Melbourne’s stage 4 lockdown forbids residents travelling more than 5km from home during their daily hour of exercise. Fine for those in leafy suburbs, but not for those with less greenery nearby.
Even though cases haven’t dropped off yet, mandatory masks have probably helped to prevent cases continuing to spiral upwards - which is a real risk with this virus.
A lot of transmission has been happening in workplaces. Previous restrictions have seen cases plateau at several hundred per day, but these latest measures are designed to drive numbers down.
The fines for failing to wear a mask during Melbourne’s lockdown have been criticised as ‘punitive’. But the fact that masks are cheap or free, with huge public health benefits, makes it justifiable.
This news will be hard for patients who were deferred during the first wave of COVID-19. But it’s a vital move to ensure Victoria’s health system is in the best position to handle the second wave.
With COVID-19 spreading in Sydney’s southwest, can New South Wales avoid a return to lockdown and a similar scenario to Victoria’s second wave? The answer depends on whether there is community spread.
Much of our public housing stock is ageing and substandard. But we can learn from outstanding examples of retrofit projects that have transformed existing blocks into high-quality housing.
The spread of the virus through households creates costs higher than for isolation in hotels when families are large and living at close quarters as in Melbourne’s public housing towers.
The advice on wearing masks in public has just changed in Australia. Here are your options if you live in Melbourne or other areas with high rates of community transmission.
Many people are already struggling amid the stress and uncertainty of the pandemic. For Melbourne residents, a second lockdown is likely to place an even bigger strain on their mental health.
As Melbourne returns to lockdown, the evidence suggests routine mask-wearing - as seen in many countries but not so far in Australia - could be a valuable tool to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Public housing towers in Flemington and North Melbourne have been placed under ‘hard lockdown’, with 3,000 residents confined to home for at least five days, after 23 COVID-19 cases in 12 homes.
The Victorian spike serves as a reminder that we are still very much in a pandemic. We need to come to terms with the fact we will need follow the basics of infection control for some time.