Australian police arrested hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/australia-reports-record-covid-19-cases-as-police-block-sydney-protest-407368">Melbourne </a>and Sydney as seven officers were hospitalised as a result of clashes, as the country saw its highest ever single-day rise in COVID-19 cases.

Mounted police used pepper spray in Melbourne to break up crowds of more than 4,000 surging toward police lines, while smaller groups of protesters were prevented from congregating in Sydney by a large contingent of riot police.

Victoria state police said that they arrested 218 people in the state capital Melbourne. They issued 236 fines and kept three people in custody for assaulting police. The arrested people face fines of $3,900&nbsp;each for breaching public health orders.

Watch:

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Police in New South Wales, where Sydney is the capital, said they charged 47 people with breaching public health orders or resisting arrest, among other offences, and issued more than 260 fines ranging from $35&nbsp;to $3,000. The police said about 250 people made it to the city for the protest.

Meanwhile,&nbsp;Prime Minister Scott Morrison said&nbsp;Australia&nbsp;will stick to its lockdown strategy against the coronavirus until at least 70 per cent&nbsp;of its population is fully vaccinated.

The country set a record with 914 infections, its highest daily figure, as the southern and eastern states of New South Wales, Victoria and the&nbsp;Australian Capital Territory remain under a strict lockdown.

"You can't live with lockdowns forever and at some point, you need to make that gear change, and that is done at 70 per cent," Morrison said in a television interview on the&nbsp;Australian Broadcasting Corp's Insider program.

Lockdowns are a key element of the federal government's strategy to rein in outbreaks until the 70&nbsp;per cent level is reached, with borders being re-opened gradually when the figure climbs to 80 per cent.

Australian police arrested hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne and Sydney as seven officers were hospitalised as a result of clashes, as the country saw its highest ever single-day rise in COVID-19 cases.

Australian police arrested hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters in Melbourne and Sydney as seven officers were hospitalised as a result of clashes, as the country saw its highest ever single-day rise in COVID-19 cases. Mounted police used pepper spray in Melbourne to break up crowds of more than 4,000 surging toward police lines, while smaller groups of protesters were prevented from congregating in Sydney by a large contingent of riot police. Victoria state police said that they arrested 218 people in the state capital Melbourne. They issued 236 fines and kept three people in custody for assaulting police. The arrested people face fines of $3,900 each for breaching public health orders. Watch: Police in New South Wales, where Sydney is the capital, said they charged 47 people with breaching public health orders or resisting arrest, among other offences, and issued more than 260 fines ranging from $35 to $3,000. The police said about 250 people made it to the city for the protest. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia will stick to its lockdown strategy against the coronavirus until at least 70 per cent of its population is fully vaccinated. The country set a record with 914 infections, its highest daily figure, as the southern and eastern states of New South Wales, Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory remain under a strict lockdown. "You can't live with lockdowns forever and at some point, you need to make that gear change, and that is done at 70 per cent," Morrison said in a television interview on the Australian Broadcasting Corp's Insider program. Lockdowns are a key element of the federal government's strategy to rein in outbreaks until the 70 per cent level is reached, with borders being re-opened gradually when the figure climbs to 80 per cent.

Hundreds of anti-lockdown protesters arrested in Australia as daily cases hit record high

Melbourne entered into a seven-day lockdown on Friday after new coronavirus clusters were discovered as Australia grapples with news cases of the virus.

The lockdown in Melbourne started from midnight on Thursday (14:00 GMT) with residents asked to stay home. Reports say the outbreak began after a traveller returned to the country with the variant first found in India.

Victoria's acting Premier James Merlino said: "With 10,000 primary and secondary contacts of cases, with more than 150 exposure sites right around the state of Victoria, we need to act now."

The government has restricted home gatherings with only 30 people allowed in public places with face masks mandatory in restaurants and pubs.

