More shops to close under retail lockdown

Victoria set to go it alone with tougher restrictions

VICTORIA is preparing to impose stage three restrictions to shut down much of the retail sector as it pushes for a “hard and fast” response to the deadly coronavirus.

The State Government is willing to go it alone on tougher measures, with Premier Daniel Andrews warning Victoria could not “wait for everyone else to catch up”.

“If we did that, then in Victoria and New South Wales, this thing would be so far away from us, that we will look like Italy,” he said.

Two Victorians in their 30s and 60s are fighting for their lives in intensive care, with 466 cases confirmed after another 55 were identified yesterday.

From midnight last night, beauty parlours, community centres, swimming pools and play centres were among the businesses and services forced to close.

In a sign retail stores would be next on the list, potentially within days, Mr Andrews said Victorians should only leave their homes when it was absolutely necessary.

“Traders won’t like me saying this, but I have to say it — shop for what you need when you need it,” he said. “Do not be going window shopping … no trip to buy a pair of shoes is worth someone’s life.”

Major employers have stood down 50,000 workers in less than a week, retailers including Forever New, Sportscraft, Saba, JAG and Rivers are already shutting store doors, and a massive 2.6 million people logged on to the MyGov website yesterday amid a rush for welfare support.

It is unlikely entire shopping centres would close under tightened restrictions because they contain pharmacies, supermarkets and essential services, but non-essential shops are likely to shut if the spread of the virus is not slowed.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison conceded states facing “more extreme circumstances” may need to pursue “more urgent action”. But he urged caution about closing shops, telling those pushing for that to “be careful what you wish for”.

National Deputy Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said the nation’s health experts were united on the need for a “scalable, proportional” response, except for Victoria wanting to go “faster and further”.

Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt called on Mr Andrews to declare a state of disaster to give officers more power to break up gatherings, saying police wanted to “walk his talk and do their part to flatten the curve”.

Mr Andrews said a declaration would “not be made easily” but would be “a feature of the future”.

Health experts have told the national Cabinet the next step — “a carefully considered closure of all activity except essential industries and services” — should be “held in reserve” for now.

Mr Morrison yesterday announced a national coronavirus co-ordination commission to “solve problems” the virus causes economically and socially.