See what the government has proclaimed (Full report)
From 11:59pm tonight, there will be five reasons to leave home:
Food and supplies. Authorised work. Care and caregiving. Exercise, for up to two hours and with one other person. And getting vaccinated.
On the advice of our public health team, Victoria will move to circuit breaker restrictions from 11:59pm tonight. These settings will remain in place until 11:59pm on 3 June.
As we’ve seen here, and across Australia, this kind of short, sharp action is effective in stopping this thing in its tracks.
Our public health experts’ prime concern: just how fast the B1.617.1 variant is moving.
Overseas, they haven’t been able to track how quickly this version of the virus can move. Here in Victoria, though, we’re seeing not only how quick it is – but how contagious it is too.
Contract tracers are identifying and locking down first ring, second ring and third ring contacts within 24 hours. That’s faster than ever. And yet this variant is still moving faster.
The time between catching the virus and passing it on is tighter than ever. The ‘serial interval’ – how long it takes between the onset of symptoms in the first and secondary case – is in many cases just over a day.
And in just 24 hours, the number of cases has doubled.
It means that although these cases are all connected, this variant of the virus is making people more infectious, more quickly.
We’ve seen other countries come up against these variants and lose. Badly. Places like Taiwan that have gone from no or very low cases to skyrocketing numbers in the space of just days and weeks – and now are struggling to get it under control.
We also know our nation’s vaccine rollout has been slower than we’d hoped. And if more people were vaccinated, we might be facing a different set of circumstances. Sadly, were not.
If we make the wrong choice now, if we wait too long, if we hesitate too much, this thing will get away from us. And lives will be at risk.
It’s why from 11:59pm tonight, there will be five reasons to leave home:
Food and supplies. Authorised work. Care and caregiving. Exercise, for up to two hours and with one other person. And getting vaccinated.
Exercise and shopping will be limited to five kilometres from home. If there’s no shops in your 5km radius, you can travel to the ones closest to you. Shopping is also limited to one person per day, per household.
Face masks will also need to be worn inside and outdoors – everywhere except your own home.
Private and public gatherings will not be permitted, although visiting your intimate partner continues to be okay. Single person bubbles will also be allowed.
Childcare and kinder will remain open, but schools will need to close other than for the children of authorised workers and vulnerable kids.
Shops like supermarkets, food stores, bottle shops, banks, petrol stations and pharmacies will also remain open. Cafes and restaurants will be able to offer take-away only. Gyms, hairdressers, community facilities and entertainment venues will all close. Non-essential retail may only open for click and collect.
Hotels and accommodation can only stay open to support guests already staying onsite. No new bookings can be made – unless it’s for one a permitted purpose, like authorised work.
Advice on who can open, and who can’t, will be made available online ahead of directions coming into place – as will the full list of authorised workers and workplaces.
It’s clear – more than ever – this virus isn’t going away. And vaccines are the only way we’ll ever get back to normal.
Without full vaccination, this virus will just keep mutating – and just keep making its way back in.
|
7 DAY CIRCUIT BREAKER RESTRICTIONS – Note: Cleaning, signage and record keeping requirements and other COVIDSafe requirements continue to apply for many venues and facilities. A density quotient applies to all Note: Cleaning, signage, record keeping, and other COVIDSafe requirements continue to apply for all venues and facilities with onsite operations as per indoor venues and spaces, except for workplaces that are not accessible to the public, private residences, and areas of accommodation facilities that are for the exclusive use Workplace Directions. The Density Quotient (DQ) applies to all venues and spaces that are accessible to the public (and in closed workplaces, to shared of a single group. spaces such as lunchrooms). Newly announced items in purple |
||||||||||||||||||
1 |
|
Indoor physical recreation & sport |
Closed |
|
Play centres, indoor skateparks, indoor trampolining centres |
Closed |
|
Outdoor physical recreation & sport |
Closed: Outdoor playgrounds remain open |
|
Creative Studios |
Closed |
|
Entertainment and Leisure |
Indoor and Outdoor fixed seated entertainment: Closed |
|
Non-seated indoor venues: Closed |
|
|
Non-seated outdoor venues: Closed |
|
|
Arcades, escape rooms, bingo centres: Closed |
|
|
Drive-in cinemas: Closed |
|
|
Amusement parks: Closed |
|
|
Casinos: Closed |
|
|
Retail betting venue: Closed |
|
|
Electronic gaming: Closed |
|
|
Sex on premises, brothels and sexually explicit venues: Closed |
|
|
General retail |
Essential retail: Open, DQ 1 per 4sqm |
|
Hairdressing, beauty, personal care |
Closed |
|
Hospitality |
Open for take-away only |
|
Accommodation |
Closed unless for permitted reasons, or shelter in place. No new bookings except for authorised reasons |
|
Real Estate Services |
Inspections: Closed |
|
Tours and transport |
Tourism spaces: Closed |
|
Tour transport: Closed |
|
|
Care Facility Visitors |
Visitor restrictions: • No visitors are permitted into aged care or other residential facility settings, except for end-of-life reasons • Non-essential contractors are restricted from entry |
|
Hospital Visitors |
Visitors restrictions: • No visitors are permitted into health care settings, except for end-of-life reasons, as a support partner for birth, or a parent to accompany a child • Non-essential contractors are restricted from entry |
2
AUTHORISED PROVIDERS AND AUTHORISED WORKER LIST
Authorised Providers
The following businesses can open under circuit breaker restrictions. If their employees are unable to work from home they can leave home to attend work.
