Covid-19 ravaged Melbourne has imposed a curfew as the state government tightens a grip around the city.
A night time curfew is in effect from 8:00pm to 5:00am meaning only people travelling to work and essential health care workers are allowed out after dark.
In regional Victoria the state government reintroduced stage 3 ‘stay-at-home’ restrictions and everyone must don a mask outside the home.
With the curfew, the Metro Melbourne area is under stage 4, which allows residents to travel only up to five kilometres from home for essential goods and services.
It allows only one person per home to shop once per day.
Any violations could lead to a $200 fine.
"It is not an easy decision to make but it is necessary and that’s why I’ve made it and that’s why police will be out in force," said Victoria Premier Daniel Stevens
"You need to demonstrate that you are lawfully out and you are not breaching the curfew."
New South Wales is considering more stringent state border measures for people coming into Sydney from Melbourne.
"There are various checks in place, and if we need to do more, we will," Premier Gladys Berejiklian said.
"We respond according to what is going on in our state and what we foresee might happen if we don’t take certain actions."
Several flights are still arriving into Sydney every day from Melbourne.
With nearly 12,000 cases, Victoria has so far reported 123 deaths.
by Ray Montgomery, Asia Pacific editor
