Victoria records 16 new cases of Covid with five-day lockdown tipped to be extended as exposure sites swell to 200 and regional towns beg Melburnians to stay away so they can return to normal
- Victoria has recorded 16 new cases of Covid amid swelling Delta outbreak
- Regional communities begging Melburnians to stay away if lockdown extends
- Increasing concerns that snap lockdown will be extended beyond Wednesday
Regional Victorians are begging Melburnians to keep away as Covid cases rise and an extended lockdown looms over the state.
Another 16 cases were recorded on Sunday, all linked to known clusters and taking the state's outbreak to 59. There were 19 new cases on Saturday.
In the 24 hours to midnight, 53,283 Victorians sought a Covid test and a further 16,751 were vaccinated against Covid.
But the highly infectious Delta strain is rippling through communities as under 40s who haven't qualified for a vaccine spread the virus among friends without realising.
Store keeper Sophia wearing a mask hands over an order in the deli section of the Queen Victoria Market on the second day of yet another lockdown in Victoria
More than 10,000 close contacts of known cases are already isolating in Victoria, but there is a concern that the viral spread is occurring well before contact tracers track down cases
More than 10,000 close contacts of known cases are already isolating in Victoria, but there is concern that the viral spread is occurring well before contact tracers track down cases.
The state's snap five-day 'circuit breaker' lockdown is due to lift on Wednesday, but Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton is already warning Melburnians to 'brace ourselves for any possibility'.
With close to 200 exposure sites and an ever-growing list of close contacts, an anonymous government source told The Age it was 'improbable' five days in lockdown would be long enough to contain the spread.
The sentiment does not bode well for a state already tired after enduring 112 days of lockdown or harsh restrictions in 2020 alone.
USE DAILY MAIL AUSTRALIA'S TRACKER TO FIND THE LATEST EXPOSURE SITES NEAR YOU
The highly infectious Delta strain is rippling through communities as under 40s who haven't qualified for a vaccine spread the virus among friends without realising. Pictured: A woman checking in to Queen Victoria Market
But it's the people in small country towns who are particularly concerned.
'I think everyone is feeling like it's groundhog day; we're very flat and deflated,' local dog groomer Andrea Lee told The Herald Sun.
Ms Lee lives in Maldon, a tiny country town 30 minutes outside of Bendigo, and home to just 1,153 people.
She, along with many others in town that she knows, has suffered a 'huge financial loss' throughout each of the lockdowns.
'It's not fair to jeopardise country towns and regional Victoria just so you're more comfortable.'
The state's snap five-day 'circuit breaker' lockdown is due to lift on Wednesday, but Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton is already warning Melburnians to 'brace ourselves for any possibility'
A father and son walk up Collins Street on Saturday, day two of Victoria's circuit breaker lockdown
Throughout the entire pandemic, the town has had one confirmed Covid case - and locals would like to keep it that way.
They're all hopeful regional Victoria will not be subject to the same restrictions Melbourne might be placed under, and are urging people from the city not to escape to the countryside if further lockdowns are announced.
'We need to shut Melbourne out. In the little supermarket there was 30-odd people I didn't know,' Mt Alexander Shire councillor Stephen Gardner said.
The pleas come amid outrage that Melbourne based AFL players were able to skip the lockdown and head straight to Queensland.
Premier Daniel Andrews is begging Victorians to get tested and monitor exposure sites to know if they need to isolate
Comedian Dave Hughes questioned who signed off on the decision to put another community at risk of the Delta variant of Covid, especially after word spread that players at eight separate clubs had visited exposure sites in the days before fleeing.
'Flying all those teams out of Melbourne to play games rather than having them play in Melb, when it was already obvious that players/staff would have been exposed is unbelievable,' he said.
'This is bats**t crazy.'
Queensland has so far managed to contain and control the threat of the Delta variant of Covid, but 50-year-old Hughes was floored by the Sunshine State government's decision to supposedly 'risk their current zero Covid utopias'.
Streets are deserted in Melbourne as the city returns to lockdown - after spending 112 days under tight restrictions in 2020
Comedian Dave Hughes questioned who signed off on the decision to put another community at risk of the Delta variant of Covid by flying AFL players to Queensland
'[It] is insanity,' he said.
More than 60 per cent of Victoria's latest Covid cases are under 40 years old, and an anonymous government source told The Age that those infected were unlikely to be vaccinated.
Premier Dan Andrews is urging the public to keep abreast of the latest news, particularly the increasing exposure sites list.
On Saturday afternoon, he shared the updated list to his Twitter account, writing: 'The current exposure sites show that we're a real social bunch … so it's no surprise that we're seeing exposure sites where people have been having a bite, travelling to and from games and at watch parties over the last week or so.
'Please check the list … because we need to slow the spread of the virus, and we need your help to do it.'
Health workers collect swab samples from residents at a Covid-19 drive-through testing facility in Melbourne
