Today is the deadliest day of the coronavirus pandemic in Victoria with more than a dozen people losing their battle for life and hundreds more infected.
Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to announce more than 650 new positive tests as the state’s worsening crisis shows no signs ending.
The state is set to move to Stage 4 coronavirus restrictions within days and stricter measures could reportedly come into force in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to address the numbers and announce any lockdown changes on Sunday afternoon.
According to The Herald Sun, only supermarkets, pharmacies and service stations will be allowed to keep trading in Melbourne, with a possible exception carved out for hardware stores, which could stay open for tradies only. Cafes and restaurants will be able to provide takeaway services.
There will be a huge increase in police patrols, and the cops are expected to use licence plate recognition technology to crack down on non-essential travel.
The Age reports there will be a “near total shutdown” of Melbourne’s public transport network.
ABC Insiders host David Speers on Sunday morning said he understood further restrictions would affect call centres, retail and abattoirs.
“Restaurants and cafes will still be allowed to offer takeaway with strict contactless service provisions. Trams and trains will still run, but Uber and taxi services will be restricted. And the tougher restrictions will apply beyond metropolitan Melbourne,” he said.
Meanwhile, Queensland recorded one new case of COVID-19 on Sunday after a man who returned from overseas but was granted an exemption to fly domestically from Sydney to the Sunshine Coast tested positive. There were 12 new cases in NSW where Premier Gladys Berejiklian said masks will be encouraged in certain circumstances from Monday.