking photos and going through the family’s bins before door knocking the neighbourhood to obtain evidence of the family’s breaches.

Health authorities returned to the home again on Tuesday, this time accompanied by police, and warned the family they would be fined $10,000 each and taken into hotel quarantine should they breach home quarantine again.

Follow below for today’s top developments. Just make sure you keep refreshing the page to see the latest news.

Victoria records 221 new Covid cases

Victoria recorded 221 locally transmitted cases of Covid-19 during the latest reporting period.

Of these, 98 are linked to previous clusters. There were 246 cases recorded on Tuesday.

It a day after Premier Daniel Andrews blasted the federal government over his state’s vaccine supply.

“I signed on to a national plan to vaccinate our nation, not a national plan to vaccinate Sydney,” he said.

“Some don’t like to see this as a race but a race it surely is. What I didn’t know was that Premier Gladys Berejiklian’s in a sprint while the rest of us are supposed to do some sort of egg and spoon thing.”

Reported yesterday: 221 new local cases and 0 new cases acquired overseas.
- 36,716 vaccine doses were administered
- 42,429 test results were received

More later: https://t.co/lIUrl1hf3W#COVID19Vic#COVID19VicData [1/2] pic.twitter.com/iEdGj4Sr1U

— VicGovDH (@VicGovDH) September 7, 2021

Around one hundred fined at Synagogue

Dozens of Jewish worshippers illegally gathered at a Melbourne synagogue have been issued with $5452 fines after attending an all-day Jewish New Year celebration.

An estimated 100 people attended the celebrations at the orthodox Adass Israel Synagogue in Glen Eira Ave, Ripponlea, with Victoria Police dispersing the group around 9pm on Tuesday.

Police had been in the area since the early hours of Tuesday morning. Eyewitnesses said some of those gathered chanted, pushed cameras and yelled insults at media and police as well as climbed onto a nearby building.

Police speak to locals near an illegal gathering at the Adass Israel Synagogue in Ripponlea. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

A second, smaller illegal prayer group assembled for Jewish New Year was also dispersed by police from an apartment above the Ripponlea IGA supermarket, also on Glen Eira Ave.

Members of the local Orthodox community allegedly broke stay-at-home orders to observe the holy day Rosh Hashana, which marks the beginning of the Jewish New Year.

Dozens of Jewish worshippers who gathered at a synagogue in Melbourne's inner east have been slapped with a more than $5,000 fine for breaching COVID health orders. #9Todaypic.twitter.com/yYaOdL71oQ

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) September 7, 2021

Federal Labor MP Josh Burns, whose electorate of Macnamara encompasses the suburb where there was an illegal gathering at a Melbourne synagogue last night, stressed the majority of the Jewish community are following the rules.

“It’s really disappointing to see people ignoring the public health rules,” he told the ABC.

“Most people will be looking at these images going, ‘this is appalling’, and most people from within the Jewish community will be looking at these images and going, ‘This is appalling’.

“People have been doing the right thing and for this small number that is not, it‘s very disappointing.”

Cameraman injured

A man is in hospital after an alleged assault during Tuesday night’s dramatic stand-off outside an ultra-Orthodox synagogue in Melbourne.

The 45-year old cameraman, who was covering the alleged public health breach, was allegedly assaulted at around 7pm.

It was reported he took himself to The Alfred hospital after his condition deteriorated following the incident outside the Glen Eira Ave building.

Every Covid exposure site in Melbourne and Victoria

More hospitals, schools, pharmacies, supermarkets and public transport have been added to the growing list of Covid exposure sites.

Banks, shops, apartment buildings and fast food outlets are also on the list.

Dates and times for exposure sites are listed below.

New exposure sites are published as soon as they are listed by the Department of Health.

Originally published as Dan makes major lockdown announcement