Victoria re-enters lockdown as Holiday Inn quarantine cluster grows

• The Victorian Premier has announced an immediate five-day lockdown as the cluster of COVID-19 cases grows to 13
• All of the cases are linked to the Holiday Inn quarantine program, which involves the highly virulent U.K. strain of the virus
• Under this latest lockdown, all residents will be under stage-four restrictions, meaning they must stay home except for four exemptions
• The exemptions are attending work and school that can’t be done at home, exercise, essential shopping and caregiving
• The lockdown will begin tonight at midnight and last until 11.59 pm on Wednesday, February 17
• Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said without this ‘circuit breaker lockdown’ the state could face a third wave of infections

The Victorian Premier has announced an immediate five-day lockdown for the entire state, as a cluster of COVID-19 cases grows to 13.

All of the cases are linked to the Holiday Inn quarantine program and involve the highly virulent U.K. strain of the virus.

Because of how transmissible this strain is, Daniel Andrews said a lockdown is needed to stop the virus from spreading further.

 “I am sad to have to report, it is the advice to me that we must assume that there are further cases in the community,” he explained.

“[The U.K. strain] is moving at a velocity that has not been seen anywhere in our country,” the Premier added.

Statement on Victoria’s Circuit Breaker Action pic.twitter.com/XXwfjxU2Bb

— Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) February 12, 2021

Under this latest lockdown, all Victorian residents will be under stage-four restrictions, which essentially means they must stay home except for four exemptions.

The exemptions for leaving home include attending work and school that can’t be done at home, exercise, essential shopping and caregiving.

Additionally, masks will be mandatory at all times for adults when they’re outside of their homes.

This latest lockdown will begin tonight at midnight and last until 11.59 pm on Wednesday, February 17.

Premier Andrews said he understands today’s news will be distressing for most residents but reiterated that the lockdown is extremely necessary.

“I know it’s not the place that we wanted to be in,” the Victorian Premier said.

“However, we’ve all given so much, we’ve all done so much. We’ve built something precious and we have to make difficult decisions and do difficult things in order to defend what we’ve built,” he added.

“I am confident that this short, sharp circuit breaker will be effective,” the Premier concluded.