Lockdown Take 2 – 3032, 3042 | Moonee Valley Blog

Residents and businesses in 3032 and 3042 in Moonee Valley have woken this morning to stay at home restrictions imposed until 19 July.

Why – and what does this mean?

I’ll go through the ‘why’ in a second post after stepping through the restrictions we’re under (as a resident of Travancore, I’m cosying up into lockdown as well).

For those interested, here are the Health Officer’s Orders: Stay at Home Directions (Restricted Postcodes) (signed)

Lockdown Take 2 Restrictions

If you live in the lockdown postcodes, from 11:59pm on 1 July, the following restrictions apply until 19 July.

Leaving home: you can only leave home for one of four reasons –

Shopping for food or other essential items
To provide care giving, for compassionate reasons or to seek medical treatment
For exercise (outdoor exercise only, with only one other person or members of your household – this applies even if you leave a restricted postcode to exercise).
Work or study, if you cannot work or study from home

We can only leave home to do these things for a “reasonable period of time”.

Shopping:

I’m inserting the clause from the orders here, but we can shop for/at …

take away food and drink – not dine-in anywhere
medical goods and services
banks
post-office
chemist
hardware store (yay!!!)
petrol station
pet store/vet
other retail
this list is not exhaustive.

This applies inside and outside the postcode – so we cannot go shopping for other things or to attend other facilities etc outside the postcode.

Visitors:

No visitors at home except for care or services (eg maintenance and trade)
No visiting others’ homes, inside and outside the postcodes, except for care or services (eg maintenance and trade)
We can only be with one other person outdoors who is not from our family.

Travel:

You cannot travel except for one of the four reasons above. So you can go anywhere, inside or outside the postcodes, for food, care, exercise, work or study.

BUT – we are being asked to only do what is necessary and reasonable, eg not go hiking far from home, not go shopping for food on the other side of town. The wording in the order is not for an unreasonable period of time.

From the DHHS site: “These restrictions to local residents of restricted postcodes whether they are in or out of their postcode. Wherever possible, residents should limit their movement and ensure their activities are close to home.”

So, anyone on holiday from a restricted postcode is currently only allowed to leave home for those four reasons, although this is obviously relying on self-regulation, rather than there being an ability to enforce this across the state.

Schools, kindergartens and childcare:

“Primary and secondary school students can continue to attend school for face-to-face learning when it resumes after school holidays.” (From DHHS statement.)

The orders refer to ‘educational institution’ and there is no definition, so still trying to work out if this covers anything except a school or place of early learning.

Playgrounds:

Playgrounds and BBQs are closed

Restaurants, cafes, pubs:

serve takeaway and home delivery only, including alcohol
people living in restricted postcodes cannot have a dine-in meal outside the postcodes

Hairdressers:

open, but beauty services closed

Libraries

Niddrie and Ascot Vale libraries are closed
We can attend community facilities in non-restricted areas, but only for the purposes listed above – eg collecting food from a food-bank. So going to a library in a non-restricted area does not seem to be allowed – although this is unclear.

Places of worship:

Closed – online services only
But people in restricted areas can attend places of worship outside the restricted areas – this also seems unclear.

Weddings and funerals

you may travel outside of a restricted postcode to attend a wedding or funeral, noting that the location of the wedding or funeral determines what restrictions apply
inside the postcode there are limits on weddings (5 people -the couple, two witnesses and the celebrant) and funerals (10 people plus those required to conduct the funeral).
The DHHS site also says – “if you are in a restricted postcode you should consider having a coronavirus (COVID-19) test before attending such an event, wear a mask and ensuring that you practice physical distancing at the event.”

Gyms and pools

Closed
Ascot Vale Leisure Centre is closed

Community sport

community sport training and competition cannot occur within a restricted postcode
if you live in an impacted area you cannot participate in community sport elsewhere
outdoor sport facilities are closed
personal training outdoors can occur limited to two participants plus the instructor – this applies even if you leave a restricted postcode to exercise. The Mayor has posted that Personal Training Permits are unavailable in Moonee Valley at this time.

Mayor Samantha Byrne has also posted that the following will be closed in Moonee Valley:

🚫Driving range
🚫Incinerator Gallery
🚫Clocktower
🚫Flemington Community Centre
🚫Men’s Sheds
🚫Sports Grounds and Pavilions, Community Leases, Community Hall and Neighbourhood Centres
🚫Riverside Netball and Tennis Centre
🚫East Keilor Synthetic Soccer Pitch
🚫Essendon Traffic School
🚫Weddings and Community Events that normally require a Council permit

Places of gathering closed

galleries, museums, historic sites, zoos, outdoor amusement parks and arcades, play centres, indoor and drive-in cinemas, concert venues, theatres, auditoriums, arenas, stadiums, casinos and gaming will be closed
holiday accommodation and camping will be closed except for those who reside there for emergency accommodation or work purposes

Going into a restricted postcode:

If you DON’T Live in 3032 or 3042, then you can only travel into a restricted postcode for one of the four reasons – shopping for necessary goods or services, care or compassionate reasons, exercise and work and study – or in order to reach another area.

Family and friends cannot visit into a restricted postcode unless they re providing care, except that partners living separately can visit each other at home.

https://www.dhhs.vic.gov.au/new-restrictions-melbournes-hot-zones-covid-19

The orders are here: Stay at Home Directions (Restricted Postcodes) (signed)

There is another series of orders here for restricted activities (businesses): Restricted Activity Directions (Restricted Postcodes) (Signed)