- Melbourne records another six new cases of COVID-19, as day one of the latest five-day lockdown kicks off
- Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the hard lockdown on Thursday evening after 18 cases were linked to an outbreak
- Sydney also recorded another 97 cases of COVID-19 on Friday, as the city closes out its third week in lockdown
- NSW officials are pleading with Sydneysiders to stay home this weekend, amid a rise in people moving around while infectious
- Queensland recorded one new case of COVID-19 and confirmed it will close its borders to Victoria, labelling the state a hotspot
Melbourne has recorded another six new cases of COVID-19, as day one of the latest five-day lockdown kicked off.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced the new cases on Friday, with an additional 18 cases all linked to the outbreak yesterday.
The Melbourne cluster emerged after a Sydney family moved to Victoria, with both the family members and their removalists testing positive for this virus.
In NSW, another 97 cases of the virus were recorded in the community on Friday, with 29 of those cases still infectious while in the community.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the number of people moving around while infectious was too high, and more people need to stay home.
“That number of people being infectious in the community keeps going up,” Ms Berejiklian said.
“We really want to stress to everybody, please stay at home, follow the orders in particular, unfortunately, the Fairfield local government area.”
The State’s Chief Health Officer Dr Kerry Chant echoed the Premier’s comments, urging all Sydneysiders to restrict their movements.
“My vision for this weekend is very much a stay at home,” Dr Chant said.
“If you are outdoors and can’t socially distance, put on a mask. Keep that social distancing and your shopping and moving around for those absolutely critical things.”
Sydney will finish its third straight week in lockdown this weekend, with Premier Berejiklian confirming the lockdown would run for at least another two weeks.
Meanwhile, Queensland recorded one new local case of COVID-19 today and confirmed it would close its border to Victoria.
The state has been declared a hotspot zone, with Tasmania, the NT, WA and the ACT all introducing border restrictions for Melbourne.