Lockdown warning for Victorian virus spike

Victorians have been warned to take coronavirus seriously or risk tougher lockdowns as cases continue to spike in Melbourne suburbs.

The crackdown comes as the federal government considers how to better target economic supports.

Victoria’s active cases have more than doubled in a week, with 17 new infections yesterday taking the total to 142. And two schools closed in Melbourne after students tested positive for the coronavirus.

The Victorian spike caused the West Australian government to shelve plans to open its borders in August and sparked a warning by NSW against visiting Melbourne.

Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt said the possibility of tighter lockdowns and even stay-at-home orders for certain suburbs was still active.

‘‘If we are able to maintain low levels and low numbers — when you think of it as five cases from undiagnosed sources yesterday — then I’m hopeful that we can avoid those lockdowns,’’ he told ABC radio.

‘‘But we have to be absolutely clear: the rings of containment, the local actions are on the table.’’

The origins of 11 of the 17 new Victorian cases are under investigation.

Premier Daniel Andrews forcefully warned sick people against leaving their homes, saying just one person pretending everything is ok could infect many others.

‘‘We simply can’t pretend that the virus is gone, that the virus is somehow not in our state,’’ he told reporters.

‘‘It doesn’t matter how many people are doing the wrong thing — everybody, everybody will pay the price if we get to a point where restrictions either localised or across the state need to be reintroduced.’’

The federal government is in the midst of reviewing its JobKeeper wage subsidy and the doubled JobSeeker unemployment payment.

‘‘We’re not even halfway through this program yet and the data about where the economy is going, three months from now, is very difficult to determine,’’ Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters.

The support programs are costing $11 billion a month.

‘‘So you need to consider those carefully and you need to target your support where you need to send it.’’

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will reveal the government’s decisions around the support programs when he gives an update on the state of the economy on July 23.

Tourism is one area expected to have a slow recovery, with international borders likely to remain closed for a significant time.

The government is urging Australians who might otherwise have gone overseas to spend their money here.

But the Australian Tourism Export Council says it’s unrealistic to expect the losses from international tourists to be filled by domestic travellers.

There have been 102 deaths due to Covid-19 in Australia and more than 7,400 infected.

‘‘We simply can’t pretend that the virus is gone, that the virus is somehow not in our state.’’

Premier Daniel Andrews