Victoria is set to reimpose lockdowns on 10 postcodes across Melbourne due to the state’s outbreak spike, Premier Daniel Andrews has announced.
The following postcodes: 3012, 3021, 3032, 3038, 3042, 3046, 3047, 3055, 3060, 3064 will be placed under stage three restrictions from 11.59pm Wednesday night until at least July 29.
Residents living in the postcodes will be restricted from leaving the house except for essential purposes.
Limits to gatherings will be reverted to family members or two people. Cafes and restaurants in the postcodes will be open for takeaways only, and gyms, swimming pools, cinemas, and play centres will be closed.
Andrews said there were only four reasons for people in those areas to leave their homes: school or work, food and supplies, care and caregiving, and exercise.
“We know that suburban lockdowns, stay-at-home orders are a series of restrictions that work,” Andrews said.
“We have all been through that journey, we have all been through that process and we know that at the end of that process we are then able to begin the process of opening up.”
Andrews said police would be patrolling throughout the communities to enforce the suburban lockdowns.
“If you are out of your home for anything other than a permitted reason then financial penalties apply, on-the-spot fines apply,” he said.
“We need every Victorian family, particularly those in these lockdown postcodes to know and understand that whilst this is deeply inconvenient for you, you are making a massive contribution for the whole state and indeed the whole nation.”
Businesses and families in the postcodes would receive support, Andrews said. Affected businesses may be eligible for an initial $5,000 grant.
Andrews said a state-wide lockdown has not been ruled out, suggesting “further measures” might have to be taken to keep Victoria’s coronavirus surge under control.
This article originally appeared on Over60.