Rolling coverage: Five-day ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown announced for Victoria
Victorians will be thrust into a “circuit breaker” lockdown from 11.59pm tonight as it’s revealed a second Melbourne Airport staffer worked while infectious.
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A second Melbourne Airport worker has been identified as having completed a shift while infectious.
The revelation has come from the federal Health Department, as Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly designated greater Melbourne as a COVID-19 hotspot on Friday night.
The declaration will last for an initial period of three days from 11.59pm.
The department said: “This level of transmissibility results in the need for more stringent public health measures to control a community outbreak if it becomes established.”
“Of particular concern, two cases have recently been identified as having worked in the Tullamarine Airport while infectious,” the statement said.
“Given the airport is a hub for travel to all jurisdictions within Australia, there is substantial risk of national spread of the virus.”
Prof Kelly said: “Anyone who has recently been in greater Melbourne should stay alert to public health messages from state and territory health authorities.”
The Victorian Health Department said it was not a new case, having been publicly identified on Thursday.
The worker was a cleaner who worked at the airport and a school, and was a primary close contact of a Holiday Inn case.
CCTV from the airport has already been checked and the cleaner had no contact with passengers.
Close contacts have been identified already, with initial testing coming back as negative.
VICTORIA BACK IN HARD LOCKDOWN
Victoria will be locked down from 11.59pm on Friday night, including Victorians currently in NSW.
Victorians who have arrived in NSW any time in the past two weeks are being ordered to follow “stay-at-home” rules from midnight tonight for the next five days.
The rule also applies to NSW residents who had been in Victoria since February 12.
The directive was issued by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Friday afternoon following news of Victoria going back to stage four lockdown.
It means the same Victorian restrictions will apply, with people only permitted to leave their place of residence for four reasons; shopping for essential items; medical and other care and caregiving; exercise; and essential work.
Anyone arriving in NSW by road will also have to complete a declaration form if they are arriving from the greater Melbourne region.
The NSW government said in a statement it was strongly advising against all non-essential travel to Victoria.
Under the stage four restrictions to be reintroduced in Victoria at 11.59pm Friday and ending at 11.59pm on Wednesday, face coverings will be mandatory outdoors and indoors whenever you leave home.
Stay-at-home orders will be reintroduced, with only four legal reasons to leave the house.
A 5km limit on travel will also be enforced.
Schools and universities will close, and both private and public gatherings banned.
Victorians who have arrived in NSW any time in the past two weeks are being ordered to follow “stay-at-home” rules from midnight tonight for the next five days.
The rule also applies to NSW residents who had been in Victoria since February 12.
The directive was issued by NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Friday afternoon following news of Victoria going back to stage four lockdown.
It means the same Victorian restrictions will apply, with people only permitted to leave their place of residence for four reasons; shopping for essential items; medical and other care and caregiving; exercise; and essential work.
Anyone arriving in NSW by road will also have to complete a declaration form if they are arriving from the greater Melbourne region.
The NSW government said in a statement it was strongly advising against all non-essential travel to Victoria.
The chief health officer said genomic testing of the Holiday Inn cluster revealed it was of the highly infectious UK variant.
The Premier said the lockdown was needed to prevent a third wave.
“Because this is so infectious and is moving so fast, we need a circuit breaker,” Daniel Andrews said.
“I don’t want to sit here in a week, having ducked the difficult decision today, only to have to report that the only thing that will work is not a 5-day shutdown but something that has to last much, much longer.
“These restrictions are all about making sure that we respond appropriately to the fastest-moving, most infectious strain of coronavirus that we have seen.”
Ten of the 13 cases in the Holiday Inn cluster are community transmission, testing commander Jeroen Weimar said.
More than 900 contacts are currently isolating.
The Premier said the lockdown was designed to close off chains of transmission.
“What I would hope, and what we are all working as hard as we possibly can to achieve over that 5-day period is that we continue to see many, many negative tests, so that closes off chains of transmission,” he said.
“And not just one negative test, but going back again and again.”
PRODUCT LIMITS RETURN AMID PANIC BUYING
Coles has relaxed product limits on essentials including toilet paper as Victoria begins a five-day lockdown.
Customers from Saturday are allowed two packs each of toilet paper and paper towels.
It’s the same limit imposed at Woolworths.
Coles has also removed limits on several items including hand sanitiser, face masks and long life milk.
It comes after spooked shoppers on Friday loaded up on grocery essentials including toilet paper as supermarket chains reassured customers there was no need to panic buy.
Shoppers were seen stuffing their trolleys with toilet paper and pantry staples even before the lockdown was announced.
