Revellers pack St Kilda beach and Federation Square
HUNDREDS of people packed St Kilda beach and Federation Square in Melbourne on Thursday night to celebrate the new year, despite the coronavirus’s return to Victoria.
The scenes formed a stark contrast with the muted celebrations in Sydney, where harbourside locations that are usually brimming with people on New Year’s Eve were practically deserted. Under Victoria’s COVIDSafe Summer rules, up to 100 people can meet outdoors in a public place, though they must continue to practise social distancing.
Face masks are mandatory indoors and on public transport, and “strongly recommended” outdoors when you cannot keep 1.5m apart from others.
The state recorded five new cases of the virus on Thursday, having broken its streak of 61 days without any locally acquired infections earlier in the week. There are currently more than 70 close contacts of confirmed cases in isolation.
Acting Premier Jacinta Allan announced Victoria would be closing its border to all of New South Wales from 11.59pm on January 1, sparking a rush of people trying to make it back across the border before the deadline.
“This is not an easy choice. Closing borders, putting in place restrictions, is never an easy choice to make,” Ms Allan said.
“This has been a difficult year, with many difficult decisions to make.
“Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t expire at midnight tonight, and we have to remain vigilance.”
When the clock struck midnight, signalling the end of 2020, most of the revellers at St Kilda beach were in close proximity to one another, with hardly anyone wearing a mask.
The scene at Federation Square was more restrained,