Further Gigs Postponed As Delta Outbreak Triggers Vic Lockdown & Queensland Restrictions

Further gigs will be postponed around the country following the announcement of another lockdown in Victoria. 

The news was announced by Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews this afternoon, with the lockdown to come into effect from 11.59pm tonight, Thursday 15 July. 

The lockdown will run for five days, until 11.59pm on Tuesday night. A total of 75 exposure sites have been named around the state. 

The state will return to the 'five reasons to leave home' system meaning Victorians can leave home to go shopping for food and supplies, authorised work and study, care and caregiving, exercise, and getting vaccinated. Face masks are now mandatory in all settings outside of the home. 

The news comes following an outbreak of the Delta COVID-19 variant which has entered the community from the current Sydney crisis. 

"We now have new cases, new exposure sites and a strain of this virus that is wildly infectious. We’ve seen this strain before – and you probably already know what we need to do next," said Andrews in a statement this afternoon. 

"Victoria will not wait to act. We know that not much good comes from waiting. Waiting could see more people infected and the number of exposure sites explode. If we act now – while we’re right on the heels of this outbreak – we can give ourselves every chance of getting ahead of it. If we wait – we lose that option.

"Which is why, on the advice of Acting Chief Health Officer, Victoria will go into lockdown tonight, meaning there are only five reasons to leave home from 11:59pm on Thursday 15 of July 2021.

"That means you can only leave home to get the food and the supplies you need, for exercise for up to two hours and no more than 5kms from your home, for care or caregiving, work or education if you can’t do it from home or to get vaccinated at the nearest possible location."

In light of the new cases in Victoria, South Australia has now tightened its border to the state. 

According to ABC, those travelling from Melbourne, Geelong and Bacchus Marsh will now need to quarantine for two weeks on arrival. Anyone else travelling from outside of these areas will need to undergo testing on days one, five and 13 of arriving into South Australia.  

Queensland has also recorded three new COVID-19 community transmissions, with restrictions in the south-east area to be extended for a further week affecting the Brisbane, Logan, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Noosa, Somerset, Lockyer Valley and Scenic Rim areas. Western Australia currently has a 14 day mandatory quarantine period in place for anyone travelling from Victoria. 

The Victoria's lockdown news is another blow to the already struggling live music sector, who yesterday saw the extension of Sydney's lockdown to at least 30 July. Events like the Vivid festival have subsequently been postponed. 

Following the lockdown announcement, the NSW State Government announced a $75 million stimulus package for the already heavily suffering music and Arts industries. 

"As we work our way through the latest outbreak in NSW we want to ensure these organisations can survive the lockdown, and are ready to thrive once it is safe for restrictions to be lifted," said Minister For The Arts Don Harwin yesterday. 

Read the full story here.

Prime Minister Scott Minister has said today that "increased Commonwealth payments to individuals and businesses from week two of a lockdown" will be proposed to the National Cabinet tomorrow. Additional information is expected in the coming days.