Australia’s Victoria declares state of disaster and sets curfew to stop surge in coronavirus outbreak; reported 671 COVID-19 cases in just one day

Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, has declared a state of disaster on Sunday and imposed a nightly curfew for the capital Melbourne as part of its harshest movement restrictions to date to contain a resurgent COVID-19. The curfew and movement restrictions issued will continue until mid-September as COVID-19 cases surge.

In a news conference on Sunday, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews also announced a curfew in the city of Melbourne and new movement restrictions for its residents. Andrews said that, for six weeks beginning on Sunday until the middle of September, a curfew will be imposed daily from 8pm (10:00 GMT) to 5am (19:00 GMT) the next day.

Within the same period, residents of Melbourne are not allowed to travel beyond five kilometres (3.1 miles) from their residence, and only one person per household is allowed to shop for groceries once a day.

On Saturday, the state of Victoria reported 397 new COVID-19 cases. In the meantime, a stay-at-home order will also be imposed for areas outside Melbourne starting at midnight on Wednesday.