MELBOURNE CURFEW LIFTED

People confined to within 5km of their homes, says state premier

AN overnight curfew in A u s t r a l i a’ s s e c o n d - largest city will be lifted this week, officials said yesterday, even as the global coronavirus toll inched towards one million dead.

Despite the number of infections worldwide passing 32 million — with New York reporting a fresh spike — more than 10,000 anti-lockdown protesters demonstrated in London ahead of the re-imposition of restrictions there.

In more positive news, residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan, where the virus emerged last year, reported a hesitant return to normalcy.

In Australia, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Melbourne residents would be free from today to leave their homes for work, exercise, shop for essentials, or provide care after active cases in the state fell below 400 for the first time since June 30.

The relaxation of the curfew, imposed on Aug 2, comes after 16 new infections and two deaths were reported yesterday.

People will still be confined to within 5km of their homes, and fines for breaching other restrictions will be increased to almost A$5,000.

Andrews said several other restrictions, including on religious services and childcare centres, would also be lifted.

It was a different story in the UK, now battling to contain a mounting second wave, as thousands marched in London on Saturday against Covid-19 restrictions.

At least 10 people were arrested as police moved in with batons to disperse more than 10,000 protesters gathered at Trafalgar Square.

Last week week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government imposed a ban on gatherings of more than six people and ordered pubs and restaurants to close at 10pm in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, which has claimed 42,000 lives in the country, making it the worst-affected nation in Europe.

In India, meanwhile, infections closed in on six million yesterday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on people to keep wearing face masks in public.

“They are potent tools to save the life of every citizen,” he said.

Health Ministry figures showed that the total number of cases had risen to 5,992,532.

India is expected to take over the United States, which has reported more than seven million cases so far, as the worst-hit country in the next few weeks.