The entire metropolitan Melbourne has been placed on stage 4 lockdown to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Daniel Andrews, Victorian Premier, on 3rd of August announced that stage 4 lockdown on business in Victoria which will largely affect retail business, construction, as well as meat-processing He further said that the restriction had been introduced to limit community transmission of the virus as the source of the transmission still remains unknown. So, relax, and calm yourself!

Daniel Andrews said government discovered that stage 3 lockdown would go on for 6 week (maybe moreif these measures are not observed).

A lot of questions have been asked from ABC Bureaus Regional Victoria since the announcement of the latest lockdown by Daniel Andrews about what is expected of the people living in the affected areas. In this article, all of your questions will be answered.

Melbourne Stage 4 Restriction Overview

Metropolitan Melbourne will experience a change in restrictions from 6 pm on the 2nd of August. Stage 4 restrictions are being effected on Metropolitan Melbourne, which is defined by the 1987 Planning and Environmental Act that identifies the entire local government areas that make up metropolitan Melbourne and will exclude Mitchel Shire during the stage 4 lockdown or travel ban.

These changes are being observed mainly to reduce the number of people going back and forth around Victoria. From the 6th of August, a lockdown has started in metropolitan Melbourne. The curfew is between 8 pm to 5 am every evening, and people are only allowed to move from their house to essential work, as well as for important health care, or other safety purposes. You are only allowed to leave your home from 5 am to 8 pm for any of the following reasons:

Necessary goods and services:

To shop for essential goods and services.

You are only allowed to move up to 5km from your home. Be sure you are as close to your home as possible. For instance, only shop at the closest supermarket to your home. However, some people may have traveled beyond 5km for the nearest good and services. You may, in this case, travel more than 5km to the provider nearest to you.
Just one person from each household is allowed to leave home to get essential goods and services, and just once per day, which implies that multiple shopping trips per day are not allowed. Also, reduce the amount of time you spend away from your home. If there is no way you can leave a young child or a person at risk alone at home with no one to attend to them, then you can ask them to go out with you.

Exercise:

You can go out of your home to exercise, but there are restrictions:

Your exercise must not take you more than 5km to your home.
You are allowed to exercise with one other individual from your family, or a friend since you both maintain your exercise within the 5km traveling restriction. We advise you to reduce the number of people you come in contact with currently. You can always connect with friends and family through phone calls, video calls, and social media. You must maintain a 1.5 meters distance from your exercising partner. Avoid hugging, kissing, or NO shaking hands with other people.
Your exercise must not exceed one hour per day.
If there is no way you can leave a young child or a person at risk alone at home with no one to attend to them, then you can ask them to go out with you.

Care and health care:

You are allowed to leave home to get health care or for medical appointments. You should go to your meeting with a doctor or medical professional or use one a video call. Do not postpone any medical appointment. You can get advice from your healthcare professional on how to stay safe.
If you have any sick or elderly relatives, you can leave home to care for them. Be sure to maintain 1.5 meters from anyone you care providing care for when possible and make sure you wear a face covering.
If you are a parent, guardian, or essential support person, you can leave home and follow someone for their medical appointment.
You are allowed to go to a vet with a pet.

Work:

If you work remotely from home, then you must continue doing so. More announcements will be made in the workplace in just a matter of days.
A mandatory remote study must be observed by TAFE and university.

Personal:

No restriction on visiting an intimate partner.
Continuous sharing of parenting schedules, whether formal or informal, is allowed.
You can leave home in the case of an emergency.
You are allowed to leave home if you at risk in the event of family violence or violence caused by another person in the home. If you got stopped by police on the way, tell them of the violence and that you don’t feel safe at home, and they will help you. There are safe accommodation and family violence support. You can get in touch with safe steps on 1800 015 188 or email safesteps@safesteps.org.au available 24-hours a day and all through the week.

In case you need to leave home, make sure you wash your hands before and when you get back home. Maintain a minimum of 1.5 meters between yourself and other people. Always put on face-covering unless you are given legal exceptions. Do not go out if you are sick unless you are going for a test or treatment, and then you head back home. We can all protect our family, friends, co-workers, healthcare workers, and the entire community if we all follow this.

