The cluster that triggered the renewed restrictions was at a quarantine hotel at Melbourne airport.
Australia’s second most populous state, Victoria, including the capital Melbourne, entered a five-day deadlock on Saturday as authorities rushed to prevent a third wave of COVID-19 cases triggered by the highly infectious variant of the Sea Britain.
A new locally purchased case has been confirmed in the last 24 hours, health officials in Victoria said on Saturday, bringing the number of active cases in the state to 20.
“Many people will suffer today. This is not the position the Victorians wanted, but I can’t have a situation where, in two weeks, we can look back and want to make these decisions now, “said Prime Minister Victoria Daniel Andrews on Saturday.
Andrews said Prime Minister Scott Morrison had agreed to stop all international flights to Melbourne until Wednesday, after five planes en route, with about 100 passengers, landed on Saturday.
The cluster that triggered the renewed restrictions was accommodation in a quarantine hotel at Melbourne airport.
This is Melbourne’s third blockade. The first two blockages were implemented when the infections spread in March 2020 and then in July, which lasted about four months.
The streets of downtown Melbourne, the state capital and its suburbs were almost empty early on Saturday, with people ordering them to stay home except for essential shopping, two hours of outdoor exercise, care or work that can’t be done from home.
Among the “essential” works, the game continued at the Australian Open, the first Grand Slam tennis event of the year which runs until February 21, but fans were banned until Wednesday. Thousands were forced to leave before midnight, sometimes in the middle of matches on Friday.
“Destruction of the soul”
The blockade, which closed restaurants and cafes except for dining, took place just as Melbourne had prepared for its biggest weekend in almost a year, with Lunar New Year’s Eve, Valentine’s Day and crowds at the Australian Open.
Last year, Melbourne suffered a 111-day blockade, one of the strictest and longest in the world at the time, to stop a coronavirus outbreak that led to more than 800 deaths.
“It’s the busiest weekend of the year for us. I’m sitting here making 178 heartbreaking calls to see if I can get them to book again, “said Will Baa, owner of Lover, a restaurant in Windsor’s chief district.
“It simply came to our notice then. But we are resilient. Only the crossed fingers, which extend only for a short period of five days “, he said.
The Australian Open tournament continues on Saturday without the public following the new blocking order [Loren Elliott/Reuters]
More generally, Australia is considered one of the most successful countries in the world in combating the pandemic, largely due to decisive blockades and sealed borders for all but a handful of travelers. With a population of 25 million, there were approximately 22,200 cases in the community and 909 deaths.
New Zealand also reported the death of a COVID-19 patient on Saturday.
The person had been taken to hospital in quarantine for an unrelated condition and later gave positive results. This case has not yet been included in the total of 25 deaths in COVID-19.