Australia's COVID-19 epicentre awaits lockdown exit plan; rates dropping slowly
MELBOURNE - Australia’s coronavirus hot spot state of Victoria on Sunday extended a hard lockdown in its capital Melbourne by two weeks to the end of September as infection rates have declined more slowly than hoped.
Melbourne’s stage 4 restrictions, which had been due to end on Sept. 13, shut most of the economy, limited people’s movements to a 5-km zone around their homes for one hour a day and imposed a night time curfew. The state on Sunday reported 63 new COVID-19 infections and five deaths, down from a peak of 725 new cases on Aug. 5.
Andrews has resisted pressure to lift restrictions, which the federal government has blamed for dragging Australia deeper into its first recession in nearly 30 years, while other states have largely reopened their economies. After Sept. 28, if average daily infection rates have dropped to between 30 and 50 for 14 days, child care, construction sites, manufacturing plants, and warehouses, will go back to normal, allowing 101,000 workers to return to their jobs.After Oct. 26, if daily infection rates have dropped below five over the previous two weeks, cafes and restaurants could reopen, mostly for outdoor service, and shops and hairdressers would reopen.
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