LIVE: Lockdown for Victoria starting midnight

11.15am: Colac and district will return to strict lockdown measures from midnight tonight.

Acting Premier James Merlino announced the state-wide, seven-day, circuit-breaker lockdown this morning, which is due to end 11.59pm on June 3.
From 11.59pm, there will be only five reasons to leave home: essential shopping, authorised work, exercise (two hours a day with one person), caregiving and to get a COVID vaccine.
Masks must be worn everywhere except your home and no public gatherings are allowed.
People must stay within five kilometres of their home, unless they must travel further for one of the five reasons.
Visitors are not allowed at homes except for intimate partners, though people that live alone may create single bubbles with one other person.
Childcare centres remain open, but schools will return to remote learning except for essential workers and vulnerable students.
Full restriction details are available at the State Government’s coronavirus website.

8.55am: Victoria has recorded 12 new cases of COVID-19 this morning, bringing the state’s active total to 34.

Health authorities processed 40,411 tests yesterday.

Melbourne media is reporting that discussions are ongoing between senior government officials about a potential lockdown, involving details including the level of restrictions, length of any shutdown and what areas of the state would be affected.

26/5, 9.10am: Victoria’s Department of Health has reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 this morning. The figure includes five cases that were previously reported since the latest daily figures, meaning today’s announcement included five new cases.

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The State Government conducted more than 26,000 COVID tests yesterday. It brings the state’s active case total to 23, including returned travellers in hotel quarantine.

The current Melbourne community cluster is at 14 cases.

8.20am: The State Government has added two central Victorian sites and an AFL match to its list of exposure sites from confirmed cases of COVID-19.

Sites at Bendigo and Axedale are of concern to health authorities after an infected person visited them on the weekend.

Meanwhile, the Department of Health is investigating Sunday’s AFL match between Collingwood and Port Adelaide at the MCG to identify sections of the stadium potentially exposed to the virus.

The state has confirmed nine cases linked to the most recent outbreak.

6.00am: The State Government has reintroduced COVID restrictions in Melbourne as health authorities investigate new cases that emerged this week.

But regional Victoria could continue living under COVID-safe conditions while the outbreak remains contained to Melbourne’s north.

From 6pm last night, Melbourne residents were required to wear facemasks indoors.

Households may only host a maximum of five visitors a day in the city, while public gatherings are limited to 30 people.

The rules don’t currently apply to regional Victoria, and Melburnians are allowed to leave the city – but they must follow the directions that apply to the metropolitan region.

Acting Premier James Merlino said a specialist panel would consider what the cases would mean for public events such as AFL matches.

Mr Merlino announced the new restrictions yesterday morning after authorities detected more cases linked to a northern Melbourne outbreak.

The state detected four cases on Monday, all linked to the same family.

Authorities had failed to identify the source of transmission for the original outbreak case but were investigating links between it and a case at Wollert, also in Melbourne’s north, from earlier this month.

The State Government updates information including restrictions and exposure sites on its dedicated coronavirus website.

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