As it happened: Victoria imposes stage four restrictions including curfew, 5km lockdown limit; NSW battles clusters, Australian death toll jumps to 208

So that wraps up a momentous day in this pandemic crisis. For Monday's coverage, click here.

Here's the biggest developments of the day:

• Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has announced a state of disaster that will see a curfew imposed on Melbourne for six weeks meaning residents must remain at home between 8pm and 5am;
• As part of a suite of tough new restrictions Melburnians will not be allowed to travel more than 5km once a day to do their shopping (further if their nearest supermarket is more than 5km away). Only one person per household will be allowed to make the trip and only once a day;
• Regional Victoria will also be placed under stage three restrictions later this week;
• Mr Andrews said the new restrictions were needed because of a wave of nearly 800 so-called "mystery" infections where the origin was completely unknown;
• Students across Victoria will return to remote learning on Wednesday, with tighter exemptions for children of essential workers than the government imposed last lockdown;
• Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned Australia's economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic hinges on how quickly Victoria can overcome the latest outbreak;
• NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian is urging face masks be worn on public transport and in supermarkets as the state reported another 12 new coronavirus cases on Sunday. She said NSW had entered a "very critical stage".

• Queensland's latest case of COVID-19 flew on a Jetstar flight from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast while infectious, sparking a public health alert for fellow passengers. The man returned from overseas and was allowed to then board the domestic flight because he is a consulate staffer.

We will be back tomorrow morning. For Monday's coverage, click here. Until then stay safe and look after one another.

NSW Health is directing anyone who visited two venues in the Hunter region to get tested for COVID-19 and self-isolate for 14 days after someone from Sydney with coronavirus visited the area while infectious.

The public health alert issued late on Sunday night states any person who attended Hotel Jesmond on Wednesday July 29 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm, or Wallsend Diggers on Thursday July 30 between 7.30pm and 9.30pm must go into self-quarantine for two weeks.

Hunter New England Health public health controller Dr David Durrheim said anyone in attendance during these times "may be at risk of infection".

The venues were closed to ensure a thorough cleaning process could be completed. Health officials are poring over the venues’ guest registers to trace and contact any people who were there during the two-hour windows.

In a Facebook post, state Labor MP Sonia Hornery praised the Wallsend Diggers for being able to “immediately identify all those who were on the premises” on Thursday night.

Even if the first test comes back negative, NSW Health says anyone developing symptoms should get re-tested. A drive-through clinic is available at the University of Newcastle from 8am to 4pm every day.

Quite a few readers are writing into us with scenarios and wondering if they meet the rules.

Here's one that caught my eye as the parent of some little ones and hopefully helps a bit.

Question - We are both working from home. We have two small children. Can one of us take both kids out while exercising, while the other parent is working, or can we only take one child at a time? We live in a flat so rely on leaving the house for any outside play. Our children are too little for conventional “exercise” to be of any use. Are they allowed to use the grass at the park (I know the playground equipment is closed) or parkland at the creek (within the 5k radius)? If yes - will we be fined if they are looking at bugs or pretending to be dogs etc rather than being physically active? What is allowable “exercise” for a three year old and where can we do it?

Answer - Well first thing I'd say is we're not entirely certain how the authorities are going to police the rules but here's some of what Premier Daniel Andrews had to say today which should hopefully answer that question. Particularly note the bit in bold: "You will be allowed to have one hour of exercise, no further than 5km from your home. That means it is fresh air. It is a jog. It is a walk. It is in your local neighbourhood. It is staying close to home or in your home and there will no longer be able to be any groups bigger than two, regardless of whether they are from your family or someone else. There will be commonsense exemptions for children who are being cared for and cannot be left at home, things of that nature."

My sense, based on that, is that small children running around on the grass for a little toddle at the local oval is not going to attract the ire of the police.

Chief reporter Chip Le Grand has written this piece trying to make a little sense of today's massive news.

Here's a taste: If you imagine the entire city of Melbourne as a COVID-19 patient, we have now been placed in intensive care.

A state of disaster has been declared. Police have orders to stop and question anyone caught outside their homes after 8pm. Our kids are being sent home from school. More businesses will be shut in an economy already bedridden by the virus and rolling restrictions.

Victoria’s health authorities have lost control of this disease. This much is clear from the 760 active cases now confirmed in which those responsible for tracking this virus have no idea how people were infected.

Premier Daniel Andrews says our contact tracing, the state’s front-line response to the second surge, has been overwhelmed by the volume of cases.

Victoria's Chief Health Officer, Brett Sutton, says the public response is also infected with complacency and fatigue. Too many people ignoring stay-at-home directives and quarantine requirements have prompted him to pull out the big guns.

"There is some shock and awe here," he said.

Some Victorians will be shocked. Others angry. Many will quietly despair.

It is six months since the first COVID-19 case was confirmed in Melbourne. Sunday’s announcements and those to follow on Monday will test the resilience of our society and economy in ways we haven’t experienced before.

"It has already been devastating, it has already been a hard slog," Melbourne lord mayor Sally Capp told The Age after the first tranche of stage four restrictions was detailed.