Reports said the virus spread from hotel quarantine as Merlino stated that there is no alternative to hotel quarantine. The imposition of a seven-day "circuit breaker" is expected to slow down the virus.

Victoria had earlier entered a lockdown in February and has experienced lockdowns three other times earlier.

Health minister Greg Hunt and PM Scott Morrison backed Victoria's proposal of quarantine as the government said it was looking to set&nbsp;up facilities containing 200 beds.

The increase in the number of cases come amid reports of slow vaccination in the country with 75,000 people being vaccinated per day even as the country has recorded just 30,000 COVID-19 cases and 910 deaths since the pandemic began last year.

Australia had imposed strict rules when the pandemic first began last year while closing its borders&nbsp;for&nbsp;non-citizens and permanent residents in March, 2020.

PM Scott Morrison recently said those restrictions will continue this year as well and would remain in place&nbsp;until the middle of 2022.

Melbourne entered into a seven-day lockdown on Friday after new coronavirus clusters were discovered as Australia grapples with news cases of the virus. The lockdown in Melbourne started from midnight on Thursday (14:00 GMT) with residents asked to stay home.

Melbourne entered into a seven-day lockdown on Friday after new coronavirus clusters were discovered as Australia grapples with news cases of the virus. The lockdown in Melbourne started from midnight on Thursday (14:00 GMT) with residents asked to stay home. Reports say the outbreak began after a traveller returned to the country with the variant first found in India. Victoria's acting Premier James Merlino said: "With 10,000 primary and secondary contacts of cases, with more than 150 exposure sites right around the state of Victoria, we need to act now." The government has restricted home gatherings with only 30 people allowed in public places with face masks mandatory in restaurants and pubs. Reports said the virus spread from hotel quarantine as Merlino stated that there is no alternative to hotel quarantine. The imposition of a seven-day "circuit breaker" is expected to slow down the virus. Victoria had earlier entered a lockdown in February and has experienced lockdowns three other times earlier. Health minister Greg Hunt and PM Scott Morrison backed Victoria's proposal of quarantine as the government said it was looking to set up facilities containing 200 beds. The increase in the number of cases come amid reports of slow vaccination in the country with 75,000 people being vaccinated per day even as the country has recorded just 30,000 COVID-19 cases and 910 deaths since the pandemic began last year. Australia had imposed strict rules when the pandemic first began last year while closing its borders for non-citizens and permanent residents in March, 2020. PM Scott Morrison recently said those restrictions will continue this year as well and would remain in place until the middle of 2022.

Melbourne in lockdown as Australia grapples with virus surge

They used to call it “the tyranny of distance.” Australia’s remoteness was something to escape, and for generations, the country that hates being referred to as “Down Under” has been rushing toward the world. Trade and immigration made Australians richer than the Swiss, creating a culture where life can be complete only with overseas trips and imported purchases.

Until the pandemic. The virus has turned this outgoing nation into a hermit. Australia’s borders are closed, internationally and between several states. Its economy is smaller, and its population growth has fallen to its lowest rate in more than 100 years.

Rather than chafing against isolation, though, Australians these days are more willing to smile in the mirror. Island living looks like a privilege when the world is pestilent. Those gnawing questions about travel, recession and the loss of global experience are being shoved down, below a more immediate appreciation for home and a search for silver linings.

In dozens of interviews, Australians have said they’re quite happy with their country’s response to the pandemic. Even with travel rules so strict they seem like something out of China or North Korea. Even with a 111-day lockdown in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne, which just finally ended. Even when the people kept away are grandparents longing to see new grandchildren.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/protesters-against-covid-19-restrictions-clash-with-police-in-spanish-cities-339392" hreflang="en">Protesters against COVID-19 restrictions clash with police in Spanish cities</a>

That’s the case for Jane Harper, a best-selling novelist in Melbourne, who has traded getting to know every building in her neighborhood for seeing her parents in Britain.

