Coronavirus Victoria: Cases fall to 429 as strict lockdown begins

A day after a state of disaster was declared and hours into Victoria’s strict stage four lockdown, the state has reported 429 new coronavirus cases and 13 deaths.

This represents a significant fall — down 242 from Sunday’s 627 cases — and well below Thursday's record 723. However, it could be attributed to a traditional fall in reported cases over weekend.

Premier Daniel Andrews is due to speak on the latest figures and to outline further announcements on employment rules later today.

Melbourne businesses will learn more detail about their restrictions under the stage-four coronavirus lockdown.

Premier Daniel Andrews has flagged further announcements, including the closure of some workplaces in certain industries.

But he has assured Victorians supermarkets, grocery stores and bottle shops will remain open in a bid to discourage a fresh wave of panic buying.

While acknowledging the drastic moves were necessary, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce said they would undoubtedly mean the end for many businesses.

The Victoria Tourism Industry Council said the restrictions would further devastate the state’s ailing tourism and event industry.

Supermarkets have introduced product restrictions and hours in line with Melbourne’s new lockdown curfew.

Woolworths also had more than 240 warehouse workers walk off the job because of virus concerns despite the company saying it has cleaned the site.

Five million Melburnians woke up on Monday after their first night under a citywide, coronavirus-enforced curfew that will last the next six weeks.

The premier on Sunday announced a suite of tough new COVID-19 regulations designed to limit movement in Melbourne, while foreshadowing more to come for workplaces.

Under stage four rules to run until at least September 13, metropolitan Melbourne is under a nightly 8pm-5am curfew that started on Sunday night.

The rare health-related restriction was prompted by the state recording 671 new cases on Sunday — it’s second-highest daily total — and seven further deaths.

Melbourne residents will also only be allowed to exercise for an hour a day and can’t travel more than 5km from home for shopping or exercise.

Only one person per household can shop for groceries each day, while recreational sports such as tennis and golf have been banned altogether.

With a state of disaster declared, police have additional powers to fine anyone caught breaking curfew or outside a 5km radius of their home without reasonable excuse.

Meanwhile, regional Victoria has moved to stage three restrictions, with restaurants, cafes, bars and gyms to shut from midnight on Wednesday.

Mitchell Shire, north of Melbourne, has been reclassified as a regional municipality, meaning it will remain under stage three rules.