As we start our working week under clear blue skies I would like to outline Melbourne's Stage 4 restrictions that serve as a reminder for us all to be aware of how quickly our somewhat normal life can change very quickly.

From 6pm last Night Melburnian residents were under a State of Disaster and a State of Emergency. This means that the Victorian Government has introduced their strictest restrictions yet, including;

1. A daily curfew from 8pm to 5am preventing people from leaving their home.
2. All Victorian students have returned to on-line learning.
3. All Melbourne childcare centres will be closed by Thursday.

The warning from the Premier was, if Victoria did not take these strict measures now then Stage 3 Restrictions would be in place until the end of the year.

That would result in the likely closure of many small businesses.

Businesses in Melbourne will operate largely the same for supermarkets, butchers, green grocers, take away food outlets and pharmacies. These businesses may be asked to reduce output which would lead to less shifts to reduce contact between workers. Other businesses will be asked to work from home and if they cannot the business will be asked to close.

With Victorian coronavirus cases still at very high levels 671, 397 and 723 plus over 20 deaths this should serve as a reminder that we are not out of the woods in Northern NSW.

It is easy to become complacent with the social distancing rules and not being tested if you start to experience COVID like symptoms like a sore throat, cough or runny nose.

We don't want to see our local businesses threatened any more than has already happened this year let alone experience more restrictions to our life.