The message comes after the Federal government announced a stage two lockdown last night, which will see thousands more businesses close and restrictions enforced on social gatherings and religious ceremonies.
“I’m very pleased that we added significantly to the list of settings that will be closed, that we are taking appropriate action – painful, difficult action – but it is exactly what is necessary to slow the spread of this virus,” Andrews said.
“I want to tell all Victorians today there will be a stage three.
“We won’t hesitate to do what’s necessary to stop the spread of this virus.”
Andrews did not reveal what stage three lockdown measures would involve and said he would explain the new measures when they come into force.
The message from the Premier was clear – stay home to save lives.
“If you can stay at home, you must stay at home,” Andrews said.
“It is very, very simple. You should not be having friends over for a dinner party, you should not be going out shopping unless you need to.
“Shop for what you need when you need it. Kids on school holidays cannot be having friends over.
“No dinner party, no shopping trip is worth a life and if we don’t follow those rules, if we don’t use common sense and don’t fundamentally change the way we live, we will not slow the spread of this virus.
“We will not flatten the curve. Our hospital system will be overwhelmed and Victorians will die.”
Andrews said he was in constant conversation with his New South Wales counterpart Gladys Berejiklian, and the two states were in “lockstep in doing what needs to be done”.
“Our curve is very different to what's happening in other parts of the country,” he said.
Andrews added that if the state waited until there were thousands of cases before implementing stronger measures, “this thing would be so far away from us that we will look like Italy”.
