Melbourne going into 2nd week of lockdown

CANBERRA: Australia’s second-biggest city Melbourne will stay locked down for a second week after reporting 20 new coronavirus (Covid-19) cases as it struggles to stamp out infections caused by the highly infectious delta variant of the pandemic.
Melbourne had been due to exit the lockdown today, the sixth for its five million people in stop-start battles against the coronavirus also seen elsewhere across the country have triggered frustration and discord.
In Sydney, police are stepping up lockdown enforcement while some labourers are being allowed to return to construction sites – if vaccinated.
Victoria state premier Dan Andrews confirmed strict stay-at-home orders for Melbourne will remain in place until Aug 19 after authorities were unable to trace how several of the 20 people confirmed as new cases yesterday contracted the Covid-19.
“If we were to open, then we would see cases akin to what is happening, tragically, in Sydney right now,” Andrews told reporters in Melbourne.
“We have seen a surge in the number of cases and (that is) expected to continue,” New South Wales state premier Gladys Berejiklian told reporters in Sydney, reporting another 344 new infections in the past 24 hours, close to the city’s single-day record. – Reuters