As Victorians enter a new week, all eyes are on the number of COVID-19 cases that are discovered, as it may be the surest indicator on when the state’s latest lockdown will end.
Since Thursday when the seven-day lockdown was enforced, the state has seen a number of single-digit days, including five on Monday.
Victorians can leave their homes for five reasons, including to go get vaccinated.
Amid the fourth lockdown to hit the city since the start of the pandemic, how are business owners and Chinese community members in Melbourne responding?
The business owner
Li Pingkang, owner of Hunanese restaurant Taste Hunan in Burwood in Melbourne’s east, says he no longer feels it is strange going into lockdown since this is the fourth time he’s done it since last year.
He says from the start of the pandemic, his business has already withstood several tests and most restaurants already have a way to respond, such as utilising group buying discounts, where an order is placed only after a minimum number of people commit to an offer.
“Last year’s lockdown was so long so we’re familiar with this road. You can say the lockdown brings more opportunities for some restaurants,” Mr Li says.
Hunanese restaurant owner, Li Pingkang. Source: Li Pingkang
“Right now, the city has very few international students. The suburban restaurants are all going gangbusters while the city ones are really quiet. But when there’s a lockdown and restaurants do group deals, restaurants in both the city and the suburbs break even,” he says.
“A lot of international Chinese students in the city tend to eat Western cuisine, eat brunch, but when they go on the food delivery apps, they can’t necessarily order Western food.
“Take out places that offer hot pot and barbeque meat have been impacted more. You could say those who sell more regular Chinese food have seen more customers.”
Another ‘break’ for the property market?
Jerry Zhu, the head of a small real estate company in Melbourne, says after the decision to lock down the city on Thursday, his company cancelled all property inspections and auctions scheduled for the weekend.
He says the event impacts all aspects of his business.
"Many auctions this weekend will be cancelled or postponed because there are limitations to online auctions and not all agents know how to conduct online auctions,” Mr Zhu says.
He says in Victoria all bidders need to register before taking part in an auction, so some vendors who may have been concerned about the bidder’s credibility either rushed auctioned their property on Thursday before restrictions took effect or postponed it because they didn’t want an online auction.
“Today I was meant to rent out a place, but the renter said it was inconvenient for them to move out because they didn’t have enough time, so the start of their lease has also been pushed back,” Mr Zhu says.
“A VCAT tribunal was meant to be held on June 3. Now the judges say they’re not available to work, so the hearing is likely to be postponed as well.”
Jody Yuan, who works for a large real estate company, says Melbourne's housing market has gained stable momentum and believes the seven-day lockdown won't have a big impact.
"We quickly made arrangements to move part of the weekend auction to this evening (Thursday), and some will change to private sales," Ms Yuan says.
“Some will go to an online auction. We conducted early investigations of buyers’ identities. We’ve become accustomed to these sorts of procedures since the second and third lockdowns.
“It’s a seller's market right now. If everyone still has FOMO, then there will still be the same level of competition.”
Rationally shopping, no panicking
There were waves of panic shopping across the country at the beginning of the pandemic last year.
Like other states, in Victoria toilet paper, canned food and other every day staples all ran out soon after each lockdown was announced.
Many Chinese community members in Melbourne told SBS Chinese that shoppers are more "rational" this time around.
Expectant mother Lynne Leung says she’s now used to lockdowns so working from home is becoming much easier.
On Thursday, she said she drove to pick up items she ordered through a group discount platform before the five-kilometre rule took effect.
Lynne Leung has become accustomed to lockdowns. Source: Lynne Leung
Ms Leung says she purchased a large number of daily necessities and food during the previous lockdowns and this time added freezable items to the stockpile in case of emergencies.
She says the pandemic has changed her shopping habits, and she’s now used to buying more food to put into the freezer.
A Chinese employee of a butcher shop, who asks not to be named, says that many people on Thursday had bought a large amount of meat.
Lynne Leung has bought more freezable items for the fourth lockdown. Source: Lynne Leung
She says the shop was usually quieter on Thursdays, but yesterday was as busy as the weekend.
When people “grabbed meat uncontrollably” in previous lockdowns, this time they were more selective.
People in lockdown are buying large amounts of meat. Source: Hiu Ching
Are the toilet paper shelves empty?
The toilet paper shelf is often the first to be emptied after the announcement of a lockdown. What is the psychology behind this trend?
Chinese community member Sonia says she learned from the previous lockdown experience and felt that there would always be a supply and wouldn't need to worry about stockpiling.
She says she went to replenish toilet roll supplies only after discovering she had two rolls left. However, later she found that not everyone thinks like her.
Her husband discovered that at the supermarket nearby, all the cheap and large packets of toilet paper rolls had all sold out.
“We’re used to buying a large pack of 48 rolls at a time, now we can only get our hands on 12,” she says.
Sonia has also been driving her own car, rather than using public transport during the pandemic while avoiding COVID-19 hotspots.
Toilet paper has run out again in some Melbourne supermarkets. Source: Hiu Ching
With the current outbreak, Sonia says she’s still hesitant and will wait to get vaccinated after hearing about fatal cases.
On Friday, people between the ages of 40-49 also became eligible for the Pfizer vaccine.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said metropolitan Melbourne had been declared a national hotspot and urged Victorians to get vaccinated.
He also said that Victoria is dealing with a "more spreadable virus".
"The other important element of the situation in Victoria is one of the designated World Health Organization variants of concerns. This is related to the outbreak that’s happening in India right now, in terms of a more transmissible virus.”
There were 16,752 vaccine doses administered through state-run sites and 11 new cases reported on Monday, including four in aged care.
