Victoria will enter stage three lockdown tonight with schools closed and only five reasons to leave home - as a Covid cluster grows to 26 with 11 new cases overnight.
The Queensland lockdown will begin at 11.59pm on Thursday after the state recorded 11 new cases linked to the City of Whittlesea outbreak overnight taking the total cases to 26.
Journalists on Thursday clashed with VIC state officials over the latest lockdown
But masked business owners in Melbourne s north showed remarkable resilience
An air of acceptance was felt along Brunswick Street, a busy street in Fitzroy
Many said it is what it is and noted it isn t out first rodeo after 2020 lockdown
Victoria will enter lockdown that will last for seven days starting at midnight
The cases linked to Whittlesea cluster ballooned to 26, up from 15 on Wednesday
Acting Victorian Premier James Merlino says the government has not lost faith in its contact tracers despite imposing a seven-day circuit breaker lockdown on the state.
Mr Merlino said the state’s contact tracers were “working faster than ever before” to identify the first, second and third rings of cases within a 24-hour period.
“But despite that, this variant is moving at a faster pace,” he said.
“So, our contact tracers are doing a brilliant job, but we need to get on top of this”.