Five million begin lockdown in Australian city

MELBOURNE - Five million people in Australia's second-biggest city began a new lockdown Thursday, returning to tough restrictions just weeks after they ended as Melbourne grapples with a resurgence of coronavirus cases.

"A few cases coming over the border from Victoria tip that magic number into outbreaks that are going to be very hard to control," epidemiologist Mary-Louise McLaws told public broadcaster ABC. Queensland state announced Thursday it would turn away all travellers from Victoria - removing an option that had allowed them to spend 14 days in quarantine on arrival.

Residents are restricted to their homes except for work, exercise, medical care or to buy essentials."I think it is a very good thing," resident Don Sherman told AFP.Authorities on Thursday eased a controversial "hard lockdown" of a high-rise public housing estate, where roughly 3,000 people spent five days confined to their apartments amid fears the virus had spread across the towers.

"That is an abundance-of-caution approach that not only protects the welfare and the wellbeing, the health of all of those residents, but also protects public health as well," he told a press conference. "The idea of not being able to see people that you love and care for is really distressing, really distressing," she told AFP through tears.

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