Coronavirus: Stage Four restrictions to further damage economy
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There are concerns new coronavirus clusters could emerge in New South Wales because travellers from Victoria are still being transported to quarantine hotels by taxis and Uber drivers.
Ben Fordham told listeners on Monday that travellers from flying into Sydney from Melbourne were either taking public transport or were catching cabs to hotels for their 14-day isolation.
The radio host said: ‘Why do people flying in from the UK get the special bus to hotel quarantine but people from Melbourne choose their own adventure?’ he said.
‘It’s illogical, and it’s dangerous.’
Fordham’s comments come just a day after Victoria declared a ‘state of emergency’ and a 8pm curfew was placed on Melbourne residents, who are now banned from leaving their homes between 8pm and 5am other than for work, care-giving, medical reasons or on compassionate grounds.
Passengers from Melbourne are free to catch any form of public transport available in the city including buses, trains and ferries.
Some told Nine News they only had to fill out a form and get a temperature check before being allowed to leave the airport.
‘They give us a set of rules that we have to follow and they fact checked us and that is all,’ one passenger said.
Gallery: Coronavirus in Australia
A sudden surge in the number of coronavirus (COVID-19) cases has been reported from Australian cities of Melbourne and Sydney. In a bid to control the outbreak, authorities announced on July 7 that Melbourne and Mitchell Shire in the state of Victoria will return to Stage 3 Stay at Home restrictions for six weeks, from 11:59 p.m. on July 8. Wearing of face masks has been made compulsory in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire starting 11:59 p.m. on July 22. A $200 fine will be charged from those who fail to do so. Starting Aug. 2, a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. was imposed in Melbourne. Additionally, metropolitan Melbourne was placed under Stage 4 restrictions starting from 6 p.m. on Aug. 2. Several new cases have been reported from Sydney, the capital of New South Wales (NSW), leading to the reintroduction of stricter social distancing norms. Meanwhile, for the first time in a 100 years, the border between Victoria and NSW – two of the nation’s most populous states – has been closed to curb the outbreak.
Here’s a look at the ongoing situation in pictures.
(Pictured) A person wearing a face mask walks past the ANZAC House in Melbourne on Aug. 7.
Victoria Police officers and Australian Defence Force personnel are seen along Bourke street in Melbourne on Aug. 7.
A general view of closed stores in Melbourne on Aug. 7.
Commuters and heavy transport vehicles traveling on the M1 freeway out of the city in Melbourne on Aug. 6.
A woman walks into a cafe in the central business district in Melbourne on Aug. 6.
A member of the Sydney light rail cleaning team is seen at Randwick Station in Sydney on Aug. 6.
A view of the near empty Flinders Street railway station in Melbourne on Aug. 6.
A sign for the stage four curfew is seen on an electronic billboard outside of Flinders Street station in Melbourne on Aug. 6.
People wearing face masks walk outside the Flinders Street station on Aug. 6.
A Starbucks employee packs up to close the store in Melbourne on Aug. 5.
Victoria’s Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media during the daily COVID-19 briefing in Melbourne on Aug. 5.
Police officers and soldiers patrol a popular running track in Melbourne on Aug. 4.
The main foyer of Melbourne’s Flinders Street station, usually bustling with commuters, is seen empty on Aug. 4.
A worker cleans security bollards outside Flinders Street station on Aug. 3.
Workers push trolleys past an empty shop in Melbourne’s central business district on Aug. 3.
A man walks past a large face mask pinned to a tree in Melbourne on Aug. 3.
A general view of St. Brigid’s Parish in Sydney on Aug. 3. The church was closed for cleaning on Aug. 2 after a couple who attended a mass service tested positive for COVID-19.
The Bolte Bridge, a large eight-lane arterial bridge, is completely deserted, following a curfew in Melbourne on Aug. 2.
A general view of a deserted Bourke Street after a citywide curfew is introduced in Melbourne on Aug. 2.
Protective Service Officers patrol Swanston Street before a citywide curfew is introduced in Melbourne on Aug. 2.
People line up to enter a supermarket hours before a citywide curfew is introduced in Melbourne on Aug. 2.
A digital sign warning people to social distance is seen at Bondi Beach in Sydney on Aug. 2.
A healthcare worker wearing a face shield and protective clothing is seen at a pop-up testing clinic in Rushcutters Bay in Sydney on Aug. 2.
People maintain social distancing as they line up outside a Coles supermarket in Melbourne on Aug. 2.
Members of the Australian Defence Force patrol with members of Victoria Police in Melbourne on Aug. 2.
A member of the Muslim community records his details on arrival at the Auburn Gallipoli Mosque in Sydney for Eid al-Adha prayers on July 31. New South Wales had granted an exemption for 400 people to gather at the mosque to celebrate Eid.