- A supermarket, grocery store, bakery, butcher, fruit and vegetable store or fishmonger; or
- an indoor or outdoor market, but only to obtain groceries or fresh food; or
- a restaurant, café, pub, bar or hotel, whether licensed or unlicensed, but only to the extent that:• it provides takeaway meals or drinks or a meal delivery service; or
• it provides food, drink, accommodation or other essential services to those seeking shelter (for example, for reasons of homelessness or family violence); or
- a bottle shop; or
- a financial institution; or
- consular and diplomatic services; or
- court, tribunal or commission services;
- a post office; or
- a news agent; or
- a pharmacy; or
- a petrol station (including a petrol station that sells groceries); or
- vehicle and mechanical repair services; or
- construction; or
- a pet store; or
- a veterinary clinic, and related services (on-farm visits and animal care services) where there is a genuine animal welfare issue, or for the purposes of artificialinsemination; or
- an abattoir, meat, seafood or poultry processing plant; or
- urgent services necessary for the health and safety of any person, animal or premises; or
- immunisation or vaccination services; or
- essential child protection activities; or
- a childcare, early learning centre, kindergarten, preschool or family day care provider; or
- a primary or secondary school; or
- a boarding school; or
- a ‘click and collect’ service; or
- a locksmith’s; or
- a community facility (for click and collect only); or
- carparks for the purposes of supporting an Authorised Provider or Authorised Worker; or
- labour hire when servicing an Authorised Provider; or
- laundry and dry cleaners; or
- commercial cleaners.Authorised Workers
Any person who performs work that is essential for the continued operation of: • an Authorised Provider; or
• authorised health services; or
• funerary or mortuary services or related activities; or• marriage celebrant only if one or both of the two persons being married are at the end of life, or will be deported from Australia unless the marriage takes place; or • emergency services, including both volunteers and paid workers in:
• the State Emergency Services; and • firefighting services; and
• paramedical services; and
3
• ambulance and paramedics services; and
• air ambulance and medical retrieval services (including Royal Flying Doctor Service); and • Victoria Police employees, Protective Services Officers and police custody officers; and
• military and defence services deployed for activities in Victoria; or
• state security or national security; or
- essential infrastructure and essential services that are required to maintain or protect human health, safety and wellbeing (whether provided by a public or private undertaking), and including construction, maintenance and repair of such infrastructure; or
- critical repairs to any premises where required for emergency or safety; or
- faith leaders broadcasting services and ceremonies at places of worship; or
- retail goods workers supporting the operation of click and collect or click and deliver orders; or
- health practitioners, including medical, nursing, midwifery and allied health students on placement, when undertaking critical training and examinations; or
- allied health professionals working in private or public community services, whether clinic-based or home-based, providing essential clinical care where telehealthservices are not clinically appropriate;
• Example: orthotists and prosthetists providing services such as fitting a brace post-surgery. - maternal and child health workers providing essential care to newborns or at-risk babies and children; or
- a person who is critical to, and involved in, the State’s COVID-19 response (including in hotel quarantine and vaccination services); or
- immunisation and vaccination providers including pharmacy immunisers and Aboriginal Healthcare Workers
- roadside assistance services; or
- local government specific services such as:
• essential environmental health functions that protect the health and wellbeing of the community, and high-risk local law enforcement; or
- a member of Parliament or anyone required to ensure the functioning of the Victorian or Commonwealth of Australia Parliaments; or
- domestic and commercial waste and resource recovery services (including collection, treatment and disposal services and transfer stations), including:• electricity services; and
• operation of energy systems; and
• gas services; and
• water supply, sewerage and drainage services; and • liquid fuels and refinery services; or - services to support ongoing provision and regulation of electricity, gas, water, sewage and waste and recycling services and their maintenance; or
- Commonwealth agency services, including Australian Border Force and Commonwealth law enforcement and intelligence agency services; or
- services related to the administration of justice, including prison transfers; or
- essential legal services that are not able to be provided electronically, including urgent legal matters such as executing a will in-person; or
- journalist and media services; or
- feature film, television and documentary (excluding television commercials, student and corporate productions) that is already in physical production and operating as aclosed set and post-production relating to it; or
- specialist services at telecommunications stores to support telecommunications as a critical service during the COVID-19 pandemic; or
- professional or high-performance sportsperson, workers that support the safe running of that person’s professional sport, and public broadcast personnel necessary forbroadcasting the professional sport; or
