ROAD checkpoints may be stepped up to make sure Melburnians don’t escape to the country.
Victoria’s two weeks of low infection rates has prompted Premier Daniel Andrews to indicate the possibility that regional Victoria could jump two steps out of lockdown by mid-next week.
This will mean, among other things, that regional residents would very soon be able to go out for a coffee or meal.
Mr Andrews said he wasn’t worried about Melbourne residents trying to get to regional areas because travel limits of 5km are still in place in the city for some time.
But he said police checkpoints on key roads out of Melbourne could be bolstered to ensure compliance.
“It may go to a new level to make sure that only those who absolutely need to be travelling into country Victoria are doing that,” he said.
Seven more deaths and 41 fresh cases is the latest COVID-19 snapshot from Victoria.
The figures released on Sunday for the past 24 hours take the state’s death toll to 723 and the national count to 810 since the start of the pandemic.
The number of new diagnoses keeps the state on track for its plan to ease lockdown restrictions in coming weeks. Regional Victoria is expected to ease its restrictions within days.
The strain of lockdown on young Victorians is visible in hospital and mental health helpline statistics when compared to the same period in 2019.
Young people presenting to emergency for intentional self-harm and suicidal ideation is higher than the same period last year by 27 per cent.
Mental health support via telephone has risen by 31 per cent.
