Australia will likely slow down the return of its citizens from abroad, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as the country grapples with a fresh outbreak of the coronavirus
State police said they would conduct random checks of vehicles on major roads surrounding the country’s second most populous city, creating a “ring of steel” as partial lockdowns are reinstated for six weeks to stem a surge in infections.
The renewed lockdown follows the closure of the country’s busiest border, between Victoria and Australia’s most populous state New South Wales, on Tuesday night. New Zealand announced on Tuesday that its national airline will not take new inbound bookings for three weeks to reduce the burden on overflowing quarantine facilities.
Melbourne is the capital of Victoria state, which reported 134 new infections on Wednesday, down from the previous day’s record 191 but well over the low single digit daily increases elsewhere in the country. The resurgence of the virus and imposition of fresh containment measures will make it tougher for the government to get the economy back on its feet as it sinks into its first recession in three decades. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the border closure and Melbourne lockdown would cost the economy up to A$1 billion per week.At the Victoria and NSW border, police checkpoints caused delays of more than an hour for drivers.
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