As the day unfolded: ACT records new COVID-19 cases all linked to Victorian outbreak; Melbourne lockdown preparation begins as NSW border closed

Businesses can be fined up to $55,000 for breaching COVID safety warnings and public health orders, with an additional $27,500 penalty for each day the offence occurs. They can also face $5000 on the spot fines, of which nine have been issued to NSW businesses during the pandemic.

In the popular food district along Newtown’s King St, some businesses have gone to great lengths to follow social distancing and hygiene guidelines while others have been less diligent.

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“It’s not about being popular, it’s about doing what has to be done.”

The Premier also said that chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton was looking closely at making facemasks mandatory.

“It’s a big step, but one that he’s considering actively,” Mr Andrews said.

Commenting on the Moriah College student a NSW Health spokesperson said “the initial test indicated the case was positive, and NSW Health responded quickly and in a precautionary manner to contain the risk of spread of the disease.”

The spokesperson also gave some insight into the process of determining whether a case is a false-positive.

“Further investigation and testing, including blood tests, have been unable to provide additional evidence to confirm the infection.

In accordance with NSW Health practice in cases where there is any uncertainty in the laboratory results, an expert panel of virologists, infectious diseases and public health specialists was convened to review the case,” they said in a statement.

“The panel was of the opinion that the result was most likely a false positive,” the spokesperson said. “COVID-19 is a new disease, and while laboratory testing and diagnostics are very accurate, the pattern of individual people's response to the disease and their test results can vary,” they said.

“In the interests of protecting the health of both the individuals and wider community, people with positive test results [are] treated as infectious while more information is gathered about the case.”

He kept the motel open during the previous lockdown to accommodate essential workers and others, including tradespeople, allowed to continue working.

During that time his revenue fell to about 20 per cent of its usual level, he said.

The motel lies just north of the Seymour township in Mitchell Shire, which was included in the lockdown alongside the rest of Melbourne.

On Wednesday, there were eight active cases in the shire.

The motel has 20 rooms and sleeps 36 people.

On Wednesday, only four of the rooms were booked – all for tradespeople.

Mr Kandel said tradespeople provided his greatest income stream and often stayed at the motel while working in Seymour or other surrounding towns.

In the previous lockdown, bookings plummeted but the motel was never completely empty. Mr Kandel said it was up to him to ensure appropriate hygiene and physical distancing measures were maintained.

"It’s on us to do our own policing."

Mr Kandel told The Age he received $10,000 in financial assistance from the state government but that barely covered his costs for two weeks.

He said overheads remained substantial because rooms still needed to be maintained and cleaned to prevent them from falling into disrepair and to keep out insects.

Mr Kandel, who has run the business for almost five years, said both the federal and state governments had generally done well in navigating the pandemic.

However, he believed they should provide more targeted financial support for the tourism sector and accommodation providers.