Authorities shut down town, but now Australian waiters cheer – NRK Urix – Foreign News & Documentaries

After infection rates soared to record speeds in several countries, Australian Melbourne residents can look forward to a Christmas celebration without too many restrictions.

Because while bars and restaurants must cut their opening hours in countries like Italy, and even Norway, the industry in Australian Melbourne rejoices that a long and harsh blockade is over.

From the evening until Wednesday (Norwegian time), the restaurant industry in the city was again ready to receive guests, and hectic preparations have been made in the bars and restaurants of the city to have everything ready for the opening.

The Australian newspaper Herald Sun writes that the nightclubs were sold out within a few hours when news of the reopening broke.

Kirby Institute epidemiologist Raina McIntyre believes Australia’s way of dealing with the pandemic has been light years ahead of countries like the United States and the United Kingdom.

.- It is shocking. When we think of pandemics, we don’t think rich countries will crumble, but that’s exactly what we’ve seen, he tells the BBC.

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Closed the city

Melbourne, which is located in the state of Victoria, has been, like Oslo in Norway, the epicenter of corona transmission in the country.

The rest of Australia has been spared the most serious outbreaks. Therefore, the authorities put strict measures in place to prevent the infection from spreading from Melbourne to the rest of the country.

The way they did it was to shut down the city.

Bars, restaurants and shops were closed. Face masks were imposed and a night curfew was imposed.

The Australian Armed Forces were also deployed to take random samples of whether the infected person actually stayed at home.

One of the main challenges for Australia was geography. Australia is a large and isolated island. Therefore, as early as March, the country closed its borders to foreign travelers to avoid import infections.

Nearly 8.5 million tests have also been performed in Australia since the pandemic began. More than a third of these have been completed in Victoria.

– I am proud of what we have achieved.

On July 7 of this summer, the city had to close for the second time after an explosive increase in infection. In August, it peaked with more than 700 infections per day.

Earlier this week, however, Melbourne was able to announce that the shutdown was over after many difficult months. By then, two days in a row had passed with no new cases of infection. The last time this happened was in March.

At midnight on Wednesday night, many of the strict restrictions will be lifted. Bars, restaurants and shops may reopen.

It is allowed to visit again, but it is true that even with restrictions: it is not allowed with more than two adult guests. Adults and children also cannot travel more than 25 kilometers from home.

The people of Melbourne have been through one of the longest and toughest closures during the pandemic, though not without resistance.

The shutdown has led to protests and there have also been demonstrations in Australia against the government’s action.

– I am quite proud of what we have accomplished here, says Dr. Sharon Lwin, director of the Doherty Institute in Melbourne.

– We had no choice but to go into a confinement if we wanted to unite with the rest of the country, and that motivated us, he says.