|
 The decision, which affects around 4.9 million people, was announced
just hours before the busy border between Victoria, of which
Melbourne is the capital, and New South Wales is scheduled to close
for the first time in a century.
From midnight on Wednesday, everyone in Melbourne will be required
to stay home unless travelling to work, studying, shopping for food
or attending medical appointments. Restaurants, cafes and bars will
be able to provide takeaway service only, gyms and hair salons
closed, household gatherings limited to two people and the current
school vacation extended.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the restrictions were onerous
but necessary.
"I would, with the greatest of respect, put it to you getting this
virus and dying from it is very onerous too," he said during a
televised media conference.
Victoria was responsible for 191 of the 199 new cases reported
nationally on Tuesday, the biggest one-day rise since early April.
The spike has worried officials, even though the national total of
almost 8,800 cases and 106 deaths is far below many other countries.
"We have to be clear with each other that this is not over," Andrews
said. "And pretending that it is because we all want it to be over
is not the answer. It is indeed part of the problem. A very big part
of the problem."
Andrews had over the weekend reinstated strict social-distancing
orders in more than 30 Melbourne suburbs and put nine public housing
towers into complete lockdown because of the recent outbreak.
Hundreds of police officers and army troops were being deployed to
enforce the closure of Victoria's border with New South Wales from
midnight on Tuesday.
The state line is highly porous, stretching hundreds of kilometres.
It is heavily used daily by commuters, school children and road
freight.
People caught crossing the border without permission via any of the
55 roads, or several river and wilderness crossings, will face
penalties including a fine of A$11,000 ($7,700) and six months
imprisonment.
[to top of second column] |
A second region in Victoria, where recent COVID-19 cases have been detected and
which is home to 44,000 people, will face lockdown restrictions similar to
Melbourne.
The border closure and reintroduction of restrictions in Melbourne deal a blow
to Australia's hopes for quick economic recovery as it approaches its first
recession in nearly three decades, driven by social distancing restrictions
imposed in March.
BORDER CONTROL
For businesses on the border, which last closed during the Spanish flu pandemic
in 1919, it also poses an immediate logistics headache.
Daily travel permits will be granted to people who live in border towns and
cities but with the closure just hours away, the application system was still
being developed.
Kevin Mack, the mayor of Albury, a border town on the NSW side, said with an
estimated 50,000 car movements across the state line every day "it will be a
nightmare for everyone."
"About a quarter of my staff like me live in NSW, and cross that border every
day to come to work," said Paul Armstrong, who runs a petrol station in Wodonga,
a border town on the Victorian side. "I don't know if they are going to be able
to get in."
Outside of the border towns, Victoria residents will be able to apply for a
permit, but will need to prove a special need for their travel. Freight
transporters will be free to cross the border without a permit, but will be
subjected to random stops.
(Reporting by Colin Packham and Sonali Paul in Melbourne, additional reporting
by Renju Jose; editing by Jane Wardell)
[© 2020 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2020 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content. |
