New South Wales will ban people entering the state from 36 Melbourne suburbs which have been locked down due to a COVID outbreak.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard said anyone from those areas caught in NSW could face six months in jail and an $11,000 fine from 11.59pm tonight.
Around 300,000 Melbourne residents from 10 postcodes have been ordered back into lockdown from Thursday as Victoria battles a second wave of the deadly disease.
New South Wales residents coming back from those hotspots are allowed to return home but must isolate at home for 14 days.
Mr Hazzard said he was ‘still working through’ how police will enforced the rule – but said one option would be to quiz drivers with Victorian licence plates on where they have been.
Military personnel are seen conducting testing at the new mobile testing site in Melbourne
Queensland announced a similar policy on Tuesday and went further by requiring residents returning from those hotspots to pay for their own two-week quarantine before being allowed home.
‘Victorians living in virus hotspots have to take the Victorian and NSW health orders seriously and should be very aware that NSW will impose penalties if they seek to leave hotspot suburbs to enter NSW,’ Mr Hazzard said today.
There will be exemptions such as to obtain urgent medical care or for compassionate reasons.
Meanwhile, restrictions on entertainment venues, weddings, community sport and other gatherings will be eased in NSW from today but strict physical distancing measures remain in place.
Mr Hazzard said businesses should ensure they have a COVID Safety Plan outlining exactly how they will maintain a safe environment for their staff and customers.
‘Until we have a vaccine, everyone has a role to play keeping the community safe, whether that is mum and dad at their kid’s soccer match or your local café operator,’ Mr Hazzard said.
‘The NSW Government has always said with the easing of restrictions comes risk, so I urge everyone to maintain physical distancing, get tested if you feel unwell and stay home if sick.’
The Victorian government has re-imposed stay-at-home orders for 36 suburbs in ten postcodes after recording 139 new cases of the deadly virus in the past two days.
After just four weeks of freedom, those residents will be banned from leaving their homes except for work and school, food shopping, giving care and daily exercise.
Restaurants, gyms, pubs and all other non-essential services in the suburbs must once again close their doors. Affected businesses will be compensated with a government cash grant of $5,000.
Residents from the ten postcodes will not be allowed to go on holiday and the government will announce a support package for affected tourism businesses tomorrow.
The lockdown will last for four weeks and come into force from 11.59pm on Wednesday. Police will be enforcing the orders with random vehicle checks similar to random breath tests and will dish out on-the-spot fines.
Premier Daniel Andrews said the lockdown was ‘deeply painful’ and ‘damaging for businesses’ but insisted that it was necessary.
‘If we don’t take these steps now we will be locking down every postcode,’ he said.
The curve in Victoria has skyrocketed over the past couple of weeks as coronavirus infections continue to grow from within the suburbs of Melbourne
Guests at the Stamford Hotel in Melbourne are seen wearing masks as they get into taxis on June 25
In a new testing blitz across the hotspot suburbs, officials will be knocking on doors and offering people on-the-spot swabs.
‘Please, on behalf of every Victorian family, if you, or a family member, get a knock on the door and the offer of a test, please say yes,’ Mr Andrews said.
During a testing blitz over the weekend, 928 people refused to get tested in Broadmeadows and Keilor Downs alone.
Mr Andrews has also asked the Prime Minister to divert all international flights away from Melbourne for two weeks so the city does not have to quarantine returned travellers. The PM has not yet answered his request.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton confirmed Victoria was suffering a second wave after recording zero cases on 5 June.
‘The virus seems to have been snuffed out in early June. There is no evidence of any original virus from February, March, around currently,’ he said.
Victoria recorded 64 new cases of the virus on Tuesday. The number, down from the 75 reported on Monday, is the state’s sixth-worst figure since the pandemic began.