Prahran’s Horace Petty Estate tower residents hope to avoid coronavirus lockdown restrictions
They have avoided the tough rules at other housing towers around Melbourne, but some residents in a Prahran estate fear they too could also end up confined to their rooms.
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A Prahran housing estate resident fears his building could soon face the tough lockdown restrictions imposed at other towers in Melbourne’s north and west.
Jake Mizzi, 31, who lives on the ninth floor of the Horace Petty Estate with his two children, said he had seen some people ignoring social distancing advice and gathering in small groups of the stairwells.
“They don’t care about the rules, three or four people will come in and sit in the stairwell or in the foyer,” Mr Mizzi said.
“It’s unfortunate some people in the building still think coronavirus is a joke”.
Mr Mizzi said he was taking things day-by-day during the virus outbreak and felt there was “a bit of a community coming together” at the estate to support each other.
He said he hadn’t received additional support from authorities but had benefited from food donations from his son’s kindergarten.
Mr Mizzi feared things could get challenging if residents are confined to their rooms.
“I’m just worried we’ll end up like North Melbourne and Flemington,” he said.
“I’ve got two kids upstairs who want to get out and go to the playgrounds and it’s hard to explain to them that we can’t.”
Fifth floor resident Gilda Cooper, 74, said she was still going about her daily business.
“We’re all still walking around and we can still go and do our shopping,” she said.
She received an early birthday present from her daughter on Tuesday — a new TV — to stay entertained in lockdown.
Stonnington Council chief executive Jacqui Weatherill said the area’s public housing facilities were not subject to the lockdown conditions at other towers in Melbourne.
But Ms Weatherill said the council had reached out to the Prahran housing office and the Department of Health and Human Services “to offer further assistance where we can”.
The DHHS and its Prahran housing office were contacted for comment.
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