‘Soon as possible’: Scott Morrison urges an end to Victoria’s lockdown

Scott Morrison issued an urgent message to Victorian leaders, demanding an end to its snap lockdown “as soon as possible”.

Scott Morrison has urged Victorian leaders to put an end to the state’s snap lockdown “as soon as possible”.

Victoria was plunged into a week-long shut down at the end of May, initially forecast to end on June 3, but extended for another week after the state continued to recorded local cases.

The lockdown is the state’s fourth since the beginning of the pandemic and has caused friction between the state government and struggling businesses.

The Prime Minister on Monday told reporters he was “hopeful” restrictions would be lifted “as soon as possible”.

“I would be urging that we move toward lifting those restrictions as soon as possible,” he said while speaking from Sydney.

“Hopefully (we) see Victoria opened again soon. Particularly for those parents who are having to keep their kids at home away from school. Kids have lost enough time out of school, over the course of the last 18 months.”

Mr Morrison referenced the northern beaches outbreak in December last year, where restrictions were contained to a specific part of Sydney, before flagging cash relief for Victorians out of work.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison wants the lockdown ended “as soon as possible”. Picture: Bianca De Marchi / NCA NewsWire

“We will be in a position tomorrow, for Victorians affected, to go online and make those applications for the payments … I’m advised,” he said.

A leading epidemiologist on Monday warned it was unlikely Melbourne’s two-week lockdown would be lifted before Friday, as the state continued to battle an aggressive and persistent outbreak.

Victorians were hit with a blow on Monday, with news the state recorded nine new coronavirus cases – the highest single-day increase since May 27. But all of those were linked.

Professor Catherine Bennett, chair of epidemiology at Deakin University, said authorities would have more of an idea about the length of the current lockdown by midweek.

“I think we’d be lucky to see the lockdown lifted early now,” Professor Bennett told ABC News.

“I think they’ve still got some work to do and they’ll probably make a decision by Wednesday if it continues to look as we’ve seen in the last few days where the majority of cases are known and expected.

“If they see anything else, that might shift things again.”

There are concerns Melbourne’s lockdown will be extended again. Picture: David Crosling / NCA NewsWire

The increase in cases, paired with the emergence of a mystery outbreak of the new Delta strain, has fuelled concerns the city’s lockdown could be extended.

The PM was speaking alongside NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who said she appreciated the “pain and angst” Victorians were experiencing.

“I appreciate other states will potentially go through this at different times,” she said.

RELATED: All the Covid rule changes

While the hard lockdown was extended for Greater Melbourne, regional Victorians were recently granted more freedoms.

These include scrapping the travel limit and five reasons for leaving the home, while hospitality venues were allowed to offer dine-in experiences, with caps in place.

Retail and beauty services are also back, as is junior sport, while libraries are open.