Ahead of lockdown, all Victorians’ plans in disarray

It was a mad scramble but, instead of being forced to cancel their wedding, one Melbourne couple managed to bring the event forward by a day to avoid Victoria’s “circuit-breaker” lockdown.

On Friday night, he married Sarah Levchenko (now Sarah Lazer) in a park, one day earlier than planned, to avoid Victoria’s snap, five-day coronavirus lockdown, which started at 11:59pm.

Valentine’s Day in disarray

While the couple count themselves lucky to have been able to celebrate their love, many florists across Victoria were in a state of shock to learn of the lockdown, coming just two days from Valentine’s Day — one of their biggest days of the year.

Florist Michael Pavlou, who has two stores in Melbourne, said the impact of the “circuit-breaker” shutdown was devastating.

Restaurant industry suffering

Omar El Deek owns two Italian restaurants in South Yarra, Cosi Bar Ristorante and Cucinetta, and said the lockdown meant he would need to cancel bookings for 500 people.

He said news of the lockdown came as a huge blow on the eve of what would have been the busiest weekend of the year, with Valentine’s Day and the Australian Open tennis.

His staff will miss shifts and food will have to be binned.

Business warns of ‘rocked confidence’

Business groups said Victorian businesses were again being asked to pay the price for shortcomings in Victoria’s hotel quarantine system.

Chief executive of the Victorian Employers Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VECCI) Paul Guerra said the five-day lockdown announcement had caused “pandemonium” and extreme business uncertainty, which he said was having a “massive impact” on small businesses.