"Our reputation, everything we are known for as a city where people come together, that sense of who we are, our personality, our character, all of those things are at risk at the moment."

You can read the full article here.

In Yarraville, Lee Smith-Moir has been delighting users of Cruickshank Park since creating her own version of the rainbow trail, with 20 flags to spot, in March.

From a fun facts educational trail to a Ministry of Silly Walks path, she has been setting up different activities to cheer up locals on their daily exercise.

Lee Smith-Moir and daughter Tai try to cheer up the neighbourhood.Credit: Wayne Taylor

“Every day, we get people saying it brightens their day … they say it gives them a laugh or 'I learnt something really interesting,' ” Ms Smith-Moir said.

“It’s become a little happy place at the edge of the park.”

The retiree even built a giant puzzle wall, filled with optical illusions and quizzes, on the side of her home that sits on the edge of the park.

Read the full story here.

Coles supermarkets, Liquorland, Vintage Cellars, First Choice and First Choice Liquor Market stores across Melbourne will not admit new customers from 7.30pm and close at 7.45pm in response to the Victorian government's new curfew for the city.

According to a statement from Coles, the new hours policy will not apply to stores that would otherwise close earlier nor to Coles Express outlets which would continue to trade so that essential services and exempt transport providers can get fuel and other essentials.

"In line with the curfew requirements, we ask that customers shop alone wherever possible and visit our stores no more than once per day," the company said.

Coles will also introduce new limited purchase limits for Victorian customers on chicken breasts, chicken thighs and mince.

We have had our reporter Paul Sakkal and photographer Justin McManus out around the city tonight to report on our first night of curfew.

Here's what Paul saw together with Justin's excellent pictures:

Flinders Street Station clocks just after 8pm on 2 August as Melbourne's curfew came into effect.Credit: Justin McManus

As the Flinders Street station clock ticked past 8pm, police didn't exactly have their work cut out enforcing the newly-imposed curfew.

More food delivery drivers rode through the intersection than police and pedestrians lingered beneath the nine clocks denoting schedules for trains that may only carry a few passengers each.

A woman who sat on the station's steps was asked to move on, which she did after some convincing by PSOs.

Flinders Street Station on 2 August after a curfew was announced.Credit: Justin McManus

Police near the station said they had been instructed to initially be lenient in their enforcement of the curfew, the first of its kind in Melbourne's history, and ask rule-breakers to head home rather than issue fines. They said patrols would increase from Monday.

On the St Paul's cathedral corner of the intersection of Flinders and Swanston streets, five photographers - from Melbourne newspapers and local and international wire services - captured the moment in history. Across the city, public areas were desolate on Sunday evening.

Elsewhere drivers travelled out of sight of other cars on the Monash freeway, the Tan was untroubled by walkers and foot traffic through supermarkets died down after a surge earlier in the day.

Good evening, Mathew Dunckley here, taking over from Kate Rose.

If you're looking for a quick reckoner on some of the key new rules for those living in Melbourne's stage four lockdown here's a graphic we've put together which seeks to put them in one place.

Melbourne is, as of 8pm, under the first curfew it has experienced. We mentioned war historian Dr Michael McKernan earlier, who pointed out that even during the world wars Melbourne didn't have a curfew.

From now until 5am everybody is expected to be in their homes unless they are working or for caregiving or medical reasons, and it will be same for the next 41 nights.

As we adjust to the new way of living for these six weeks, it's worth noting the unprecedented times we live in, how unsettling it is for everybody - even those who may appear to be coping - and remember to support each other as much as we can through the times ahead.

We may not be able to see friends and family, or unwind with a quiet (late) evening walk, but there is still support available and it's important to reach out for help if you need it.

If you or anyone you know needs support, call Kids Helpline 1800 551 800, Lifeline 13 11 14, Mensline 1300 789 978 or Beyond Blue's coronavirus mental wellbeing support service on 1800 512 348.

Students across Victoria will return to remote learning on Wednesday, with tighter exemptions for children of essential workers than the government imposed last lockdown.

The limits on face-to-face teaching will be enforced across the state following a final day of on-site classes on Monday for year 11 and 12 students and a pupil-free day on Tuesday.

Students will return to remote learning on Wednesday under the stage four lockdown.Credit: James Thomson

In a change from the first lockdown period, childcare centres in Melbourne will also be closed to most families, with only vulnerable children and the children of "permitted workers" allowed to attend.

The new settings will apply for six weeks, covering almost all of schools' term three, which is to end on September 18.

Exceptions will apply to vulnerable students and children of permitted workers, and to specialist schools in regional Victoria, which will remain open as normal.

The Andrews government did not define "permitted worker" on Sunday when it announced the new restrictions, committing to release a list on Monday.

But Premier Daniel Andrews suggested the list of such jobs would be tighter than last time.

"The children, the students of parents who are working, they will be able to go to school and be supervised, but it will really only be those that are absolutely necessary to do so," Mr Andrews said.

Year 11 and 12 students, as well as year 10 students studying VCE and VCAL subjects, in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire have been attending face-to-face classes this term, while all other year levels are being taught remotely.

Read more: State's schools, childcare centres to close for most children