“I had my second child in November, and they would have come out at least once and possibly twice by now,” she said. “Not knowing when that will lift — I guess it gives us more appreciation for how lucky we are to be able to visit in normal times, and it makes you realize how far away Australia really is.”

Not that she would have it any other way. After so much isolation, she added, “there is a real sense among Australians that we can dig deep and help each other deal with whatever is facing us.”

Many other countries have also cut themselves off from their neighbors, and other island nations (Singapore, Japan, New Zealand) have also kept the virus in check. But in Australia, the ever-smaller circle is more intertwined with the pursuit of safety.

Coronavirus deaths remain under 1,000. Schools and restaurants are open, sports are being played, and friends are gathering for dinner parties. But people stick to where they can drive and what they know, and a lot of work still occurs from home.

If many of its citizens are still stranded abroad by border restrictions, Australians argue, so be it; if states like Western Australia seem determined to keep out everyone from Sydney and Melbourne for as long as possible, well, at least the virus has been brought into submission.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/portugal-reimposes-partial-lockdown-in-most-of-the-country-339375" hreflang="en">Portugal reimposes partial lockdown in most of the country</a>

Forced into a bell jar existence, many Australians are focusing on what they love about their country. The collectivist spirit. The fresh food. The beaches and small towns that equal or supersede the beauty of anywhere else in the world.

“It’s been kind of fun to see domestic travel go crazy again,” said Fred Siggins, 39, the brand manager for Sullivans Cove, a whiskey distillery in Tasmania. “That’s how it was in the ’90s before everyone started hiking off to Bali or whatever.”

Australia’s mood also seems to be benefiting from another reversal — many of those who had taken their ambitions to New York, London or Los Angeles have returned.

Edwina Throsby, head of Talks and Ideas for the Sydney Opera House, said she knew several academics and creative types who had come home and now intended to stay. Like many others, she wondered if an Australian cultural renaissance might follow.

At the very least, self-reflection seems to be blooming.

In one small sign among many, Australia’s most prestigious portrait prize in contemporary art was awarded this year, for the first time, to an Aboriginal artist, Vincent Namatjira.

Also read|&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/us-election-2020-joe-biden-leads-in-michigan-and-wisconsin-donald-trump-struggling-survey-339408">Joe Biden leads in Michigan and Wisconsin, Donald Trump struggling: Survey</a>

On a recent morning at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, his large-scale self-portrait with a well-known Indigenous Australian football player drew a cluster of avid fans, young and old.

The gallery featuring Asian art was far less crowded.

Each exhibit hall had a plaque outside showing the maximum number of people allowed in because of coronavirus restrictions. Masks were not required (Sydney is mostly virus free), and visitors respected the rules. They booked a time in advance and stayed socially distanced.

Michael Brand, the museum’s director, who previously ran the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, said it pointed to how the pandemic was making people more thoughtful users of time and space.

Maybe fewer options and more planning will “liberate our minds,” he said.

Technology, he added, will save Australia from fully retreating into itself. He said he had been frequenting museum collections online, while also using the time gained from a lack of travel to explore new realms — such as Nordic crime dramas.

Harper, who published a new novel, “The Survivors,” in September, said she had also been encouraged by larger-than-usual audiences for her readings online.

“There are so many people there who would never come to an in-person book event,” she said.

Some surprising businesses are adapting, too. Frank Theodore, a fishmonger at the Sydney Fish Market, upgraded his Get Fish website after a bleak April and said total sales were up this October compared with last October.

And yet the virtual has its limits. Harper’s parents can’t hug their grandchildren over Zoom. Brand has started posting photos to Instagram of past trips with the phrase “museums I’m missing during the pandemic.”

Hermetically sealed safety seems likely to exact a toll for as long as it lingers. Silver linings hide on dark clouds. Australians are only just starting to wonder about long-term costs and what to do with their isolation.

“We’ve all worked so hard to keep our cases down, and that’s such a fragile, precious thing that I can completely understand the strong urge to protect it,” Harper said. “My desire to see my parents, does that outweigh my desire to never go into lockdown again?”

