Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews has announced the entire state will go into a snap five-day lockdown from 11:59 PM tonight following concerns of a growing cluster in the Holiday Inn hotel quarantine system.
Mr Andrews said the lockdown would act as a circuit-breaker for the hyper-infectious UK variant which the premier warned must be assumed to be in the community.
"Victorians will be well-familiar with the term 'UK strain/UK variant' of concern. We have talked about this for a long time, because it is so hyper-infectious, and moves so fast, that it is presenting a very, very real challenge to our status," he said.
"It is moving at a velocity that has not been seen anywhere in our country over the course of these last 12 months.
"The challenge that I have, and the challenge that all of us will have to confront, is that if we wait for this theory - that it might be out there, there might be more cases than we know about - if we wait for that to be proven correct, it will be too late."
Under the stage-four restrictions, Victorians will only be permitted to leave home to shop for essentials, caregiving for compassionate reasons, for essential work or permitted education - when it cannot be done from home, and for exercise for two hours a day with household members, an intimate partner, or one person from another household.
Residents must remain within five kilometres of their home other than when travelling to work or to go shopping for essentials that cannot be obtained within the radius.
Masks must be worn everywhere other than in homes with no private gatherings permitted.
Schools would close but childcare and early childhood centres would remain open.
Higher education would be closed as well as special events, places of worship, religious gatherings, and ceremonies.
Funerals may involve no more than 10 people and weddings were not permitted unless on compassionate grounds.
