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MELBOURNE: The Australian state of Victoria, the coronavirus hot spot, is scheduled to outline a plan on Sunday (September 6) to gradually ease its strict lockdown, with infection rates declining more slowly than expected.
Victoria reported 63 new COVID-19 infections and five deaths on Sunday, down from a peak of 725 new cases on Aug.5, shortly after the state imposed a tough six-week lockdown on its capital Melbourne. At the time, she set an end date of September 13.
The state has been the epicenter of Australia’s second wave of the new coronavirus, which now accounts for about 75 percent of the country’s 26,270 cases and 90 percent of its 753 deaths.
The country is waiting to hear how the state’s prime minister, Daniel Andrews, plans to ease the lockdown, which has dragged down Australia’s efforts to emerge from its first recession in nearly 30 years, while other states have largely reopened their economies.
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Concerned about community transmission, the state is looking to bring cases down to sustained low numbers before lifting restrictions, but has yet to define the threshold.
Businesses were closed from March to May before briefly reopening, then faced tighter restrictions from August 2, resulting in thousands of lost jobs.
Stage 4 restrictions imposed a night curfew, shut down most of the economy, and limited people’s movements to a 5 km zone around their homes for one hour a day.
“Nobody wants a third wave here. But I think we have to find a practical, achievable and sustainable plan that also allows things to recover,” Jennifer Westacott, executive director of the Business Council of Australia, said on Australian Broadcasting Corp TV on Sunday. .
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