Australians fatigued by months of coronavirus lockdown face being forced back indoors as Victoria battles a second wave of COVID-19 infections.
The unexpected spike in Australia’s second most populous state risks other states refusing to open their borders as planned, having closed back in March to stop the virus spreading.
Victoria recorded 17 cases of coronavirus on Tuesday, 11 of which are from an unknown source, marking its 17th consecutive day of double-digit infections.
More than a million people living in coronavirus hotspots in Melbourne now face a series of local district lockdowns, which are undergoing a testing blitz.
Residents could soon face mandatory lockdown in six local government districts, Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos revealed.
Those six areas are Hume and Brimbank, in Melbourne’s north and west, Casey and Cardinia in the city’s southeast and Moreland and Darebin in the north.
‘In the legal directions that have come in, we have not issued stay-at-home directions for those hotspot areas, but of course we don’t rule anything out,’ Ms Mikakos said.
Cases are expected to continue rising in the areas, with more than 1,000 close contacts of the state’s 125 active cases already identified.
Two Victorian schools were closed on Tuesday after students were among those who tested positive to COVID-19.
Premier Daniel Andrews admitted the spike in community transmissions was a cause for concern.
‘I know and understand that so many Victorian, perhaps all Victorians want this to be over. But we simply can’t pretend that the virus is gone,’ he told reporters on Tuesday.
‘It is here. It travels so fast. It is so infectious.
‘So what we can be certain of is that there will be some significant community transmission within those numbers.
‘There is an acceptable level of new cases. We’re not at that point now. The amount of community transmission that we’ve got is too high.’
The embattled premier blamed large families who he claimed are not sticking to lockdown rules.
‘[They’re] making decisions that are not in accordance with the rules and are not the right thing to do,’ he added.