“It’s not my decision to make,” she said. “But nationally that’s the question we are all asking ourselves

They used to call it “the tyranny of distance.” Australia’s remoteness was something to escape, and for generations, the country that hates being referred to as “Down Under” has been rushing toward the world.

They used to call it “the tyranny of distance.” Australia’s remoteness was something to escape, and for generations, the country that hates being referred to as “Down Under” has been rushing toward the world. Trade and immigration made Australians richer than the Swiss, creating a culture where life can be complete only with overseas trips and imported purchases. Until the pandemic. The virus has turned this outgoing nation into a hermit. Australia’s borders are closed, internationally and between several states. Its economy is smaller, and its population growth has fallen to its lowest rate in more than 100 years. Rather than chafing against isolation, though, Australians these days are more willing to smile in the mirror. Island living looks like a privilege when the world is pestilent. Those gnawing questions about travel, recession and the loss of global experience are being shoved down, below a more immediate appreciation for home and a search for silver linings. In dozens of interviews, Australians have said they’re quite happy with their country’s response to the pandemic. Even with travel rules so strict they seem like something out of China or North Korea. Even with a 111-day lockdown in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne, which just finally ended. Even when the people kept away are grandparents longing to see new grandchildren. Also read| Protesters against COVID-19 restrictions clash with police in Spanish cities That’s the case for Jane Harper, a best-selling novelist in Melbourne, who has traded getting to know every building in her neighborhood for seeing her parents in Britain. “I had my second child in November, and they would have come out at least once and possibly twice by now,” she said. “Not knowing when that will lift — I guess it gives us more appreciation for how lucky we are to be able to visit in normal times, and it makes you realize how far away Australia really is.” Not that she would have it any other way. After so much isolation, she added, “there is a real sense among Australians that we can dig deep and help each other deal with whatever is facing us.” Many other countries have also cut themselves off from their neighbors, and other island nations (Singapore, Japan, New Zealand) have also kept the virus in check. But in Australia, the ever-smaller circle is more intertwined with the pursuit of safety. Coronavirus deaths remain under 1,000. Schools and restaurants are open, sports are being played, and friends are gathering for dinner parties. But people stick to where they can drive and what they know, and a lot of work still occurs from home. If many of its citizens are still stranded abroad by border restrictions, Australians argue, so be it; if states like Western Australia seem determined to keep out everyone from Sydney and Melbourne for as long as possible, well, at least the virus has been brought into submission. Also read| Portugal reimposes partial lockdown in most of the country Forced into a bell jar existence, many Australians are focusing on what they love about their country. The collectivist spirit. The fresh food. The beaches and small towns that equal or supersede the beauty of anywhere else in the world. “It’s been kind of fun to see domestic travel go crazy again,” said Fred Siggins, 39, the brand manager for Sullivans Cove, a whiskey distillery in Tasmania. “That’s how it was in the ’90s before everyone started hiking off to Bali or whatever.” Australia’s mood also seems to be benefiting from another reversal — many of those who had taken their ambitions to New York, London or Los Angeles have returned. Edwina Throsby, head of Talks and Ideas for the Sydney Opera House, said she knew several academics and creative types who had come home and now intended to stay. Like many others, she wondered if an Australian cultural renaissance might follow. At the very least, self-reflection seems to be blooming. In one small sign among many, Australia’s most prestigious portrait prize in contemporary art was awarded this year, for the first time, to an Aboriginal artist, Vincent Namatjira. Also read| Joe Biden leads in Michigan and Wisconsin, Donald Trump struggling: Survey On a recent morning at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, his large-scale self-portrait with a well-known Indigenous Australian football player drew a cluster of avid fans, young and old. The gallery featuring Asian art was far less crowded. Each exhibit hall had a plaque outside showing the maximum number of people allowed in because of coronavirus restrictions. Masks were not required (Sydney is mostly virus free), and visitors respected the rules. They booked a time in advance and stayed socially distanced. Michael Brand, the museum’s director, who previously ran the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, said it pointed to how the pandemic was making people more thoughtful users of time and space. Maybe fewer options and more planning will “liberate our minds,” he said. Technology, he added, will save Australia from fully retreating into itself. He said he had been frequenting museum collections online, while also using the time gained from a lack of travel to explore new realms — such as Nordic crime dramas. Harper, who published a new novel, “The Survivors,” in September, said she had also been encouraged by larger-than-usual audiences for her readings online. “There are so many people there who would never come to an in-person book event,” she said. Some surprising businesses are adapting, too. Frank Theodore, a fishmonger at the Sydney Fish Market, upgraded his Get Fish website after a bleak April and said total sales were up this October compared with last October. And yet the virtual has its limits. Harper’s parents can’t hug their grandchildren over Zoom. Brand has started posting photos to Instagram of past trips with the phrase “museums I’m missing during the pandemic.” Hermetically sealed safety seems likely to exact a toll for as long as it lingers. Silver linings hide on dark clouds. Australians are only just starting to wonder about long-term costs and what to do with their isolation. “We’ve all worked so hard to keep our cases down, and that’s such a fragile, precious thing that I can completely understand the strong urge to protect it,” Harper said. “My desire to see my parents, does that outweigh my desire to never go into lockdown again?” “It’s not my decision to make,” she said. “But nationally that’s the question we are all asking ourselves

