On 8 July 2020, the Deputy Chief Health Officer issued ‘Stay at Home Directions (Restricted Areas)‘. These Directions replaced the ‘(Restricted Postcodes)’ directions that applied previously.
You can read the actual instrument and the details of these latest directions HERE.
The ‘Preamble’ to this Instrument says that these Directions, are to be read together with:
- Restricted Activity Directions (Restricted Areas);
- Area Directions (No.3);
- Stay Safe Directions (No.4); Diagnosed Persons and Close Contacts Directions (No.4);
- Hospital Visitor Directions (No.7); and
- Care Facilities Directions (No.6).
These various directions plus the extension of the current ‘Declaration of State of Emergency’ through to 11.59pm 19 July 2020 can be found HERE at the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services ‘Coronavirus’ page of its website.
This is a very useful site as it has all declarations and directions – current and superseded, made under the Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008.
The Department of Premier and Cabinet advises that although the government announced that it intends that these restrictions be in place for six weeks, directions under Victoria’s Public Health and Wellbeing Act 2008 can only be made to apply within a current declared State of Emergency (SOE) period. The current SOE period ends on 19 July 2020 – see the SOE attached HERE.
Fresh directions would be issued upon the extension of the SOE, assuming that’s the advice of the Chief Health Officer, Minister and Commissioner.
[Source: Victorian Bar – COVID-19 Update Number 44, issued 9 July 2020]
Posted 10.7.20