Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has confirmed Stage 3 restrictions will come into effect for the state on Monday night with huge fines for those who breach the rules.
On Monday morning, he confirmed a total of 821 coronavirus cases in Victoria with an overnight increase of 56.
“I have a very simple message today – stay at home,” he said during a press conference.
“Victoria Police will not hesitate to take action against you. That is how serious this is. No-one in my position enjoys doing this. We’re not doing it for any other reason than this is life and death. If we allow our health system to be overrun, then people will die.”
“Unless you want to be burying an elderly relative or your best mate, or your parents, if they’re younger, do the right thing. It is very, very simple. Stay at home,” Mr Andrews said.
He said the message for Monday was simple after Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s press conference on Sunday night: stay at home.
Mr Andrews said fines for gatherings of more than two people would be in place from midnight tonight (12am Tuesday).
He also said the Victorian government had reached an in-principle agreement to make sure private hospitals remained “viable” through the crisis.
“We will stand behind the private hospitals to make sure they are viable and then to have all the capacity that we need reserved for any COVID-19, any coronavirus patient that needs that care,” he said.
“I am pleased to be able to report we have got a deal that sees the health system public and private work as one system to provide the very best care.”
Nurses from the Epworth and Cabrini Hospitals, who had been laid off, have been employed by the government to do “contact tracing”.
Mr Andrews said the state government would soon move to enforce such measures.
“The national government is speaking to all the banks as we are,” Mr Andrews said. “Coming to an arrangement [between landlord and tenant] common sense, that’s the most important thing.
“Ultimately a deal, a common sense deal where everybody shares in the pain of this time … we will have more to say about how we will give effect to that,” he said.