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Melbourne lockdown begins as virus spreads to ACT and South Australia closes border to Victoria

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People continue to shop prior to the general lockdown in Melbourne.
Camera IconPeople continue to shop prior to the general lockdown in Melbourne. Credit: LUIS ASCUI/AAPIMAGE

Australia’s deputy chief medical officer has conceded Melbourne’s second lockdown will be harder than the first as millions live with tough restrictions.

Greater Melbourne and Mitchell Shire to the city’s north returned to strict stay-at-home orders overnight after another day of triple-figure coronavirus infection increase.

Victoria recorded 134 of the nation’s 147 new coronavirus cases, the state’s second worst rise after almost 200 people were diagnosed with the disease on Tuesday.

Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said distancing would be the crucial weapon against the spike in cases.

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“This is clearly harder the second time around when only a short time ago we were lifting restrictions,” he told reporters in Canberra.

He said Victorians had proved they were capable of following the rules to get on top of coronavirus.

The ACT lost its virus-free status after three people in their 20s contracted the disease following a visit to a hotspot Melbourne suburb.

Dr Coatsworth urged anyone with symptoms who had been in Victorian to immediately get tested and isolate.

“As soon as you feel at all unwell please do not interact with other people. Get tested,” he said.

The federal government is moving to cap international flights after state premiers warned of pressure on the hotel quarantine system.

When flights to Melbourne stopped as infections rose, other capitals faced rising passenger arrivals who must spend two weeks in hotel isolation.

“I’ll be taking a proposal to national cabinet to slow that down as of this Friday,” Mr Morrison said.

The prime minister is two weeks from outlining the future of coronavirus support payments including JobKeeper wage subsidies and the boosted JobSeeker dole payment.

The NSW government will consider establishing a border north of Albury as it responds to the “high-risk situation” caused by an escalating COVID-19 outbreak in Victoria.

NSW Police officers are seen at the NSW-Victoria border crossing in Howlong near Albury, NSW.
Camera IconNSW Police officers are seen at the NSW-Victoria border crossing in Howlong near Albury, NSW. Credit: LUKAS COCH/AAPIMAGE

Premier Gladys Berejiklian has already urged residents in Albury and other border towns not to travel to other parts of the state, warning the widespread community transmission in Victoria is a huge risk for NSW.

“The probability of contagion in NSW given what’s happened in Victoria is extremely high,” Ms Berejiklian said on Wednesday.

The premier said her government will consider either establishing a border north of Albury or making exemption permits more difficult to obtain.

More than 50,000 exemption permits were issued on Tuesday and Wednesday for people living in NSW-Victoria border communities, allowing them to cross between the two.

“We are monitoring this situation every few hours ... we are in a high-risk situation,” Ms Berejiklian said in Sydney.

The Berejiklian government is also looking into making hotel quarantine mandatory for NSW residents returning from the southern state.

Currently, NSW residents returning from Victoria must self-isolate at home for 14 days but Ms Berejiklian said forced hotel quarantine - which residents will have to pay for - has not been ruled out.

The state has also tightened procedures at Sydney airport after passengers were allowed to disembark a Melbourne-to-Sydney flight without a second health screening.

South Australia has also closed its border with Victoria as tougher measures take effect amid Melbourne’s surging coronavirus cases.

From Thursday, only people returning home and essential travellers will be allowed to cross into SA.

As the closure neared, police reported a spike in people wanting to make the trip and advised of some delays in processing applications.

The new restrictions will apply to everyone arriving by road or air while people living in cross-border communities will be restricted to a 50km radius inside SA.

Melburnians are now back in stay-at-home lockdown for six weeks — which is expected to have a major economic impact.

National Australia Bank predicts reinforcing restrictions will hit Australia’s gross domestic product by 1.1 percentage points for the year’s third quarter.

Annual GDP is expected to fall by 0.3 percentage points, or around $600 million a year.

Mr Morrison said there would be ongoing support through federal programs.

“Because of what has happened in Victoria, obviously the need there will be far greater than was previously and that need will be met,” he said.

Victoria registered another 134 new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, the second- highest daily total after a record 191 cases on Tuesday.

Of the state’s fresh cases, just 11 were linked to known outbreaks while 123 were under investigation on Wednesday.

More than 850 cases remain active, an increase of nearly 800 in a month. Victoria has a total of 2942 COVID-19 cases.

Seven hundred police officers and 264 Australian Defence Force members will enforce the stage three lockdown, with booze bus-type checks in place.

“We’re going to be checking people. We’re going to be making sure they’re adhering to those guidelines,” Chief Commissioner Shane Patton said.

“If you don’t have a reason to leave, you will be turned back around.”

Police can issue on-the-spot fines of up to $1652 to individuals flouting the rules and slap businesses with a $9913 fine.

“We’ve done this before in restrictions we’ve been through. People know what to do. They know what to expect,” Mr Patton said.

Police have done 92,215 random checks since March to ensure people were at home and businesses were abiding by the rules.

Public housing towers in Flemington, Melbourne.
Camera IconPublic housing towers in Flemington, Melbourne. Credit: JAMES ROSS/AAPIMAGE

Meanwhile, cases linked to the nine public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne in hard lockdown slowed to two new infections on Wednesday, with the cluster now totalling 75.

Testing of all 3000 residents has been completed, the health department said in a statement.

One million Victorians have been tested for COVID-19 since the start of the year, with a record of 29,424 tests conducted on Tuesday.

Twenty-two people have died in Victoria from the virus.

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