3 Aug 2020

Covid-19: Melbourne heads into stricter lockdown

From Morning Report, 7:09 am on 3 August 2020

Melbourne wakes up from its first night under curfew, as it begins a six-week-long lockdown.

The Australian state declared a "state of disaster" at the weekend.

It has gone into "stage four" lock down with the number of active cases growing to more than 6300 over the weekend.

The new rules will be familiar to those who experienced Alert Level 4 in New Zealand - many businesses will close, exercise must be taken close to home, and groceries must be bought by one shopper on behalf of their household.

Transmission of the virus in the community has continued to occur despite the city already having spent three weeks in a more relaxed form of lockdown.

Explaining his decision, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews drew attention to the large number of cases that cannot be traced back to a known source of the virus.

ABC Melbourne's Elias Clure speaks to Corin Dann.