Melbourne puts 300,000 people in lockdown as coronavirus cases surge - Metro.co.uk

Around 300,000 from Melbourne have been placed in lockdown due to a coronavirus outbreak (Picture: Getty Images/ EPA)

Australia is locking down around 300,000 people in Melbourne due to a spike in coronavirus cases.

Victoria has now reported 73 new Covid-19 cases, causing 10 hotspot postcodes to be placed in lockdown from midnight. The state’s premier Daniel Andrews said today that public health officials would be going door-to-door in the most affected suburbs and offering free testing to residents.

He continued: ‘I can report to you that as of last night we had knocked on some 54,000 doors in those high-risk suburbs and postcodes offering advice, testing information and in some cases the self-administering test kits where people can take the test and it can be collected at a later point.

Advertisement

Advertisement

‘There will be further door-knocking, quite intensive door-knocking and there will be an update to this end each and every day.’

Advertisement

Residents in Melbourne are being offered free testing (Picture: Getty Images)

Visit our live blog for the latest updates: Coronavirus news live

Andrews said he understood how ‘deeply inconvenient’ the lockdown was for residents of the 36 suburbs included in the 10 hotspot postcodes. He went on: ‘It will be frustrating, it will be very challenging.

‘We will be there to support each and every business that’s impacted, not just with within the zone but also the tourism businesses where there will be bookings that will have to be cancelled because of these lockdowns.’

Andrews added that authorities are working ‘literally day and night’ to avoid having to put more areas in Australia in lockdown. Twelve testing centres will be established in the areas while the restrictions are in place.

Under the restrictions, residents will only be able to leave their homes for food and supplies, medical care, exercise, and key work or education. Businesses and facilities which recently reopened, including libraries, gyms and salons, will once again close.

New testing sites are being established in areas impacted by the lockdown (Picture: EPA)

Cafes, pubs and restaurants may remain open for takeaway services and businesses impacted by the lockdown will be given a $5000 grant or a payroll tax refund.

Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison is understood to have given his full support for the measures.

Last week, Australia saw its first coronavirus-related death in a month after a man in his 80s died in Victoria after testing positive for the virus. The state has now been reporting double digit rises in cases for more than two weeks.

The source of 42 of Victoria’s newest coronavirus cases remains under investigation. Five of the cases have been linked to an outbreak at Al Taqwa College in the suburb of Truganina, while three are part of hotel where travellers are being kept in quarantine.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.

For more stories like this, check our news page.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Get the need-to-know coronavirus news, features and tips, right to your inbox.

Let's block ads! (Why?)

https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMibGh0dHBzOi8vbWV0cm8uY28udWsvMjAyMC8wNy8wMS9tZWxib3VybmUtcHV0cy0zMDAwMDAtcGVvcGxlLWxvY2FsLWxvY2tkb3duLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNhc2VzLXN1cmdlLTEyOTI2MTUwL9IBcGh0dHBzOi8vbWV0cm8uY28udWsvMjAyMC8wNy8wMS9tZWxib3VybmUtcHV0cy0zMDAwMDAtcGVvcGxlLWxvY2FsLWxvY2tkb3duLWNvcm9uYXZpcnVzLWNhc2VzLXN1cmdlLTEyOTI2MTUwL2FtcC8?oc=5

2020-07-01 08:27:51Z
52780887964068