Melbourne clamps down in frantic bid to curb virus
MELBOURNE: Australia’s second-biggest city, Melbourne, already under night curfew, announced fresh restrictions on industries including retail and construction on Monday in a bid to contain a resurgence of the coronavirus.
From Wednesday night, Melbourne, the capital of Victoria state, will close retail, some manufacturing and administrative businesses as part of a six- week lockdown. The new measures are expected to double the number of jobs affected by coronavirus restrictions to around 500,000.
Having already imposed the strictest restrictions on movement, Victoria declared a “state of disaster” on Sunday, as a surge in community transmissions raised fears that the infection rate was going out of control.
Australia has fared better than many countries, with 18,361 coronavirus cases and 221 deaths from a population of 25 million.
“As heartbreaking as it is to close down places of employment ... that is what we have to do in order to stop the spread of this wildly infectious virus,” Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference. “Otherwise, we are not in for six weeks of restrictions — we’ll be in for a six-month stint.”
The latest moves in Victoria, meant production at meatworks would be cut by onethird, while construction activities and staffing at distribution centres would also be scaled back and all schools would return to remote learning.
Supermarkets will remain open along with restaurant takeaway and delivery services, but many other retail outlets will shut.
“This is a very tough day, and there are many more of those to come before we get to the other side of this,” Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told Nine News television.
The outbreak in Victoria, which makes up a quarter of the national economy, has scuppered hopes for a quick rebound from Australia’s first recession in nearly three decades.
Andrews announced A$5,000 ($3,570) payments for affected businesses and flagged more announcements about penalties, enforcement and education on Tuesday.
— AFP