- thoroughbred, harness and greyhound racing, with necessary participants only; or
- a factory or facility that is not able to be shut down without causing damage or loss to plant and equipment, but only those operations that are necessary in order toprevent that damage or loss; or
- mining services including coal mining, oil and gas extraction, metal ore mining, non-metallic mineral mining and quarrying petroleum production; or
- building and construction services; or
- administrative services provided by an employer to enable its employees to work from home; or• Example: Payroll and IT services.
- organisations that provide urgent services necessary for the health and safety of any person, animal or premises; or• Example: the performance of emergency plumbing services, Centrelink services and foodbanks.
- public transport, including taxis, rideshare services, and other public passenger services; or
- air transport (including the operation of airports); or
4
- port operations; or
- freight services (including postal and courier services); or
- a transport, freight or logistics driver; or
- National Heavy Vehicle Regulator compliance activities; or
- a blood bank or other bank services for the collection, storage and provision of donated biological material; or
- care services for people with particular needs because of homelessness, family violence, age, infirmity, disability, illness or a chronic health condition or other essentialsupport services;
• Example: Family violence and sexual assault services, Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations, Agencies carrying out essential relief activities, includingNeighbourhood Houses.
- truck stops and roadhouses, but not the provision of seated dining or shower facilities to persons who are not transport, freight or logistics drivers; or
- production and distribution of;
- disability and health equipment, mobility devices, including products for health patients; or
- food and groceries for sale by a supermarket, butcher, fruit and vegetable store, market or fishmonger (including for sale by operators of such premises at anindoor or outdoor market); or
- liquor for sale at a bottle shop; or
- medical and pharmaceutical products; or
- animal food and care products; or
- commercial operations that supply goods or service necessary:
• for the implementation of measures to limit the spread of COVID-19; or
• to support any business activity that may be carried out in accordance with these directions; or • to support the export of goods and services from Victoria; or• Example: manufacturing of personal protective equipment or hand sanitiser. - the maintenance of other essential research activities for:
- management and care of critical living resources, and the equipment and materials they depend upon (e.g. feeding, husbandry, hydrating, routine care and checks of animals, plants, microbes and cell lines in controlled environment); or
- the storage and management of existing samples and data research infrastructure that are temperature and environmentally sensitive (e.g. biobank); or
- long-term experiments or studies that otherwise would be prohibitive to restart (e.g. commenced clinical trials); or
- research addressing the impact of COVID-19 and research in support of the hospital and broader health system; or
- the conduct of essential adult education services pertaining to the following occupations and activities for:
- training and assessment for infection control, high-risk work licenses and high-risk work credentials and construction induction (white card), that ensureworkplace and public safety in permitted work premises or for permitted workers; or
- study for final year pre-service early childhood and school teachers (including placements); or
- final-year higher education students (i.e. in TEQSA-regulated courses), who do not have alternative options to complete their study by end of year; or
- first aid training where required for COVID response; or
- study for health care workers (including clinical placements); or
- apprentices training with an Authorised Provider or Authorised Worker; or
- clinical health and biomedical science (if required to be on site for the maintenance of essential research activities); or
- aged and disability care (including clinical placements); or
- mandatory assessments for VCE and VCAL students; or
- police Academy; or
- defence and national security agencies;
- primary industries only to the extent necessary to ensure animal rescue, adequate supply of food to, and care of, animals and maintenance of crops; or
- a hotel, motel or other accommodation facility to the extent that they provide accommodation services, including on a temporary basis for work purposes; or
- services related to property settlement or commencement/end-of-lease (including removalists); or
- forestry activity for the purposes of or relating to:
- production of firewood for heating of premises; or
- production of pallets; or
- production of building supplies for construction; or
5
• production of other goods required for other permitted activities (e.g. paper, packaging, caskets and coffins); or
- all manufacturing; or
- ancillary and support businesses are able to open on-site where necessary for the operations of an Authorised Provider, or for Closed Work Premises where there are safety or environmental obligations. The business cannot operate on-site for any other purpose:• Examples: production, supply, manufacture, repair, maintenance, cleaning, security, wholesale, distribution, transportation or sale of equipment, goods or services essential to the operation of the Authorised Provider.
