MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia’s second-largest resident state went into a five-day lockdown on Saturday as authorities raced to curb the third wave of COVID-19-induced cases the wide variety of diseases in the UK.
One new case found locally has been confirmed in the past 24 hours, Victoria’s health authorities said Saturday, bringing the number of active cases in the state to 20.
“Many people are being injured today. This is not the situation that Victorians wanted to be in but I cannot have a situation where we look back within two weeks, ”Premier Victoria Daniel Andrews told reporters on Saturday .
Andrews said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had agreed to suspend all international flights to Melbourne on Wednesday, after five en route, with around 100 passengers, arriving. to the floor Saturday.
This collection inspired by the renovated restraints came from a quarantine hotel at Melbourne airport.
Streets in downtown Melbourne, the state capital, and its riparian areas were virtually empty early Saturday, with people ordered to stay at home for everything but a necessary purchase, two hours of work. ‘outdoor exercise, care or work that cannot be done from home.
Among the “essential” work was continued play at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis event this year which runs until February 21, but fans were banned through Wednesday. Thousands had to leave midfield before midnight on Friday.
The lockout, which has closed restaurants and cafes to all but takes away, is just as Melbourne was preparing for the biggest weekend in almost a year, with the celebration of the Year ‘ Lunar Earth, Valentine’s Day and the open crowds of Australia.
Last year Melbourne suffered a 111-day lockout, one of the hardest and longest in the world at the time, to halt the coronavirus revolution that led to more than 800 deaths.
“This is the busiest weekend of the year for us. I’m sitting here making 178 broken phone calls to see if I can re-register them, ”said Will Baa, owner of Lover, a restaurant in the hip Windsor area.
“It simply came to our notice then. But we are resilient. Just fingers crossed that it only extends for five days, ”he said.
Australia is generally regarded as one of the most successful countries in the world in tackling pandemic, largely due to secure handcuffs and sealed borders for all. but passengers. With a population of 25 million, there have been approximately 22,200 community cases and 909 deaths.
New Zealand on Saturday reported one death of a patient with COVID-19. The person was taken to the hospital from quarantine for an unrelated condition and subsequently tested positive. That case has not yet been included in 25 COVID-19 deaths in the country.
Reciting with Sonali Paul; Edited by Michael Perry