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Melbourne, AUSTRALIA’S SECOND LARGEST city, has loosened lockdown restrictions as new and active Covid-19 cases continue to decline.
Starting at midnight on Sunday, Melbourne residents will no longer face limits on the time they can spend away from their homes for education or recreation. Previous restrictions that allowed you to travel just three miles (5 km) from home will be increased at midnight to 15 miles (25 km).
Outdoor gatherings of up to 10 people from two households will be allowed and golf and tennis may resume.
The state of Victoria reported only two new Covid-19 cases on Sunday and no deaths. The 14-day moving average of cases dropped to eight, the lowest in four months.
There were only 137 active cases statewide on Sunday, and 12 people received hospital treatment, none of them in intensive care.
Regulations will be further relaxed on November 2 with the partial reopening of shops, bars and restaurants.
Meanwhile, Thailand has closed all border crossings between its northern province of Tak and Myanmar after five people in the Thai border city of Mae Sot tested positive for coronavirus.
The five, none of whom showed symptoms, are the first confirmed locally transmitted cases in Thailand since early September, when an inmate tested positive. All five are members of a family of Myanmar citizens residing in Thailand.
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Two were initially confirmed to be affected and added to the total Thai cases on Saturday, while three were officially added on Sunday.
Along with the cases found among people quarantined after arriving from abroad, seven additions on Sunday brought Thailand’s total number of cases to 3,686, including 59 deaths.
India has added 61,871 new confirmed cases in the past 24 hours, bringing its total to around 7.5 million.
The Health Ministry also recorded 1,033 new deaths on Sunday, bringing the death toll to 114,031.
The country continues a downward trend in new cases, but virus-related deaths rose after posting the lowest daily figure of 680 in nearly three months on Friday.
Some experts say the figures for India may not be reliable due to poor reporting and inadequate healthcare infrastructure.
India also relies heavily on antigen tests, which are faster but less accurate than traditional RT-PCR tests.
Health officials have warned of the possibility of the virus spreading during the religious festival season that begins later this month.
New Delhi is also preparing for high levels of air pollution, which will complicate the fight against coronavirus in the coming months.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asked officials to set up cold storage chains and a distribution network for the delivery of vaccines in line with the holding of elections, involving all levels of government and citizen groups.
According to Indian officials, three vaccines are in advanced stages of development.
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