Melbourne's curfew returns as COVID lockdown is extended again by two weeks

A nightly curfew will return to Melbourne and playgrounds will close after a worrying weekend of disregard for the stay-at-home orders sparked a tightening of lockdown rules.

On Monday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the lockdown would be extended by a further two weeks as there are too many unknown cases being recorded.

It is the second time the current lockdown has been extended and it is now set to end at 11.59pm on September 2.

“Sadly our performance is not good news. We see too many cases. We see too many mystery cases,” Andrews said.

“We are at a tipping point.”

Stricter lockdown rules are also coming back for Melburnians and, almost 10 months after it was lifted, the nightly curfew will return to metropolitan Melbourne.

The curfew is from 9pm to 5am, which means residents cannot leave their homes between those hours except for an emergency.

Public playgrounds will also close.

The stricter rules will come into place from 8pm on Monday.

The essential worker permits are also being reintroduced.

On Monday, the health department confirmed there had been 22 cases in the 24 hours until midnight, a figure that includes five mystery cases, with eight in the community while they were infectious.

https://7news.com.au/lifestyle/health-wellbeing/melbournes-curfew-returns-as-covid-lockdown-is-extended-again-by-two-weeks-c-3694684