A second lockdown currently in place the Australian city of Melbourne and its surroundings has been extended by two weeks, with officials saying new Covid-19 cases had not dropped enough.
Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews said the restrictions would be in place until September 28, with a slight relaxation.
A gradual easing of the measures will be implemented from October.
Victoria has been the epicenter of Australia’s second wave, accounting for 90% of the country’s 753 deaths.
Australia has recorded a total of 26,000 cases in a population of 25 million.
The greater Melbourne area entered a second lockdown on July 9 after a rise in cases. A 3 mile travel limit and night time curfew was imposed while shops and businesses were closed.
The current stage four lockdown was originally set to end on September 13.
Melbourne’s curfew will be expanded from 21:00 to 05:00. Single people will be allowed to form a bubble and visit each other, and the current travel limit will not apply to these meetings.
Premier Andrews said at a news conference: “There is only one option and that is to do this in a series of steady and safe steps. You can’t run out of lockdown. Because all you are doing is running into a third wave and we’ll all be locked up again.
“We can’t open up at this time. If we were to we would lose control very quickly… I want a Christmas that is as close to normal as possible and this is the only way, these steps are the only way that we will get to that point.”
If the daily average number of cases is between 30 and 50 by September 28, Melbourne will enter stage three of restrictions.
Under this stage, public gatherings will increase to five people from two households and there will be a staged return to schools for some years and specialist schools.
If the daily average number of cases falls below five by October 26, then the curfew would be ended.
Outside of the greater Melbourne area, the rest of Victoria State will have restrictions eased slightly quicker.
From September 13, up to five people from two households will be able to gather outdoors. Outdoor pools and playgrounds will open and religious services can be conducted outdoors with a maximum of five people.
The announcement comes a day after anti-lockdown protests were attended by hundreds of people across Australia.
In Melbourne, about 300 people marched through the city in defiance of the measures.
Premier Andrews said: “It is selfish to protest and it is unlawful. Any behavior from anyone that contributes to more virus than less and more restrictions than less is not in anyone’s interests.”
New lockdown measures have been imposed in the Australian state of Victoria after a surge in coronavirus infections.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the restrictions would come into effect on August 2 at 18:00.
Under the new rules, residents of the state capital Melbourne will be subject to a night-time curfew.
Melbourne’s stay-at-home order will be enhanced, giving residents fewer exemptions for leaving home.
Residents will not be allowed to travel further than 3 miles from their home, exercise will be restricted to once a day, and one person will be able to go shopping for essentials at a time.
After early success in suppressing the new coronavirus, Australia has had fewer cases than many other countries, recording about 17,000 infections and 200 deaths.
However, cases are rising rapidly in Victoria, accounting for many of Australia’s new infections in recent weeks, promoting the return of lockdown restrictions in early July.
On August 2, Victoria reported 671 new Covid-19 cases and seven deaths. Those increases brought the totals to 11,557 infections and 123 deaths.
PM Andrews said the lockdown measures introduced in Victoria – Australia’s second most populous state – were working but too slowly.
“We must do more. We must go harder. It’s the only way we’ll get to the other side of this,” he said at a news conference.
He said the changes to lockdown rules announced on August 2 will remain in place until at least September 13.
PM Andrews said Melbourne will move into stage-four restrictions on August 2, placing further limits on the movement of people.
That will include a night-time curfew, which will be implemented across Melbourne from 20:00 to 05:00 from August 2.
The only reasons for leaving home during these hours will be work, medical care or care-giving.
Melbourne residents will only be allowed to shop and exercise within 3 miles of their home. Exercise outside of the home will only be allowed for one hour at a time.
Melbourne, Australia’s second-largest city, has begun a second lockdown in response to a spike in new coronavirus infections.
The five million Melbourne’s residents will be barred from leaving home for six weeks, except for essential reasons.
Police say they are setting up a “ring of steel” around the city, with “checkpoints anytime and anywhere” to enforce the measures.
Borders between Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, and neighboring states closed on July 7.
PM Scott Morrison paid tribute to Melbournians’ resilience on July 8.
“The rest of the country knows that the sacrifice that you’re going through right now is not just for you and your own family, but it’s for the broader Australian community,” the prime minister said during a news conference.
Scott Morrison also said he was proposing measures to slow the return of Australian nationals from overseas.
Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews announced the Melbourne lockdown on July 7 after the state saw 191 new infections, its highest daily number since the pandemic began.
The July 8 figure was down to 134, but still much higher than numbers in the rest of the country.
Australia has recorded almost 9,000 cases and 106 deaths from the virus.
Meanwhile, Australian media reported that passengers on a flight from Melbourne to Sydney disembarked on July 7 without being screened.
New South Wales state has banned travel from the greater Melbourne area except under exceptional circumstances, and the passengers should have been required to self-isolate for two weeks.
People will be kept to their homes and will only be able to leave for essential reasons, such as for work, exercise and shopping for food and other necessities.
Schools will largely return to distance learning and restaurants will, once again, only be permitted to serve takeaway food.
However, shops and hairdressers will remain open.
The lockdown covers only Melbourne and an area to the north called the Mitchell Shire, but the state as a whole has been sealed off from the neighboring states of New South Wales and South Australia.
Police and troops have been stationed at border crossings and patrol the vast borders with drones and other aircraft.
As of July 9, they will also be doing random checks on vehicles in and around the city.
For months Australia had felt optimistic about containing Covid-19 then came the resurgence of the virus in Melbourne.
Australia has announces a nationwide shutting
down for non-essential services as coronavirus cases rise rapidly in the
country.
Clubs, pubs, gyms, theaters and places of worship will be shut from midday
on March 23, while restaurants and cafes will have to switch to takeaway only.
PM Scott Morrison announced the restrictions after a national cabinet
meeting.
The number of cases in Australia has risen sharply in recent days, reaching
1,315.
New South Wales (NSW), home to Sydney, is the worst-affected state with 533
confirmed cases. Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, has 296 cases,
while Queensland has 259.
The new measures will see many businesses close but supermarkets, oil
stations, pharmacies and home delivery services will continue running.
PM Morrison said he wanted to keep schools open but parents would be able to
keep their children at home if they wished to do so.
He said: “I don’t want to see our
children lose an entire year of their education.”
Some states, including Victoria, have signaled that they want to close
schools.
Seven people have died across Australia so far from Covid-19.
The new restrictions come after large crowds gathered on Sydney’s beaches
including Bondi on March 21, flouting social distancing advice.
PM Morrison said that the federal and state governments had decided to act
because Australians were not obeying guidelines.
However, the prime minister added: “We
are not putting in place lockdowns that put people in and confine them to their
homes.
“That is not a measure that has
been contemplated at this point.”
Chief Medical Officer Brendan Murphy said people, especially the young, had
to realize that they needed to live “very differently” and stop going
out in order to control the virus.
PM Morrison also announced new
stimulus measures to boost the country’s economy.
South Australia, Western Australia
and the Northern Territory will close their borders from Tuesday. Under the new
rules, anyone arriving will be forced to self-isolate for 14 days.
Tasmania, an island state, has
already imposed similar travel restrictions.
The Australian Football League suspended its 2020 season, with no fixtures until at least May 31. The women’s league has also been halted. In contrast, the National Rugby League says it will carry on with matches as planned.
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