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Melbourne will reinstate the corona virus locking for six weeks as Australia faces a potential second wave
Starting from 11:59 pm on Wednesday, residents in the Melbourne metropolitan city will no longer be allowed to leave their homes except to shop for groceries, care, exercise or work, Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews announced Tuesday.
The steps, which are expected to remain in effect for six weeks, come when the state of Victoria sees another record in daily corona virus cases, with 191 new infections recorded for Tuesday. The state reported a previous high of 127 new cases on Monday.
“We know we are at the peak of something that is very, very bad if we don’t resolve this,” Andrews told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday, describing the surge in cases as unsustainable.
“I think satisfaction has penetrated us when we let our frustrations be better than ours. I think each of us knows someone who hasn’t followed the rules as they should. I think each of us knows that we have no choice by taking steps which is very difficult, “Andrews said.
The border restrictions will also apply to the metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, Victoria’s regional region, on Wednesday night to limit the spread of outbreaks throughout the state, Andrews said.
“We have talked about this virus which is like a public health fire. By installing rings around the metropolitan Melbourne, we are basically placing a perimeter to protect regional Victoria residents,” he said in a statement.
“It’s clear we are at the peak of our second wave and we cannot let this virus penetrate our community.”
Under the new locking steps, cafes and restaurants that were allowed to reopen last week will return only to be brought home and sent. Beauty and personal services will be closed, as well as cultural and entertainment venues.
The school will extend their vacation for another week, but high school students and students in specialist schools will return to school as planned on Monday.
“This is not the place we want to be, but we must face the reality of our situation. Doing something else will have deadly consequences,” Andrews said.
Of the 191 new cases detected on Tuesday, 13 came from nine public housing units under “hard locking.”
About 3,000 residents in the densely populated tower were totally locked up late Saturday night, not allowed to leave their homes for any reason. So far, a total of 69 cases have been detected in this plantation, and the authorities aim to test each resident.
“The strategy here is to complete the test and then as soon as possible, after the test is completed, to have nine towers moved to the same footing that the rest of Melbourne will move at 11:59 p.m. tomorrow night – stay – at home with four reasons to leave,” said Andrews.
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