Covid 19 coronavirus: Victorian family's savage death notice

The death notice published in The Age. Photo / Supplied

A grieving family has taken aim at Victoria's continued harsh lockdown restrictions in a death notice published in The Age.

The notice starts off normal enough, commemorating Peter Mitchell, a husband, father and grandfather who was "an exceptional man with an exceptional mind, wit and heart", and died on Monday.

But it takes a sudden savage turn in its conclusion, stating, "Memorial Service to be held when the dictator is overthrown."

Under metropolitan Melbourne's current stage four lockdown – one of the toughest in the world – funerals are restricted to 10 mourners, plus those required to conduct the funeral.

While he's not mentioned by name, the "dictator" the notice is likely referring to is Premier Daniel Andrews, who has faced a barrage of criticism since announcing Victoria's lockdown exit plan on Sunday.

Andrews has been criticised by everyone from the PM to former football stars over his roadmap, which will see Victoria undergo a "slow and steady" easing of restrictions.

"All I can say to people is if anger and frustration were like a vaccine against this virus, then we would all be in a much better position," he told reporters this morning.

"We would all like to be open tomorrow. Myself included. But to do that is not an act of leadership, that is to cave to some of the pressure that is there, to be driven by anger instead of epidemiology, to be driven by opinion instead of science and data and doctors. That is not what I'm about."