Shepparton and Moorabool in regional Victoria plunged into seven-day lockdown

Another Victorian region has been being forced back into a snap seven-day lockdown a fortnight after being freed from restrictions.

Premier Daniel Andrews announced the regional LGA would enter lockdown from Friday night. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

Victoria’s acting chief health officer has ordered the City of Greater Shepparton into a seven-day lockdown from 11.59pm on Friday.

Shepparton residents will be subject to the same restrictions as those in metropolitan Melbourne, excluding the curfew.

Covid-19 cases have spiked again in Shepparton, with 24 active cases in the local government area as of Friday according to Victorian health department figures.

The regional city was released from its earlier lockdown on September 15.

Acting chief health officer Ben Cowie said public health teams had significant concerns about community transmission and have determined that the seven-day lockdown is needed to stem the spread, as it did in the City of Ballarat, Greater Geelong and Surf Coast Shire local government areas.

His office confirmed the lockdown just before 7pm.

Earlier on Friday, health officials announced Moorabool in regional Victoria would also be thrust into lockdown as cases soar in the area.

Residents in the shire, near Ballarat in Victoria’s west, will be locked down from 7pm on Friday.

In both Shepparton and Moorabool, there will be just six reasons for residents to leave home, which are for food and supplies, four hours of exercise within a 15km radius, caregiving, to get vaccinated, essential work or education and for limited social interaction.

But residents won’t be subject to a curfew like Melburnians.

The area has 32 active cases and recorded six new cases on Friday.

Premier Daniel Andrews said short lockdowns had previously worked in other regional areas.

“These lockdowns have been effective in first bringing stability to case numbers and then driving those numbers down,” he said.

“But advice and careful analysis that’s been done of the number of cases in that local government area, it is unavoidable that a lockdown must be applied to that community.”

Moorabool is home to about 35,000 people.

A pop-up Covid-19 testing station has been set up at Bacchus Marsh Train Station. Picture: Mark Stewart

Moorabool Shire has been plunged into lockdown as cases continued to rise. Picture: Mark Stewart

Regional Victoria recorded 62 new cases on Friday, with authorities confirming new cases for Mitchell, Shepparton and Moorabool.

The shire will join Mitchell and the City of Latrobe, which are currently in lockdown.

“Moorabool shares a border with some of Melbourne’s worst affected areas – Bacchus Marsh in particular has seen a consistent flow of cases from the Melbourne area,” health department deputy secretary Naomi Bromley said.

“We are asking only people who are experiencing symptoms, or who have been contacted by the department, to come forward for testing.”

Two new pop-up sites will be opened in Moorabool and in Bacchus Marsh, with multiple sites already established in Ballarat and Daylesford.

Victoria recorded its second day of more than 1000 cases on Friday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Daniel Pockett

Victoria recorded its second day of more than 1000 daily Covid cases, with 1143 cases announced on Friday.

The health department confirmed 1438 cases reported on Thursday were due to banned gatherings over the long weekend.

Premier Daniel Andrews on Friday said all authorised workers in the state would need to receive at least one dose of a Covid vaccine by October 15 in order to continue working

Among the authorised workers are professional athletes, state and federal MPs, actors, journalists, lawyers, faith leaders and personal trainers.

Workers will need to be fully vaccinated by November 26.

Mr Andrews said it was “not about stopping people going to work” but “about making sure we can open up, and that we can defend and deliver our road map for opening”.

[e-mail]

Originally published as Shepparton and Moorabool in regional Victoria plunged into seven-day lockdown