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The immediacy of the hard lockdown of nine public housing towers in Melbourne was not based on direct health advice and violated state human rights laws, the Victorian Ombudsman has found.
The Ombudsman s report, tabled in parliament on Thursday, said the rushed lockdown of the towers in North Melbourne and Flemington on 4 July amid spiralling coronavirus infections was not compatible with the residents human rights , an allegation disputed by the state government.
Following an outbreak of COVID-19 cases linked to the buildings, about 3,000 residents across nine towers were prevented from leaving their apartments for any reason for at least five days, in restrictions that were significantly more onerous than the wider Melbourne lockdown.