Compensate businesses hit by snap COVID lockdown, says Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

Victoria’s peak business group says companies should get compensation or assistance for being thrown into disarray as a result of the state’s snap five-day coronavirus lockdown.

From midnight Friday businesses deemed non-essential were forced to close and Victorians urged to stay home as the state grappled with an outbreak of the UK strain of the virus.

The announcement came on the eve of a weekend in which many were preparing to celebrate Valentine’s Day and Lunar New Year, disrupting…