Victoria will enter a seven-day circuit breaker lockdown from 11.59pm tonight, until 11.59pm on 3 June, meaning businesses will once again shut their doors to curb the state’s growing outbreak.

Victorians will be given five reasons to leave home, including authorised work, caregiving, compassionate and medical reasons, essential shopping and exercise, and for vaccination purposes.

In news said to shock the hospitality industry, all hospitality venues will have to lock their doors at midnight tonight, but will be permitted to provide takeaway, while non-essential retail will only be open for click and collect.

Shops like supermarkets, food stores, bottle shops, banks, petrol stations and pharmacies will also remain open. 

But the news is bad for gyms, hairdressers, community facilities and entertainment venues, which have all been ordered to close. 

Hotels and accommodation can only stay open to support guests already staying onsite. No new bookings can be made – unless it’s for one a permitted purpose, like authorised work. 

Schools, too, will close, other than for children of essential workers, with childcare set to remain open.

The acting Premier also announced that the ‘five kilometres’ rule is back and masks are mandatory outdoors and indoors once again.

"It’s clear – more than ever – this virus isn’t going away. And vaccines are the only way we’ll ever get back to normal," Mr Merlino said. 

"Without full vaccination, this virus will just keep mutating – and just keep making its way back in."

Prior to James Merlino’s media conference, Melbourne’s Lord Mayor warned that another lockdown will have a big impact on businesses.

“Businesses have gone through the toughest tradition conditions in living memory and many are just starting to recover,” Sally Capp tweeted on Thursday morning.

“JobKeeper has ended, so a lockdown now will have potentially even greater impacts on our city businesses.”

The Premier has, however, hinted new financial support may soon be announced for businesses.