But there was no repeat of mass hysteria which has previously played out in stores.
Hanna Knowles, shopping at Coles in Lalor, said people needed to “calm down” after another woman snatched a packet of chicken wings from her hands.
“I grabbed a packet of chicken wings and she just snatched the corner of the pack and ripped it out of my hands,’’ she said.
Checkout queues at Wonthaggi Coles are currently stretched to the back of the store. Customers are snapping up essentials like pasta, bread, water and toilet paper although there is currently a healthy stock of each. @BassCoastNews #gippsnews pic.twitter.com/Wwwu4jz5GP
— Brooke Grebert-Craig (@brooke_gc) February 12, 2021
“There was literally still stock on the shelves. The slightest whisper of a lockdown and this is how people act. We clearly haven’t learnt anything about our behaviour since the start of lockdown.”
Supermarkets in regional areas were also flooded with shoppers, with violence flaring at Ballarat and hectic scenes in Wonthaggi.
“It’s ridiculous,” Marion McVicker, doing her usual shop, said.
“Everyone is just panic buying since Daniel Andrews made the announcement.”
The Saturday Herald Sun was given an inside look at Coles’ Truganina distribution centre where thousands of tonnes of groceries were ready to hit shelves.
Stock was already moving to where it was needed most.
“We are seeing a lot more customers coming into store and they are shopping across the store with big trolley shops,’’ Coles chief operations officer Matthew Swindells said.
“What you don’t find are people hoarding individual products. “They are just stocking up right across the shop.
“It’s important for people to understand that we don’t start preparations when this announcement occurs.
“We have kept ourselves ready to go. Our stock levels on the key products that we know become wanted are elevated and have remained so. We just pull the trigger.”
Coles and Woolworths have both introduced two-pack limits per customer on numerous pantry essentials.
They include sugar, flour, rice and pasta.
Woolworths Victoria assistant state manager John Di Tirro said:
“We have plenty of stock to draw on from our suppliers and distribution centres and our team will be hard at work making sure it flows into our stores in large volumes over the coming days.”
“We encourage Victorians to be mindful of others in the community and to continue shopping as they usually would,’’ he said.
Victorian Transport Association chief executive officer Peter Anderson said the supply chain would be maintained but was fearful the lockdown could last longer.
“The borders need to remain open in a safe and proper manner,’’ he said.
“We certainly don’t want to see what happened in South Australia happen in Victoria.”
Australian Logistics Council chief executive officer Kirk Coningham said protocols were in place to keep essential goods moving between states.
“In addition to wave through policies for freight lanes we have also negotiated relief from delivery curfews allowing industry to meet periods of greater demand,’’ he said.
Supermarkets will remain open during lockdown.
‘ARE YOU F---ING SERIOUS?’: REGIONAL VICS OUTRAGED BY LOCKDOWN INCLUSION
Wodonga residents have expressed their outrage at being plunged into stage 4 lockdown alongside Melburnians, while the region hasn’t recorded a case for 195 days.
“I think they should have just locked down Melbourne,” Wodonga resident Chloe Beck said.
“We had stage 2 while Melbourne was in stage 3 last time, so I don’t understand why we’ve gone back to stage 4.
“If it’s five days it’s okay, but if it’s more than that it’ll be frustrating.”
Ms Beck said she was very worried that the borders would be shut again.
“We’re just waiting until the border closes again and businesses close,” she said.
“We’re just worried about work now and what’s going to happen with that.
“I work in Albury and it relies on me going into schools, and now schools have closed in Victoria I’m not sure if they’ll allow external visitors over the border.
“I feel like there’s a bit of a political showdown between Gladys and Dan, and as soon as they can get one up on the other they close it down again.
In Ballarat, Sam Rowe, co-owner of the Hydrant Food Hall, said this weekend his business was set to lose at least $10,000 because of the snap announcement.
“It was shaping up to be a very busy week for us … we didn’t see it coming, I was like are you f---ing serious?” he said.
“It’s shocking, especially for regionals … for us in Ballarat or in Mildura, I would have thought they’d bring back the ring of steel as a temporary measure, it’s pretty devastating.”
The Provincial Ballarat owner Simon Coghlan said the phone was ringing off the hook with staff scrambling to rearrange hundreds of bookings for the hotel and restaurant.
“We’re under the pump, it’s an absolute disaster, so we’re just doing our best to keep our head above the water at the moment,” he said.
QLD, TAS TO CLOSE BORDER TO MELBURNIANS, WA UPS VIC RISK
Queensland will close its border to residents of greater Melbourne from 1am on Saturday and will carry out contact tracing for 1500 people in the Sunshine State following the announcement of a five-day lockdown in Melbourne.