Regional Victoria – Stage 3 Lockdown Overview

The stage 3 lockdown applies in Victoria from 11:59 pm Wednesday the 5th of August, excluding metropolitan Melbourne as stage 4 lockdown applies there. Metropolitan Melbourne is defined by the 1987 planning and environmental Act that identifies the entire local government areas that make up metropolitan Melbourne. You are only allowed to leave home if you live in regional Victoria and Mitchel Shire based on these four conditions:

For food shopping and necessary goods or services.
To care for someone, for compassionate purposes, or to receive medical treatment.
To exercise or to enjoy outdoor recreation with your family, or just one other person.
To work or study if it can’t be done from home.

You may not take visitors to your home or visit other people in their homes as well. All of us need to play our part in reducing the rate of spread of COVID-19. We can protect ourselves, families, and our entire communities from COVID-19 when we stay home and reduce contact with other people.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below are some of the major things you must know about the Melbourne stage 4 lockdown. Some of your important questions have been answered about the latest restrictions.

What is the meaning of Stage 4 lockdown?

The city as of Sunday, 2nd of August entered into another phase of restrictions which limit the number of distance residents can travel to 5km, a curfew starting from 8 pm to 5 am, and just one person from each household is allowed to leave home and attend to goods and services. A further step will be taken by stage 4 lockdown at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, with the majority of businesses in Victoria forced to either close or greatly altered their mode of operation. Businesses have been divided into three parts: some will operate normally; some will operate away from customer interactions, while some will close. Most businesses fall into the second category, and will not be able to receive customer’s in-store.

I work inside the locked-down area. Can I still go to my place of work?

Yes, the work-related reason is allowable to enter the restricted zone. Just make sure you apply your common sense to maintain social distancing and reduce your chances of getting sick. You may also request a letter stating the need for you to be at work in person from your employer.

What is the reason for introducing this change?

The number of coronavirus cases in Victoria has increased over recent weeks, with community transmission also increased. We understand that if everyone abides by the restrictions, we can reduce the spread of COVID-19. More strict restrictions are being introduced to make sure not many people are traveling around in the community. Though we understand how tough these new restrictions are, however, we believe together, we can protect ourselves, loved ones, friends, co-workers, health care workers, and the whole community.

Can I travel after curfew to see my partner?

You are allowed to travel to visit your partner or even spend the night with them, but traveling must be done before curfew, which starts from 8 pm to 5 am. If you can only finish work outside of these hours, then you may travel straight to your partner’s home to pass the night, but you can only leave the next morning after 5 am unless permitted for another reason.

How can I make sure my family and I are safe when I leave home?

Be sure to wash your hands before you leave, and when you get back home to make sure you and your family remain safe. Also, maintain a minimum of 1.5 meters between yourself and others. Always put on a face covering unless you have a legitimate exception.

Will stage 4 affect public transport?

Public transport operations will not be stopped, but their operation will be reduced in metropolitan Melbourne during curfew hours. You must put on a face covering and maintain 1.5 meters distance between yourself and others when catching public transport. Make sure you wash your hands before you leave home, and immediately you get back home.

Will students still attend school in person?

All students across Victoria will go back to remote learning from 11:59 pm on the 4th of August, which is Tuesday. Schools will remain open for vulnerable students and students whose parents are essential workers. Specialist schools located in regional Victoria will also remain open.

How far can I go from home?

You must do your shopping for food and essential supplies within 5km from your home unless the nearest supermarket to your home is beyond 5km. Just one person per household is allowed to leave for shopping per day. Exercise must also be done within 5kmof home and within metropolitan Melbourne. Exercise must be done for one hour per day.

Can someone be allowed to transport me to and from work?

An essential worker can be transported to and from work by an adult with no work permit required in case the worker is dependent and cannot transport his/herself. In the event of this, you must make sure the travel is in compliance with the work permit as the authorities may stop you.

How can employees move during this lockdown?

There may be a need for employers to provide work permits for certain date ranges for workers who do not have specific hours. Suppose this implies that employers will have to provide separate worker permits for each period. In that case, the worker will be required to go with old worker permit, in order to simplify verification by authorities with their employer that they are indeed on their way to work.

How can I obtain a valid worker permit?

If you are working in one of the organizations permitted to remain open during the lockdown, you will fill out a form with your workplace to present to authorities if stopped while traveling to work. You can show the document or a photo of the document on your phone if required.

Will childcare be open?

