Melbourne back into lockdown as coronavirus cases continue to rise

Melbourne and some nearby regions in Australia are going back into lockdown after a surge in coronavirus cases.

As of midnight on Wednesday, people who live in Melbourne, its greater suburbs and those who live in the northern area of Mitchell Shire will be placed back under stage three restrictions for six weeks.

The south-eastern state of Victoria had some of the nation’s toughest pandemic measures and was among the most reluctant to lift its restrictions when the worst of the outbreak seemed to have passed.

But as most of the country emerges from pandemic restrictions, the virus has resumed spreading at an alarming rate in Victoria’s capital, and the nation’s second-largest city.

The Government recorded 191 new Covid-19 cases on Tuesday, its highest spike since the pandemic began. Another 127 infections were recorded on Monday.

The return of stage three restrictions mean that students will go back to learning from home, except for senior secondary students and special schools.

Residents must not leave their homes except for work, exercise or essential medical care and they are restricted from gathering in groups of more than two.

Medical staff perform a coronavirus test on a resident of one of nine public housing estates locked down due a spike in infection numbers in Melbourne
AFP via Getty Images

Businesses can remain open with limits to how many people can enter the properties, and hairdressers will also remain open.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the local lockdown was an attempt to prevent the spread of cases throughout the rest of Victoria.

He said the exact city boundaries will be set out by the Environment Department later today.

"Regional Victoria has very few cases, and vast parts have no cases," said the Premier. "This is designed to keep it that way."

A graphic is seen showing the areas of Melbourne that will be required to go into lock down as Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews speaks to reporters on Tuesday
Getty Images

Premier Andrews added it was time to "face the reality" of the situation.

He said: "We've talked about this virus being like a public health bushfire.

"By putting a ring around metropolitan Melbourne, we're essentially putting in place a perimeter to protect regional Victorians.

Police guard access to housing commission apartments under lockdown in Melbourne
AP

"This is not where any of us wanted to be, but we have to face the reality of our situation. To do anything else would have deadly consequences."

The state of Victoria had already locked down nine public housing towers and three more Melbourne suburbs after 108 infections on Saturday.

“The amount of police officers makes us feel like we’re criminals,” said a resident of one of the buildings, Nada Osman. “It’s overwhelming. It’s scary. It’s like we’re caged in.”

Forty suburbs that are virus hot spots have been locked down by postal code since last week, meaning that businesses and households in some areas face restrictions while ones across the street from them do not.

The border between New South Wales (NSW) and Victoria closed for an indefinite period of time for the first time in 100 years

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her Government's decision to close its border marks a new phase in the country's coronavirus pandemic.

She said: “What is occurring in Victoria has not yet occurred anywhere else in Australia.

"It’s a new part of the pandemic and, as such, it requires a new type of response.”

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