All non-essential businesses will have to close their doors from Thursday in Melbourne to stem the spread of the coronavirus epidemic in Australia's second city, local authorities said on Monday.
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Daniel Andrews, Prime Minister of the state of Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, said most businesses are expected to close from midnight Wednesday evening. Supermarkets, pharmacies and liquor stores are among the businesses that will benefit from an exemption. Administrations will also have to close. The authorities estimate that these measures will save a million people from commuting to work. " It's heartbreaking to have to shut down workplaces (...) but it's what needs to be done to stop the progression of this wildly contagious virus, of this deadly virus ," Daniel Andrews said during a press conference. “ These six weeks are absolutely critical. "
Certain sectors such as meat production or construction will have to reduce their operations as of Friday. Slaughterhouses will only have to operate at two-thirds of their capacity.
Night curfew
The announcements come as the authorities have imposed a nighttime curfew in Melbourne since Sunday evening, whose residents are not allowed to travel more than five kilometers from their homes. Melbourne residents are now required to stay in their homes from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. every night until September 13. Only people performing essential trades, providing care or seeking to receive it can leave their homes. Violators face a fine of 1,652 Australian dollars (1,000 euros).
These drastic measures isolate Melbourne a little more on an island-continent which has managed to contain the epidemic. The state of Victoria currently has 6,500 active coronavirus cases. It announced 429 new cases and 13 deaths on Monday. The total number of cases in Australia since the start of the pandemic is 18,000, and the number of deaths at 221, for a population of 25 million.