From Australia thread.
==Daniel Andrews declares a STATE OF DISASTER and introduces an 8pm curfew for Melbourne from TONIGHT after 671 new Covid-19 cases with seven deaths - as panic buying begins across state
Victorians will not be allowed outside their homes after 8pm for almost any reason as a state of disaster is declared.==
Premier Daniel Andrews brought in the escalated emergency level as the state's worsening crisis shows no signs ending.
Only 73 of the 671 new cases are linked to known and contained outbreaks or complex cases, with 598 under investigation.
Mr Andrews confirmed Melbourne will to go into strict Stage 4 lockdown from 6pm on Sunday after a week of speculation.
The curfew will be in effect between 8pm and 5am every day in Melbourne, and regional Victoria will go back into stage 3 lockdown.
The only reasons to leave home during these hours will be work, medical care and caregiving.
Only one person in a household can go shopping per day and exercise is limited to one hour a day - both must be within 5km from home.
All recreational activity is banned and no more than two people can be together outside, even if they are from the same family or household.
'All of those changes are about limiting the number of people we come into contact with,' Mr Andrews said.
'Daily exercise is just that. It's an opportunity to get some exercise. It's not an opportunity to live our lives as if this pandemic was not real and not here.'
Partners who don't live together will still be able to visit each other.
The new restrictions are in some ways even harsher than the lockdown imposed by New Zealand.
The looming harsher lockdown prompted thousands to flock to shops across Melbourne in a new round of panic buying.
Long lines and full trolleys were seen outside supermarkets as early as 7am - even though they would stay open under stage 4.
Cafes and restaurants will continue to provide takeaway services, but people will not be allowed to dine in.
Police will also step up their checks and increase patrols to stop potential breaches.
Licence-plate recognition technology will be used to identify non-essential travellers, the Herald Sun reported.
It is expected construction sites will remain open and tradies will be given special access to hardware stores.
Public transport will also be continue in a limited capacity, with masks compulsory, and outdoor exercise will be allowed.
The decision to move to Stage 4 restrictions and its announcement rests on the Victorian Government and Premier Daniel Andrews.
Victoria recorded 397 new coronavirus cases and three more deaths on Saturday.
Mr Andrews announced the latest figures with 37 linked to outbreaks and 360 currently under investigation.
Australia's COVID-19 death toll rose to 201 after Victoria on Saturday reported the deaths of a man and two women aged in their 80s and 90s.
The fatalities bring Victoria's death toll to 116. There are currently 5,919 active coronavirus cases in Victoria.
At least 1,008 active cases have been connected to outbreaks in aged care homes.
More than 100 cases have been referred to Victoria Police for breaching stay-at-home lockdown rules.
Experts have been working over the weekend to analyse infection data from the first half of Victoria's six-week lockdown and determine if harsher measures are necessary.
Mr Andrews admitted further restrictions, based on state and national modelling, could prove a 'circuit breaker' for rising COVID-19 cases.
'What we have at the moment are numbers that are too high of community transmission and that is a concern to us.
'It is not a tap you can just turn on or off.'
'They are not decisions that would be taken lightly because there are significant costs … even minor changes have a significant cost,' Mr Andrews said.
Mr Andrews said community transmission remained a top priority and cited 49 'mystery' cases.
'Those community transmission cases are of greatest concern to us.
'The challenge is that they are a mystery and this is all about trying to know as much as you possibly can, as much intelligence and evidence and data as you possibly can.'
Police Minister Lisa Neville said on Saturday more than 200,000 police checks had taken place across the state while more than 452,000 car checks were carried out.
She noted some Victorians were still breaking restrictions and labelled the behaviour as 'appalling'.
'The overwhelming majority of Victorians every day are doing the right thing,' she said.
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https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8584801/Daniel-Andrews-declares-coronavirus-state-disaster-Victoria-8pm-curfew.html