The State Government on Sunday announced that childcare centers would close to all children and families, except for vulnerable children as well as children of essential workers. However, Premier Daniel Andrews had suggested that the Federal Government intervene as it has been a direct major support to the childcare industry during the coronavirus’s beginning. There will be further announcements on Friday as Prime Minister Scott Morrison later stressing that the Federal Government was dedicated to making sure some children centers remain open.

Can I go to my hairdresser?

No. Hairdressers in this stage of lockdown will not be allowed to open, as well as all beauty services.

Will restaurants be open during the Stage 4 restrictions?

Restaurants will be permitted to stick to takeaway and delivery services, while there will be restrictions on patrons dining in.

Can I attend the funeral I’ve got in Melbourne?

We are so sorry for your loss. People can access locked down areas for funerals and other compassionate reasons. However, we advise you to travel with some documentation in case you get stopped on the way. It doesn’t necessarily need to be something official; it may be something or someone that can give you something to present in case you get questioned by police.

Are trains still operating?

Most train lines are running normally, and Victoria Police will be strict with the restrictions on people coming in from restricted areas. Coaches will take over from trains on the Albury line between Melbourne and Wodonga, which is the terminating point for the service. V/Line has also adopted some changes to its coach services in boundaries. We advise that you check the website of V/Line for up-to-date information before you travel.

What about cleaning services?Who can get cleaning services?

Business Victoria has given clarifications on the services that can be continued during the lockdown. Fortunately, many customers can still get their services. In the case of cleaning services, the following set of people can still get their services:

All Covid cleans: disinfection and sanitisation in houses, commercial buildings, medical centres, offices, warehouses
All customers getting welfare support:Customers who are getting payments from TAC, NDIS, or other similar institutions are allowed to continue. Kindly email the company to confirm you are in this category.
Customers who cannot perform self-cleaning:We received a notification that customers who truly cannot clean for themselves should continue to have their services. Not being able to perform self-cleaning is a tough one, so we implore everyone to check their situation and only choose to continue their cleaning services if you truly don’t have what it takes to perform your own cleaning. We implore you to be truthful and not ask for cleaning service because you just don’t want to clean, but only if your situations make it impossible for you to do the cleaning yourself. If you truly know that you cannot perform your own cleaning, kindly fill in ouronline enquiry form and it will be reviewed by our staff to see if it is reasonable, and if it is, your cleaning will be done for the next six weeks of the lockdown.

Commercial Cleans:There will be no stop to cleaning services for commercial buildings.
Move Out, and Move-in Cleans:There will be no restriction on move out services. It is also important to know that cleaning services needed to allow the proper operation of essential businesses is permitted. Move out and end of lease cleans are permitted because they are required to ensure the real estate industry continues. Move-in cleans will only be permitted if a realtor needs them, or the customer is in the category of people who are unable to do their cleaning themselves as stated in the section above and will have to fill in the online form.

Who does the Stage 4 lockdown apply to, and when?

Stage 4 lockdown applies to everyone living in metropolitan Melbourne, excluding Mitchell Shire, starting from 6 pm on Sunday, 2nd of August, 2020. Those living outside this area only have to comply with stage 3 restrictions. Metropolitan Melbourne is defined by the 1987 planning and environmental Act that identifies the entire local government areas that make up metropolitan Melbourne. Stage 4 lockdown is applied in the following local government areas:

Banyule
Bayside
Boroondara
Brimbank
Cardinia
Casey
Darebin
Frankston
Glen Eira
Greater Dandenong
Hobsons Bay
Hume
Kingston
Knox
Manningham
Maribyrnong
Maroondah
Melbourne
Melton
Monash
Moonee Valley
Moreland
Mornington Peninsula
Nillumbik
Port Phillip
Stonnington
Whitehorse
Whittlesea
Wyndham
Yarra
Yarra Ranges

Clean House Melbourne’s Work plan to better serve you

Clean House Melbourne understands that the advice on COVID-19 keeps coming. This is why we always make adjustments to our mode of operation to make sure we are putting in much effort to keep our cleaning crews and customers safe. Clean House Melbournehas and is not going to stop taking precautions to make sure none of our employees or clients contract COVID-19. Together we will conquer the COVID-19 spread!

Are there any other questions not answered in this post? Kindly ask in the comment box and we will get back to you and update the post.