Five million people started a new lockdown Thursday in Australia's second-biggest city, returning to tough restrictions just weeks after they ended up as Melbourne grapples with a resurgence of coronavirus cases.
Residents were told to stay home for six weeks after other measures containing a spike in Covid-19 failed to prevent the spread of the virus.
The Victoria state has been effectively sealed off in an effort to preserve Australia's remaining success in curbing the virus.
Nonetheless, on Wednesday, a surge of travelers over the border into neighboring New South Wales sparked fears that could sabotage those attempts.
"A few cases that come across Victoria 's border (can) tip that magic number into outbreaks that will be very difficult to control," epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws told ABC.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian said two Covid-19 reports were found in Albury's border town and cautioned against commuting to or from the state frontier areas.
"We want to make sure that in cases being clear, we 're flushing out any possible seeding that happened before the increase," she informed reporters in Sydney.
On Thursday, Queensland State declared it would turn away all Victoria travelers — for the first time withdrawing an opportunity that required them to spend 14 days in quarantine upon arrival.
In Melbourne, there are concerns about the impacts of the second lockdown on economic and mental health, which officials estimate will cost the economy A$ 6 billion ($4.2 billion). Restaurants and cafés became limited to selling delivery meals while gyms, hair salons and cinemas were forced to shutter again.
Residents are restricted to their homes except for work, exercise, medical care or the purchase of essential necessities.
Authorities are waiting for further test results from high-rise public housing complexes where over 3,000 residents have been restricted to their dwellings after a cluster appeared on Saturday, refusing to exit in the strictest lockdown in Australia for any cause.
There are concerns the epidemic has spread through the buildings, which authorities have compared to "vertical cruise ships" and are currently in bad health for many vulnerable people. Government staff are going door-to - door in Melbourne asking locals to get vaccinated for the virus, with officials claiming that since being affected by internet misinformation about 10,000 citizens have declined.
Australia 's population of 25 million has recorded just under 9,000 cases of Covid-19, with 106 deaths.
The country has seen few fresh illnesses outside of Victoria, with several instances concerning returning foreign hotel quarantine travellers.
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