Covid-19 lockdown: Lygon St celebrations stark difference to Sydney

Agony and ecstasy was felt in the streets of Melbourne this morning with Victorians allowed to celebrate or mourn the loss of the Euro 2020 final while Sydneysiders were stuck at home.

The Sydney lockdown was felt intensely by Italians and English in Sydney this morning with the strict stay at home orders preventing them from supporting their teams in pubs and clubs.

Meanwhile, flares were lit in Melbourne’s Lygon street with hundreds of fans basking in the win of the Italian side.

No masks were in sight as fans hugged and danced.

The images will sting for those stuck in Sydney.

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian had already flagged she expects the amount of locally transmitted Covid-19 cases to top 100 today with a likely extension of the current lockdown.

The citywide shutdown was initially expected to end on Friday but now seems unlikely with community transmission still spreading the virus.

Premier Berejiklian said the length of the lockdown is down to Sydneysiders.

“We are not asking for much, I don’t believe, given the situation we are all in,” Berejiklian said. “If everybody does the right thing, we will get out of this as soon as we can.

“But if people continue to flout the rules, that is our biggest risk of a prolonged lockdown and none of us want to see that.”

Victoria slammed its border shut to NSW last night after a meeting between Premier Dan Andrews and health officials.

“With case numbers continuing to increase in New South Wales, Victorian public health authorities are concerned about the risks of transmission beyond current red zones in Greater Sydney and surrounds, and the potential risks this poses to the Victorian community from people entering our state,” a Victorian Department of Health statement read.

“This means the Victorian border is effectively closed to New South Wales and the ACT – except for Victorian residents returning on a red zone permit for 14 days of quarantine, and for people with exemptions, exceptions or other valid permits (such as specified workers and cross-border residents).”