Melbourne shuts non-essential businesses

Spike in cases prompts Victoria state premier to tighten restrictions over going to the workplace

MELBOURNE has closed all nonessential businesses in fresh lockdown measures that take the number of workers staying at home to 500,000.

Daniel Andrews, the premier of Victoria, made the announcement yesterday after the state recorded 429 new virus cases and 13 deaths overnight.

While the daily new cases number is well down from the recent peak of 723, the 13 deaths equals the highest number in 24 hours since the pandemic began. Eight of the deaths were linked to outbreaks in elderly care homes.

Under the new restrictions, hairdressers, call centres, factories and most retail businesses will shut.

The new measures are expected to double the number of jobs affected by coronavirus restrictions to around 500,000. Taken with those who were already working from home, it means around a million people are now not moving around for work.

Supermarkets, food stores, liquor shops, petrol stations, pharmacies, convenience stores, newsagents, post offices and disability and maternity supply outlets can stay open.

Hardware, building and garden centres will be open to tradespeople only, with the public limited to contactless “click and collect” shopping.

Mr Andrews said the state would introduce a permit system to make it easier for essential workers to be out at night, given Melbourne’s new 8pm to 5am curfew he announced on Sunday.

“People will have a piece of paper that says ‘this is where I work, this is what I do’ … that’s going to be a simple, commonsense process, and we’ll have more to say about that soon,” Mr Andrews said.

Warehousing and distribution centres will be limited to no more than 66 per cent of their normal workforce on site at any time. Abattoirs will have to reduce their output by a third and supply all workers with full personal protective equipment, and carry out temperature checks on employees in order to continue operating.

A number of meat processing plants in Victoria were hit by Covid-19 outbreaks during the first wave of infections. “Until we fix the health problem, until we get these case numbers down to a much, much lower level, we simply cannot open the economy up again,” Mr Andrews said. “There is significant [economic] damage that needs to be done here, but there is no choice.”

Commercial building sites across Melbourne will be allowed to have just one quarter of their normal workforce on-site at the same time. Smaller sites, such as private homes under construction, will only be allowed five workers present at any one time.

Yesterday, Australia’s federal government announced “disaster payments” of AU$1,500 (£815) for any worker who needs to self-isolate for two weeks but does not have sick leave provided under their work contract.

Australia has one of the highest levels of insecure work in the developed world, with almost one third of workers without job security or paid sick leave. Mr Andrews has noted previously that insecure work has been a factor behind the high number of workplace Covid-19 transmissions, and the Victorian government recently provided relief payments for casuals who are unable to work.

Elsewhere in Australia, 13 new cases were reported overnight in New South Wales. Craig Kelly, a federal government MP, came under fire yesterday for asking on Twitter: “Could the Victorian premier (and others) face 25 years in jail for continuing to ban hydroxychloroquine?”. He was referring to when Mr Andrews listed the malarial drug as a controlled substance in April.

President Donald Trump and Jair Bolsonaro, his Brazilian counterpart, both endorsed the drug, but studies have not proved it can treat the illness.