This week, Melbourne will be rid of its harsh lockdown measures after it became the epicenter of Australia’s COVID-19 epidemic. On Sunday, the Victoria state health department reported no new cases or deaths due to the infectious virus for the first time in over four months. Although restrictions on the number of people allowed to gather and enter businesses will remain alongside mask ordinances, the people of Melbourne will be able to move freely throughout the region.
The milestone comes just months after the city entered a state of disaster in which 725 people in the state tested positive for COVID-19 in just one day. As cases were skyrocketing this summer, anti-epidemic measures were implemented despite known economic risks. The lockdown appears to have been successful in eliminating the COVID-19 infection risk from the city while Europe witnesses rapidly increasing infection levels. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump’s chief of staff recently conceded that it was highly unlikely that the country will be able to contain the pandemic. Other governments such as China, South Korea, and Taiwan have also been largely successful in keeping infection rates incredibly low.
