Twenty-nine Victorians are currently in hospital with coronavirus, and four are currently in intensive care.
Premier Daniel Andrews this morning reiterated his message to all Victorians to stay at home, as the number of cases of coronavirus has increased by 136 to 821 over the last two days.
Victorians will face on the spot fines of $1652 for individuals and $9913 for businesses.
Across the state, gatherings will now be restricted to two members, including at home.
The two-person limit in Victoria does not apply to people who live in the same house, and excludes workplaces and schools.
The Premier said Victorians “must stay home”.
“After midnight tonight, once we move to the to-person rule ... police won’t hesitate to [fine people] ... no questions asked,” he declared.
“This is going to happen, we’re not mucking about.
“This is very serious, we can’t have our health system overrun, we can’t have people die.
“There are many complex things in the world, this is not one of them: stay at home.”
Andrews urged Victorians to adhere to the new restrictions.
“If you are outside in your backyard, gathering more than two people, having friends over for dinner or drinks that are not members of the household, you are breaking the law,” he said.
“No gathering with friends is worth someone’s life.
“This isn’t just about grandma, it’s about all of us ... unless you want to be burying your grandma or your mates or your parents, who are older, stay at home.”
Andrews said public transport would still be operational, but should only be used for essential trips.
“You should be using public transport only if you have to use public transport because you should be staying at home unless you’re going to work, going to get medical care going to get exercise which should be limited and going shopping for things you need when you need them,” he said.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said that the new measures are necessary to flatten the curve.
“This is our time to do the right thing to avoid transmission because now when numbers relatively low is when we can flatten that curve,” he said.
“We are doing as well as anywhere in the world now for flattening the curve.
“But no complacency here, we continue to increase by 50, 80, 100 a day and that will continue until we can bring in the physical distancing we’re really emphasising.
“We will still double every week until we do more.”
Morrison said he could not rule out a fourth stage of restrictions.
“As long as we see additional cases each day we have to consider next steps,” he said.
