Melbourne, some regional areas set to re-enter lockdown after 191 new coronavirus cases
Melbourne and parts of regional Victoria are expected to be ordered back into lockdown for six weeks on Tuesday after the state reported 191 new cases of COVID-19.
Sources close to Tuesday's cabinet discussions have confirmed that schools in affected areas will not reopen their doors again for term three as planned on Monday, with hundreds of thousands of children to go back to distance learning, except for senior secondary students and special schools.
Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to re-impose stage three restrictions on Tuesday afternoon, preventing Victorians from leaving their homes for any purpose other than work, food, exercise or medical care.
It is unclear which regional areas will join Melbourne in lockdown, or where the boundaries of the metropolitan area will be drawn, with Mr Andrews expected to deliver the full details of the move when he addresses the media on Tuesday afternoon.
The new lockdown is expected to be in place for at least six weeks, and some school children could also be at home for the same period of time, after Mr Andrews gathered his crisis cabinet in Melbourne on Tuesday morning to discuss the escalating second coronavirus surge which has now spread beyond the state’s capital and into its regions.
It is also expected that school holidays will be pushed out by at least three days and there will be two student-free days to allow teachers and schools to prepare for an undetermined period of distance learning.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is expected to announce that Melbourne will be placed back in lockdown.Credit:Simon Schluter
When children eventually return to their classrooms, it is likely to be a staggered process, beginning with prep and grades 1 and 2.
However, senior secondary students and special schools, which had difficulty during the last period of learning, are expected to return to school as planned next week.
The latest figure of 191 new cases was enough to convince the Premier and his colleagues to push forward with the drastic new restrictions.
There are now 772 active cases of the deadly virus in Victoria, with about 438 of them attributed to community transmission.
Of the 191 new cases reported on Tuesday, 154 are still under investigation, with just 37 linked back to known outbreaks and none associated with returned travellers in hotel quarantine.
There were no new deaths overnight, with the state’s death toll at 22, but the number of people in intensive care has almost doubled within a day, from five to nine.
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