AFTER being under COVID-19 lockdowns several times, Melbourne will finally lift restrictions by this week, officials said Sunday.
Though COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state of Victoria, the capital of which is Melbourne, the state’s double-vaccination strategy is gaining wonders, and is expected to reach 70 percent by this week. “Today is a great day. Today is a day when Victorians can be proud of what they have achieved,” exclaims Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews.
Australian media described Melbourne’s 262-day lockdown total as the world’s longest, longer than the 234-day lockdown by Buenos Aires.
However, the capacity of guests allowed in businesses will remain heavily restricted, but easing will come as soon as 80 percent of Victorians are fully vaccinated, hopefully by November 5.
It was reported that as of this weekend, full inoculation of Australians has already reached 68 percent.
The country was formerly a champion of containing COVID-19 but since the Delta variant proved hard enough to contain, government officials adopted an extensive vaccination strategy to avoid imposing lockdowns once the 80-percent target of full vaccination is reached.
(PHOTO CREDIT: australia.com)