Melbournians moved to strict stage 4 lockdown last Sunday; with Dan Andrews announcing night-time curfew, closure of schools, and some non-essential services across Melbourne as part of the measure to stop the spread of the coronavirus. The majority of retailers including Kmart and Target will be closed under stage 4 lockdown for six weeks and Bunnings will be open for tradies only. Currently, essential services such as supermarkets and pharmacies are open; however, supermarkets have imposed limits on some essential items including meat, fish, and dairy products. These steps were taken to restrict panic buying and smooth out the impact of a supply shortage due to closing operations across Melbourne.
Drastic measures were put in place to reduce movement in the community to minimize the risk of community transmission of coronavirus. Despite these measures, we have recorded 725 new cases, 15 deaths yesterday, and 471 new cases, 8 deaths today. It is questionable if Victoria has already lost the valuable time to get this under control. Victoria imposed tough restrictions after reaching more than 7000 active cases, unlike New Zealand where they imposed strict restrictions early stages of transmission. And the fact that Melbourne regional areas are only under Stage 3 rules could mean that it will be too late for regional victoria if outbreaks start to appear as metropolitan areas.
