Covid Australia, the state of Victoria is in lockdown

The Australian state of Victoria is entering a lockdown at midnight today for a week in an attempt to stop the Coronavirus infections that are increasing again: 34 positive cases are currently registered, 12 of them in the past 24 hours.

Acting Prime Minister James Merlino confirmed that at present 10,000 “primary and secondary” potential contacts have been identified and tracked in the context of the new outbreak. In particular, the country’s health officials are concerned about the existence of the Indian variant and the speed with which it has demonstrated its potential for expansion.

The containment measures provide for the closure of all unnecessary businesses, and personal exits that are limited to cases of need, in addition to compliance with the rules of spacing, including the mandatory use of a mask.

Australia has managed to contain the spread of the Coronavirus by imposing strict protection measures, such as closing international borders – with few exceptions – since March 2020: In the country there have been more than thirty thousand cases and 910 deaths in the country since the start of the pandemic. However, there is strong internal criticism of the slow pace of the work of immunization of the population.

It is the fourth lockdown facing Victoria state. Last year, Melbourne residents observed a 112-day period of severe restrictions.