300,000 return to lockdown in Melbourne

Residents of 10 "hot zone" areas of Melbourne, Australia, will return to lockdown as of 11:59 p.m. local time on July 1.

The 300,000 people living in 36 city suburbs within the 10 postcodes are only permitted to leave their homes for “shopping for food and supplies, care and caregiving, exercise, and study or work -- if it can’t be done from home,” the Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews said Wednesday.

Melbourne has seen a spike in the number of coronavirus cases, with double-digit increases each day for the past 16 days. On Tuesday 73 people tested positive for Covid-19.

“It’s more important than ever for the over 300,000 Victorians living in the restricted postcodes to get tested, regardless of whether you have symptoms,” Andrews said in a statement Wednesday.

Around 113,000 tests have been conducted in Victoria since a "testing blitz" began on June 25, according to Andrew's office. There are now 370 active Covid-19 cases in the state where 20 people have died from the virus.

Source: CNN