SYDNEY (AUSTRALIA) – The Australian state of Victoria, which is the epicentre of the country’s second wave of coronavirus infections, said on Monday that the number of new cases dipped to a two-month low. This allows authorities to decide how to lift the strict curbs in place.
The state said it recorded as many as 73 new cases over the past 24 hours, which is the lowest count since July 3.
The dip in the number of cases comes as Victoria’s capital Melbourne enters its fourth week of a six-week lockdown, which forces residents to stay at home and has imposed a night curfew and closure of large swathes of the economy.
The total lockdown is slated to come to an end on Sep 13 and the dip in the number of infections has prompted Victoria premier Daniel Andrews to think of how the curbs will be slowly lifted.
“I want to make sure we have a Christmas Day as close to possible as normal,” Andrews said.
“If we (remove restrictions) too quick, if we do this chasing something that might be popular for a few weeks, if we forget it’s a pandemic and think it’s a popularity contest, then Christmas won’t look normal at all.”
The state said its coronavirus death toll climbed by 41. It includes 22 deaths in aged care homes in the weeks leading to Aug 27.
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field.