By Alesha Capone
Thousands of jobs could be permanently lost in Wyndham after the state government introduced stage four restrictions this week in a bid to halt the spread of coronavirus.
All retail businesses have been ordered to close for at least six weeks, leaving thousands of workers without a job.
Under the lockdown, residents must obey an 8pm to 5am curfew, unless they are going to or from work, or to give or receive essential care.
But it is local businesses that will be hardest hit, with the shutdown to affect the retail, manufacturing and construction sectors.
“As heartbreaking as it is to close down places of employment … that is what we have to do in order to stop the spread of this wildly infectious virus, this deadly virus,” Premier Daniel Andrews said.
Under the new restrictions, which take effect from midnight on Wednesday, shops, some manufacturing and administration must close.
Cafes and restaurants can still serve takeaway and local stores such as butchers, fruit and vegetable and bakeries can still operate.
Supermarkets, bottle shops, pharmacies, petrol stations, banks, post offices and news agencies will stay open, but most other shops, including department stores, hairdressers, and furniture and homeware stores, will close their doors from midnight on Wednesday, with trading limited to click-and-collect services for online shoppers.
Committee for Wyndham chief executive Barbara McClure said the stage four lockdown will have “an enormous impact“ on the municipality’s businesses, many of which would see a reduced number of customers or have to shut down completely.
“I think it’s going to be a really, really difficult time ahead,“ Ms McClure said.
She said that while a lot of businesses were starting to use online methods to keep trading, others would see a drop in foot traffic in main shopping areas.
“It’s going to be all the incremental things that will make a difference, whether it’s that $3 cup of coffee or a $50 plate of sandwiches for the leadership meeting which we won’t be ordering now,“ she said.
Ms McClure said that the uncertainty of what lies ahead was also a major factor in the business world, and a lack of local connections as more people started to work from home and the streets became emptier.
Wyndham mayor Josh Gilligan said: “These latest restrictions sum up why 2020 will be the toughest year of our lives.
“The economic and social shock of this virus will live with us for a generation.“
Cr Gilligan said that since the beginning of the pandemic, the council “has placed the health of our residents and the resilience of our business community at the heart of every decision we have made“.
“We’re delivering online health and educational services to residents, as well as direct food support through our Community Kitchen with over 8500 ready-made meals delivered to hundreds of residents particularly those who have caught the virus,“ he said.
“Councillors are actively considering further measures we can implement to support households and businesses through this crisis.“
Meanwhile, several people have been fined for flouting pandemic restrictions in and around Wyndham.
On Monday, Victoria Police reported that they had issued hundreds of fines to individuals for breaching the Chief Health Officer directions within the past week.
This included a group of people who celebrated a birthday at a short-term rental in Point Cook at the weekend.
A separate party, hosted by another Wyndham resident with 10 guests, was also detected by police at the weekend.
With the past week, police have also fined a man travelled from Thornbury to Werribee to get a haircut; a Norlane man who was intercepted in Werribee while driving to Colac; and a car of four passengers from the Wyndham area, who told police at a road checkpoint that they wanted to go fishing in Geelong.
As of Monday, there were 744 active COVID-19 cases in Wyndham. Neighbouring Brimbank had 749 cases.
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, a total of 185 virus cases have been linked to Al-Taqwa College in Truganina.
Sixty-two cases have been linked to the Glendale Aged Care Facility in Werribee and 55 cases have been linked to BaptCare Wyndham Lodge in Werribee
Thirty-one cases have been linked to the Linfox Warehouse in Truganina and 13 cases have been linked to Diamond Valley Pork in Laverton North.
A Mercy Health spokesperson said that Werribee Mercy Hospital was collaborating with other public hospitals in Melbourne’s west to provide isolation wards and treatment for COVID-19 patients, and patients who are suspected of having the virus.
“The arrangement between hospitals enables a more extensive flow of patients to be processed and sent to the facility which has the greatest capacity at a particular time,” the spokesperson said.
