Hundreds flout mask rules on the dance floor of a packed Melbourne bar as Victoria battles new coronavirus outbreak with 41 cases so far
Hundreds of Melburnians have packed into a busy bar without a mask in sight, despite Victoria battling a new Covid-19 outbreak with 41 active cases.
Shocking video posted to social media showed revellers dancing shoulder to shoulder inside Electric Bar in Prahran.
'How good's Melbourne. Full house as always,' the video was captioned.
The brazen move comes despite Victorians being required by law to wear masks indoors unless they are eating or drinking.
Electric Bar has since taken to Instagram to remind patrons that masks need to be worn at all times.
A shocking video posted to social media showed revellers without face masks dancing shoulder to shoulder inside Electric Bar in Prahran
Venues found flouting the measures face on-the-spot fines of up to $10,000, with $200 fines for individuals who don't wear masks. Pictured: Electric Bar in Prahran
'Hey friends, gentle reminder that tonight, like every night, no mask no entry,' the post read.
'You can your mask off while you drink, and chances are you'll be drinking, because we're a bar.'
Social distancing rules requiring patrons to keep 1.5m apart also appeared to be ignored at the popular bar.
Venues found flouting the measures face on-the-spot fines of up to $10,000, with $200 fines for individuals who don't wear masks.
Mask rules were all but scrapped after Victoria went weeks without a new case, but were reinstated indoors as the virus returned recently.
Victoria on Wednesday diagnosed its first mystery case of coronavirus in almost three months, raising the alarm further.
This prompted calls for tens of thousands of cricket fans and Boxing Day shoppers to get tested after they were potentially exposed.
A man in his 30s is believed to have caught the virus after attending sales at Chadstone Shopping Centre on Boxing Day and the second day of the test at the MCG a day later.
Tracing the source of the mystery case has been described by the state's COVID response commander Jeroen Weimar as a 'needle in a haystack exercise', presenting a challenge to contact tracing.
It's the first case of unknown transmission since early November.
There are currently 41 active cases, including 27 linked to the Black Rock cluster
A lengthy streak at the end of the deadly second wave emboldened health officials in easing restrictions and signing off on a 30,000-strong crowd for each day for the Australia-India Test.
As many as 8,000 people who were seated in zone five of the Great Southern Stand on the afternoon of December 27 have been asked to get tested and isolate until they return a negative results.
Shoppers at 10 Chadstone stores between 6am and 2pm on Boxing Day have been issued with the same advice.
Victorians have been turning out to get tested in whopping numbers.
There were 37,509 swabs processed on Tuesday, on top of 32,000 more on each of the two previous days.
There are 38 active cases, including 27 linked to the Black Rock cluster.