Melbourne locked down yet again as virus surges

THE 5 million residents of Australia’s second-biggest city, Melbourne, have been ordered back into lockdown after a surge in coronavirus cases yesterday.

Victorian state Premier Daniel Andrews announced a six-week lockdown would begin today warning “we can’t pretend” the virus crisis is over.

It is the first such spike in Australia since the virus was believed to have been suppressed countrywide in April, and is a brutal reminder that risks remain even as life returns to normal.

After the south-eastern city detected 191 new cases in 24 hours, Andrews said there were now too many to trace properly, so restrictions were needed.

“These are unsustainably high numbers,” he said. “No one wanted to be in this position. I know there will be enormous amounts of damage that will be done because of this. It will be very challenging.”

Residents will be restricted to their homes except for work, exercise, medical care or to buy essentials.

Most students will return to remote learning while restaurants and cafes will be limited to serving takeaway food.

Experts have warned that people will have to get used to the “new normal” of on-andoff restrictions as new clusters emerge and subside.

But there is growing concern that most of Melbourne’s new cases are not directly linked to residents returning from overseas.

“The situation we are in is more serious than late March, because we have community transmission, which is much harder to track than infection in return travelers,” said Raina MacIntyre, a biosecurity expert at the University of New South Wales.

“People all over Australia must accept the gravity of the situation and play their part.”

Although the lockdown covers the Melbourne metropolitan area, the entire state of Victoria was effectively sealed off from the rest of the country from last night, as state borders closed.

Hours before the closures, residents were still trying to secure permits to cross into Victoria for work or essential business.

Police and the military say they will patrol dozens of border crossings and use drones and other aircraft to check borders with other states, where the virus has been contained.

(AFP)