Melbourne may see their Stage 4 lockdown extended, according to documents leaked just days before Daniel Andrews was scheduled to give an update.
Leaked documents show that Melbourne residents may be in for another two weeks of Stage 4 lockdown and curfews, with restrictions extending past their original end date of September 13 to September 28.
The documents, which come days before Premier Daniel Andrews was set to give an update on the situation, outline a draft of Victoria’s plan moving forward; however, a spokesperson for the Victorian Government has since claimed that they are out of date.
Leaked by the Herald Sun, the draft roadmap shows that the 8 pm-5 am curfew will continue to be enforced until September 28, along with all current restrictions surrounding work, travel, and leaving the house. However, the document does signal there will be some changes from September 14, which would allow a one-person household to have one other person over for a visit, and for two people (or all members of a household) to catch up outdoors.
Then, come September 28, an amended Stage 3 will come into place allowing for students to start returning to school and for five people from a maximum of two different households to meet up outside. The documents also allege that hospitality and non-essential retail may not reopen until daily cases are in the single-digits.
Remember that when the government says the leaked plans published in the Herald Sun are “out of date” that doesn’t necessarily mean that the current draft plans are now wildly different. It most certainly does not make questions based on those documents irrelevant.
— Calla Wahlquist (@callapilla) September 3, 2020
However, since news of the documents broke, a spokesperson for the government has brushed them off, stating that the details in the roadmap are old.
“This is an out of date draft document,” the spokeswoman said in a statement, according to 9News. “We know every Victorian wants certainty about the future – for them, for their family and for their work. By the end of the week, we will lay out a plan to re-open our state.”
Andrews is set to reveal the official plan this coming Sunday. Today, Victoria announced 113 new cases and sadly 15 deaths.
#COVID19VicData for 3 September, 2020:
Yesterday in Victoria there were 113 cases reported. We are sad to report 15 deaths and we send sincere condolences to those affected. More information will be available later today via our media release. pic.twitter.com/G0sVP5rS3c— VicGovDHHS (@VicGovDHHS) September 2, 2020