- union/peak body/employer organisation officials attending a worksite as permitted by law or for Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) advice
- a person who is:
- critical to, and involved in, the State’s COVID-19 response (including in hotel quarantine); or
- a fly in fly out worker or a drive in drive out worker who is required for industry or business continuity and maintenance of a competitive operation where theservice is time-critical, who is responsible for critical maintenance or repair of infrastructure critical to a region of, or to, Victoria; or
- maritime crew; or
- a necessary individual for the purposes of the major event where that event has an exemption from CHO allowing it to proceed, including any workers and publicbroadcast personnel that support the safe running of the major event.
- farm animal and bloodstock leasing activities, including:
- farming activities and other operations relating to agriculture, horticulture, viticulture, irrigation, permaculture, apiculture, grains, fibre production, dairy, flower industry, commercial fishing, aquaculture and livestock; or
- intensive agricultural production including; greenhouses and animal production; or
- agricultural, veterinary chemicals and vaccine production, transportation and distribution (including the Pig Services Centre); or
- laboratory and diagnostic services; or
- animal feed production, transportation, packaging, sale, and feeding (including livestock and pets); or
- animal pounds and shelters (no public access).
- a business or undertaking providing essential support services to permitted agriculture, forestry and fishing activities, such as food safety and verification, inspection or associated laboratory services and biosecurity functions.Authorised Health Services
Any provider of:
- emergency surgery, procedures and medical consulting undertaken for the investigation, diagnosis and management of conditions where failure to do so expedientlyand safely will lead to the following outcomes:
- loss of life; or
- loss of limb; or
- permanent disability; or
- non-emergency but urgent surgery, procedures and medical consulting undertaken for the investigation, diagnosis and management of conditions where failure to do soin a clinically appropriate timeframe will lead to a predictable and evidence-based outcome as follows:
- loss of life where appropriate health intervention would otherwise have prevented this; or
- permanent disability where appropriate health intervention would otherwise have prevented this; or
- where clinical evidence supports an increased risk of a type referred to in the above points should appropriate health intervention be significantly delayed; or
- emergency and licensed non-emergency patient transport; or
- any health services provided in under the auspices of a hospital, urgent care centre or similar service including bush nursing centres; or
- any health services provided by a general practitioner; or
- any health services provided by a nursing professional or midwife; or
- any health services provided at a hospital radiology service (other than routine screening services); or
- procedures and surgical treatment undertaken by oral health professionals (e.g. dentists and oral health therapists) in the management of patients with urgent needsthat include:
• facial swelling• intra-oral swelling • facial trauma
• dental trauma
6
•
• • •
• •
•
• significant/constant/uncontrollable pain procedures to complete:
• any cycle of IVF treatment that a patient has commenced before the commencement of the defined period; or
• any procedure required for the preservation of eggs for future IVF where required health treatment will render eggs non-viable; or surgical termination of pregnancy; or
drug and alcohol services; or
the following allied health services:
- allied health services provided by allied health professionals working as authorised workers in hospitals or in residential care facilities providing critical clinical care or as directed by the hospital; or
- allied health workers professionals working in private or public community services, whether clinic-based or home-based, providing essential clinical care where telehealth services are not clinically appropriate; or
- allied health services provided by allied health professionals working in private practice providing care through telehealth and other virtual care options;
- students, medical/nursing/midwifery/allied health on placement providing authorised care in hospitals or in residential care facilities, or through telehealth; or the conduct of human medical research trials; or
the following mental health services:
- the hospital emergency or inpatient psychiatric services; or
- allied health professionals providing mental health services in hospital; or
- private consultant psychiatry practice by telehealth, or by face-to-face (but only for urgent care where telehealth is not clinically appropriate); or
- allied health professionals providing mental health services in community settings by telehealth, or by face-to-face (but only for urgent care where telehealth isnot clinically appropriate) but does not include:
• cosmetic surgery or other procedures not addressing significant medical conditions.
