Coronavirus: lockdown breach fines top $1m

More than 1000 Victorians are paying off fines of up to $1652 in instalments for breaching COVID-19 regulations.

Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos at Victoria’s daily covid conference. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Andrew Henshaw

More than 1000 Victorians are paying off fines of up to $1652 in instalments for breaching COVID-19 regulations, while two men have been arrested for planning a “freedom march” in Melbourne’s CBD.

That comes as Premier Daniel Andrews revealed­ more than 500 coronavirus-positive people had been referred to Victoria Police over concerns they had not been self-isolating.

As well, Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton revealed on Friday he had learned of issues with the state’s disastrous hotel quarantine program via media reports.

A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesman confirmed $1,072,106 had been paid in fines issued for COVID-19 public health breaches.

Since Victoria’s state of emergency was announced on March 16, 577 fines, totalling $951,325, have been paid in full and a further­ 1177 are subject to a payment arrangement.

Victoria Police announced on Friday that 196 fines had been recorded in the previous 24 hours over public health breaches.

These included 51 fines for failing to wear a face mask when leaving home, which carries a fine of $200, as well as 43 penalties over curfew breaches.

As well, Victoria Police arrest­ed two men over a planned “freedom march” in Melbourne‘s CBD on Sunday after raids on homes in Mooroolbark and Chirnside Park in the city’s far northeast.

The coronavirus sceptics planned the demonstration outside the parliament of Victoria.

Mr Andrews said on Friday that 500 people had been referred­ to Victoria Police after being caught not at home by door­knocking teams of Australian Defence Force personnel and state health workers.

“No one’s asserting that every single person who can’t be found at their address is doing the wrong thing, that would be wrong to say that,” the Premier said.

“But there is a trend here: there are some people who are not taking their iso seriously.”

Professor Sutton denied there was a rift between him and the Andrews administration following incorrect reports on Thursday that he had resigned.

“I have absolutely no idea,” he said when asked by a journalist. “Look, I think there’s colour and movement in rumours that people­ get excited about for its own reason, but it (the reports) was a complete surprise to me.”

He said he learned of issues with Victoria’s quarantine system through the media, althoug­h his health team was aware of ­coronavirus outbreaks at the Stamford and Rydges hotels.

“So we were aware of the transmission that occurred, but in terms of other rumours and reportin­g around deficiencies with the workforce in those settings, the first I heard was when I read it in the newspapers,” Professo­r Sutton said on Friday.

Infection control breaches at the hotel quarantine program are believed to have unleashed Victoria‘s current coronavirus crisis.

When asked if he suspected the breaches were linked to an increase in community transmission, Mr Sutton said: “No I didn‘t really, it was information that was only available when that genomics report was through.” The ­botched program has been genom­ically linked to most of the state’s current COVID cases.