The border will remain closed for two weeks.
Victorians will also not be able to enter Tasmania from 11.59pm tonight.
And the Western Australia border will be slammed to Victoria for at least 72 hours starting on Friday night, meaning only exempt travellers will be allowed into WA.
WA Premier Mark McGowan said Victoria would be reclassified as a “medium risk” state for a “short period” until the situation was brought under control.
“The situation in Victoria is again very concerning,” he told reporters on Friday.
“I fully support the measures being taking by Victoria to try to clamp down on these local cases of the virus.
“It is just so important to reduce the risk and prevent community transmission.”
Mr McGowan warned the hard border with Victoria could be extended beyond Tuesday if that was what the health advice recommended.
AUSTRALIAN OPEN TO GO AHEAD
The Australian Open will continue as planned but without crowds despite a stage 4 lockdown, with tennis players considered ‘essential workers’.
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley confirmed all players still involved in the Australian Open will return to a ‘bubble’ in order to comply with stage 4 lockdown restrictions that come into force tonight.
With players deemed ‘essential workers’ in the guidelines shared by Dan Andrews, Tiley was adamant that cancelling the tournament was not considered.
“Play will continue.,” he said. “The players will compete in a bubble form.
“Those who will be allowed on site will be the players only and their support teams, as well as staff members who will be unable to do their work from home. Those who are essential for the delivery of the event will be on site.
Tiley also moved to assure fans that refunds will be issued for tickets during the snap lockdown.
“All along in this process, we have said the number one priority will be the safety of the community,” he added. “This was one of our plans, was to be able to compete in a bubble in a safe way.
“We’ve got the next five days of refunds. If fans do not want to come tonight because they don’t feel comfortable coming to the event, they can get a refund.”
The option of having crowds at the tennis was removed when Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that public gatherings of any kind were not permitted.
Read the full story.
NO LOVE IN THE AIR FOR RETAILERS ON V-DAY
There won’t be much love in the air this Valentine’s Day for retailers, with Dan Andrews announcing all non-essential retail will shutdown and restaurants will be forced back into takeaway only from 11.59pm Friday.
Australian Retailers Association CEO Paul Zahra says the latest lockdown restrictions are a devastating blow for Victorian retailers
“They’ve been through so much in the past year, and have done their best to return to an even footing in recent months. Unfortunately, some of the horrors of 2020 continue, “ he says.
“We certainly hope the Victorian health authorities get on top of this quickly and that this lockdown doesn’t drag out for longer than it needs to.”
AIRPORT CAFE WORKER TESTS POSITIVE
Melbourne Airport has confirmed a staff member at terminal 4 cafe Brunetti has tested positive for COVID-19, with greater Melbourne bracing to enter another lockdown.
Twenty-nine flights landed at, or took off from, the domestic terminal at the time the infected staff member worked.
The total number of passengers that flew on the 29 domestic flights – in the time frame outlined – through terminal four at Melbourne Airport, was 3591.
Anyone who visited terminal four on February 9 between 4.45am and 2pm must be tested for the virus and isolate for 14 days.
The Brunetti worker was a close contact of a confirmed case of a Holiday Inn quarantine hotel worker and later developed the virus.
The cafe had been deep-cleaned, an airport spokesperson said.
Melbourne Airport said it was working closely with the government to support its contact tracing efforts.
The case is one of two cases to be linked to the Holiday Inn outbreak on Thursday night, taking the hotel quarantine cluster to 13.
HOLIDAY INN CLUSTER NOW AT 13 CASES
Five new cases emerged as part of the cluster on Thursday, including the husbands of two food and beverage attendants who worked at the Melbourne Airport hotel.
In an 11pm tweet, the Department of Health confirmed the latest two cases were “household primary close contacts” of existing cases.
It marked the first cases of transmission outside the quarantine system.
Early on Friday morning a new location – Brunetti in Terminal 4 of Melbourne Airport – was added to the Tier 1 exposure sites (see below).
Anyone who visited Brunetti over an 8.5 hour period from 4.45am to 1.15pm on February 9 must immediately isolate, get a test, and quarantine for 14 days.
On Thursday night the Herald Sun revealed authorities fear Victoria is on the brink of the third COVID-19 wave with high-level discussions on Thursday night under way regarding the introduction of a snap lockdown.
AFLW GAMES TO BE PLAYED WITHOUT CROWDS
Saturday and Sunday’s AFLW games will be played without crowds.