Worshipers leave Auburn Gallipoli Mosque after Friday prayer on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha festival on July 31.
Police patrol near the Shrine of Remembrance enforcing COVID-19 restrictions in Melbourne on July 31.
Police arrests an anti-mask protester for not wearing a mask and refusing to give details to police in Melbourne on July 31.
A man is fined by Victoria Police for refusing to wear a face mask in Melbourne on July 31.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews leaves the daily briefing in Melbourne on July 31.
Medical personnel in personal protective equipment (PPE) are seen at a pop-up testing centre in Sydney on July 30.
People maintain social distance as they queue to be tested for COVID-19 in Sydney on July 30.
A medical personnel holds a swab while administering a test in Sydney on July 30.
Police speak to staff at the Epping Gardens Aged Care Facility, on the outskirts of Melbourne, on July 29.
An international student is seen collecting food from a volunteer of a charity food organisation in Melbourne on July 28. Originally aimed at providing meals for healthcare workers, the charity, Alex Makes Meals, has now expanded to provide meals for anyone in need following the return of lockdown restrictions.
Cleaners are seen at Epping Gardens Aged Care Facility on July 28.
A general view of the exterior of Thai Rock restaurant in Potts Point in Sydney on July 27. A warning has been issued to anyone who attended Thai Rock between July 15 and 25 to self-isolate and be tested after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
A clinical waste remover wearing personal protective equipment is seen emptying a clinical waste bin at St. Basil’s Home for the Aged, which has had an outbreak of COVID-19, in Fawkner suburb of Melbourne on July 27.
Medical staff prepare to transport people from the St. Basil’s Home for the Aged in Fawkner on July 25.
Australian Defence Force personnel and a Victorian Department of Human Services officer knock on houses in Melbourne on July 25. ADF personnel are now knocking on doors of homes of Victorians who don’t pick up the phone after testing positive for coronavirus disease.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews arrives for a daily briefing in Melbourne on July 25.
A worker exits the Bertocchi Smallgoods premises, where a cluster of 57 coronavirus cases was recorded, in Melbourne on July 25.
An empty Degraves Street is seen at the usually peak morning period in Melbourne on July 24.
A jogger is seen running while wearing a mask in Melbourne on July 24.
A Protective Services Officer (R) speaks to a member of public in Melbourne on July 23.
Beachgoers wear protective face masks at St Kilda beach in Melbourne on July 23.
A cyclist wears a protective face mask in Melbourne after it became the first city in Australia to enforce mask-wearing in public as part of efforts to curb a resurgence of COVID-19, on July 23.
Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos speaks to the media in Melbourne on July 23.
Registered nurses conduct COVID-19 swab tests as large crowds queue at a Bondi Beach drive-through testing clinic in Sydney on July 22.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to the media in Melbourne on July 22.
Frontline medical staff work at a pop-up testing site at Colac Area Health in Victoria on July 22.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos speaks during a press conference in Melbourne on July 21.
Statues along Swanston Street in Melbourne are seen with face masks on July 20.
People wait to buy face masks outsides a pharmacy in Melbourne on July 20.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison (L) leaves after speaking to media during a visit to DisplayWise in Sydney on July 20.
A view of face masks for sale inside a store in Melbourne on July 20.
A health worker wearing a protective suit conducts tests for COVID-19 at the Bondi Beach drive-through testing centre in Sydney on July 20.
People wearing face masks cross the normally busy Bourke Street Mall in Melbourne on July 20.
A medical professional is seen inside the Brady Hotel, where people with COVID-19 are in quarantine, in Melbourne on July 19.
A “For Lease” sign is seen on Acland Street in Melbourne, as commercial vacancies skyrocket during COVID-19, on July 19.
A general view of the public housing complex at Alfred Street in Melbourne on July 19. The housing block came out of total lockdown late on July 18 and is now in line with restrictions placed across the rest of Melbourne.
Clinical waste bins are removed from the public housing complex at Alfred Street on July 19.
People wearing face masks walk while keeping social distancing at Fitzroy Gardens in Melbourne on July 18.
A sign hangs from a window of a tower under strict lockdown, in Melbourne on July 18.
Healthcare workers prepare to conduct swab tests at a drive-through COVID-19 testing facility in Hoppers Crossing on July 17.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews sanitises his hands after speaking to the media at the daily briefing in Melbourne on July 17.
A medical worker speaks to a person outside a COVID-19 testing venue at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Melbourne on July 16.
A notice has been placed on the front door of a cafe to advise customers that they are closed until further notice, in Melbourne, on July 15.
Australian Capital Territory (ACT) police and health officers stand during a quarantine compliance check demonstration at the Burbury Hotel in Canberra on July 15.
