Vic premier furious over Melbourne beach crowds

Police patrol at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne yesterday. Photo: Getty
Police patrol at St Kilda Beach in Melbourne yesterday. Photo: Getty
Police are remaining vigilant at Melbourne's beaches after a furious premier slammed "selfish" residents not wearing masks and failing to maintain social distance.

Patrols will continue at St Kilda Beach after large groups flouted restrictions on Friday, raising concerns that such behaviour could thwart the state's Covid-19 recovery.

"No one has the right to break the rules and potentially put at risk everything that good, decent law-abiding Victorians have created, have built," Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said on Saturday.

"All of their sacrifice has to be worth something."

"Spending time at the beach without a mask, without social distancing now will just mean that you won't get to go to the beach for all of summer. It just doesn't make any sense."

Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said disobeying restrictions was "an insult to everyone who's done it tough for months and months and months".

Both men have repeatedly urged the Melbourne population to remain disciplined, especially as warm, spring weather tempts people out of their homes.

Victoria's daily case average continues to trend down, with the two-week rolling daily average at 12 cases.

The state reported three more Covid-19 deaths and eight more cases on Saturday, taking the state toll to 805 and national death count to 893.

There have been 11 cases with an unknown source in the fortnight to Wednesday.

A cluster of cases at The Butcher Club inside southeast Melbourne's Chadstone Shopping Centre has grown to 17.

The premier has challenged Victorians to consider the potential impact of a cluster in such a large, busy setting and used it to illustrate why restrictions cannot yet ease.

A significant easing of restrictions may occur on October 19, but authorities are looking for the daily case average to drop to five.

Police continue to nab people who refuse to obey health directions, issuing 82 fines in the 24 hours to Saturday.

Recent breaches include two men from regional Victoria on their way to Melbourne to attend a strip club, only to realise no such premises were open.

Comments

Neither Manly in New South Wales nor Victoria.