Ticket sales were earlier put on pause amid uncertainty surrounding the recent coronavirus outbreak.
Three games are set to be played in Melbourne across the weekend, and tickets were due to go on sale at 10am Friday.
A further two games are scheduled to be played in other states, while a third interstate game between the Brisbane Lions and the West Coast Eagles had already been postponed due to border uncertainties.
The AFL made the announcement at 9.30am.
“Ticket sales for Round 3 of the NAB AFL Women’s Competition have momentarily been put on hold,” a statement from the AFL Women’s Twitter account said.
“Keep your eyes on our social media channels for further updates.”
Tickets for Friday night’s match in Geelong – which went on sale on Thursday – appear to still be available on the Ticketmaster website.
SHOPPERS STOCK UP AHEAD OF ANTICIPATED LOCKDOWN
Shoppers at Canterbury Gardens in Melbourne’s outer east were seen stocking up on supplies of toilet paper on Friday.
While there was none of the panic buying associated with the start of previous lockdowns, the majority of shoppers at Woolworths in Bayswater North had at least two bulk packs of toilet paper in their trolleys.
A pyramid of toilet paper which had been stacked at the front of one of the aisles was proving a popular destination for shoppers.
PM URGES VIC TO TAKE A PROPORTIONATE RESPONSE
Prime Minister Scott Morrison said snap lockdowns had proven to be sensible in other states to give contact tracers a “head start”.
He confirmed Chief Medical Officer Professor Paul Kelly and Health Minister Greg Hunt had been working with Victorian authorities on options overnight.
The Prime Minister told 3AW that he would not pre-empt the state government’s decisions, but said that he expected Victorians would learn more today.
Mr Morrison said he expected that with a proportionate and targeted response, the state government should be able to get on top of the outbreak and avoid a repeat of last year’s lengthy lockdown.
Victoria’s testing commander, Jeroen Weimar, said it was still “early days” in the outbreak.
“This is by no means over, we are still in the opening quarter of the Holiday Inn outbreak I’m afraid,” he said.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do to really make sure we pull this one up.
“What is more challenging with this one is it’s the UK variant so we don’t yet know how easily it transmits when you get into the second and third generation of people catching it. That’s going to be the challenge for us now and over the coming days.”
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, speaking on morning television in Sydney, said screening measures had been put in place at Sydney Airport checking if any passengers had been at the Holiday Inn.
“We’re nowhere near (closing borders),” Ms Berejiklian said.
“It’s not a situation that can’t be managed.”
Authorities have deemed 400-500 people close contacts of confirmed cases, including Holiday Inn workers, returned travellers who were staying there and people linked to exposure sites.
The original COVID-positive family that triggered the outbreak were transferred from the Holiday Inn to a medi-hotel on February 4.
The health department said anyone at the hotel for more than 15 minutes between January 27 and February 9 was considered a primary close contact and was urged to self-isolate, get a test and stay in isolation for 14 days.
Camberwell Grammar was closed on Thursday as a non-teaching staff member had tested positive. It is not clear whether that member was among the 13.
Mr Weimar said on Thursday contact tracing efforts were being focused on the Sunbury area. Several businesses were listed as exposure sites.
The health department said anyone at the hotel for more than 15 minutes between January 27 and February 9 was considered a primary close contact and was urged to self-isolate, get a test and stay in isolation for 14 days.
A community meeting was held in Sunbury on Wednesday night and Mr Weimar said contact tracing efforts were focused on that area.
Patrons who visited at the same time as an infected food and beverage worker were told to get tested and isolate.
Authorities had issued an alert on Wednesday night for the broader Sunbury Square Shopping Centre, asking anyone who visited from 3.40pm to 4.30pm on February 4, to get tested and isolate until they get a negative result. An osteopathic clinic in Avondale Heights in the city’s northwest was among the sites visited by one COVID-positive case, however was not included on the exposure sites as all clients were contacted directly.
WHAT SNAP LOCKDOWN WOULD MEAN FOR AUS OPEN
COVID-19 has already impacted the Australian Open significantly, but amid reports of an imminent lockdown in Melbourne, what happens to the tennis tournament?
Tennis Australia CEO Craig Tiley has already endured a nightmare scenario in the lead up to this year’s tournament after 72 players were forced into hard lockdown after arriving in Melbourne.
Get the latest on Open reaction here
HOLIDAY INN CLUSTER EXPLAINED
As the Holiday Inn hotel quarantine cluster continues to grow, we look at each positive case that has been identified so far, how and when they caught the virus and where they’ve been in the community.
Originally published as Rolling coverage: Five-day ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown announced for Victoria
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