A food delivery person is seen riding by one of the many empty shops with a “for lease” sign in Melbourne on July 15.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews gives an update about the new cases reported overnight during his morning press conference in Melbourne on July 15.
Tests are carried out at a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic at Victoria Park in Sydney on July 14.
People wearing face masks are seen at the entrance of the Menarock Life aged care facility, where a cluster of some new infections had been reported, in the Melbourne suburb of Essendon on July 14.
A line of traffic leads to a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic in Sydney on July 14.
A staff member sanitises her hands outside the Menarock Life aged care facility on July 14.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian speaks at a press conference in Sydney on July 14. Berejiklian said that stricter social distancing restrictions will be reintroduced in response to the COVID-19 cluster outbreak linked to Sydney’s Crossroads Hotel. Group bookings at pubs will be reduced from 20 back to a maximum of 10 people and large venues will not be allowed to have more than 300 patrons, while there will be tougher regulations on venues to collect the contact details of patrons in case of an outbreak.
Tests are carried out at the Bondi Beach COVID-19 drive-through testing clinic in Sydney on July 14.
COVID-19 testing is carried out at the Crossroads Hotel in Sydney suburb of Casula on July 13.
People wearing face masks are seen in Melbourne on July 13.
An empty Federation Square is seen in Melbourne on July 13.
Victoria’s Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton speaks to the media at a press conference in Melbourne on July 13.
A police patrol car is seen at St. Kilda Beach in Melbourne on July 12.
Police walk dogs belonging to residents of the Alfred Street public housing tower, which remains under tight lockdown, on July 11.
Response personnel dispose of rubbish outside a public housing tower in Melbourne on July 10.
An essential worker sanitises surfaces in Melbourne on July 10.
Members of Victoria Police perform checks at a road block in Melbourne on July 9.
Workers seen with trolleys of supplies at the Flemington Public housing tower in Melbourne on July 9.
Police officers and healthcare workers are stationed outside a public housing tower that is locked down as a coronavirus hotspot, in Melbourne on July 8.
Players of Melbourne-based A-League teams are seen preparing to board a bus in an attempt to head to New South Wales from AAMI Park in Melbourne on July 7.
Police in Albury check cars crossing the state border from Victoria on July 8.
A sign is displayed regarding COVID-19 restrictions in New South Wales on July 7.
92/92 SLIDES
Others said they had been specifically told to catch an Uber or taxi to hotel quarantine.
People entering New South Wales from Victoria must first apply for a border entry permit.
The state recorded 671 new cases of coronavirus in the 24 hours to Sunday afternoon, bringing the Victorian total to 11,557.
There were also seven deaths in the same period, bringing the state’s total to 123, 59 percent of Australia’s total virus fatalities.
The national death toll now stands at 208, with six of the seven recent Victorian deaths connected to the age care sector.
Seventy-three of the weekend cases are linked to known outbreaks, 598 remain under investigation and 760 ‘mystery cases’ are yet to be traced to the source.
As a result of the growing number of cases ‘stage four’ restrictions were imposed from Sunday and will run until September 13.
Premier Daniel Andrews is adamant the six-week strategy is preferable to a lockdown lasting six months.
‘I’m not prepared to … accept days and days and days of hundreds of cases and more and more death,’ he said on Sunday.
‘These are significant steps and not taken lightly. If we don’t make these changes, we’re not going to get through this. We need to do more.’
Melbourne residents are only allowed to exercise for an hour a day and can’t travel more than 5km from home for shopping or exercise.
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![a group of people standing in a room: A number of passengers said they only had to fill out a form and get a temperature check before being allowed to leave the Sydney Airport (passengers pictured at a Jetstar terminal)](https://www.msn.com/{"default":{"load":"default","w":"63","h":"42","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17udnJ.img?h=420&w=634&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"41","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17udnJ.img?h=414&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"41","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17udnJ.img?h=414&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"}})
![a car driving on a city street: As a result of the growing number of cases in Victoria the state has gone into 'stage four' restrictions until September 13, including a 8pm to 5am curfew in metro Melbourne (pictured)](https://www.msn.com/{"default":{"load":"default","w":"63","h":"44","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17utEt.img?h=436&w=634&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"43","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17utEt.img?h=430&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"43","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17utEt.img?h=430&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f"}})
![Daniel Andrews wearing glasses and looking at the camera: Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) is adamant the six-week strategy is preferable to a lockdown lasting six months](https://www.msn.com/{"default":{"load":"default","w":"63","h":"43","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17ujTT.img?h=434&w=634&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=301&y=228"},"size3column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"43","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17ujTT.img?h=428&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=301&y=228"},"size2column":{"load":"default","w":"62","h":"43","src":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/BB17ujTT.img?h=428&w=624&m=6&q=60&o=f&l=f&x=301&y=228"}})