Cut off from the world again, Australia now finds silver linings

An overnight curfew in Australia's second-largest city will be lifted this week, officials said Sunday, even as the global coronavirus toll inched towards one million dead.

Despite the number of infections worldwide passing 32 million -- with the US state of New York reporting a fresh spike -- more than 10,000 anti-lockdown protesters demonstrated in central London ahead of the re-imposition of restrictions there.

In more positive news, residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan -- where the virus emerged last year -- reported a hesitant return to normalcy, while the French Open got underway at Roland Garros in Paris.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/google-removes-street-view-feature-for-australias-uluru-330146">Also read:&nbsp;Google removes street view feature for Australia's Uluru</a>

In Australia, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Melbourne residents would be free from Monday to leave their homes for work, exercise, shop for essentials, or provide care after active cases in the state fell below 400 for the first time since June 30.

The relaxation of the curfew, imposed August 2, comes after 16 new infections and two deaths were reported Sunday.

People will still be confined to within five kilometres (about three miles) of their homes, and fines for breaching other restrictions will be increased to almost Aus$5,000 ($3,515).

Andrews said several other restrictions, including on religious services and childcare centres, will also be lifted.&nbsp;

Anti-lockdown protests

It was a different story in the UK, now battling to contain a mounting second wave, as thousands marched in London on Saturday against coronavirus restrictions.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/further-difficult-days-ahead-virus-hit-australia-goes-into-recession-324822">Also read|&nbsp;'Further difficult days ahead': Virus-hit Australia goes into recession</a>

At least 10 people were arrested as police moved in with batons to disperse more than 10,000 protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square.

This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government imposed a ban on gatherings of more than six people and ordered pubs and restaurants to close at 10 pm in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, which has claimed 42,000 lives in the country so far -- making it the worst-affected nation in Europe.

In New York state -- once the epicentre of the US outbreak -- new infections rose for the first time since June to above 1,000 a day, local officials said.

In India, meanwhile, infections closed in on six million on Sunday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on people to keep wearing face masks in public.

"They are potent tools to save the life of every citizen," he said.

Health ministry figures showed that the total number of cases had risen to 5,992,532.

India is expected to take over the United States -- which has reported more than seven million cases so far -- as the worst-hit country in the next few weeks.

Back to normal?

In Paris, a limited number of spectators will watch live tennis for the first time in months as the French Open starts -- four months later than scheduled.

It will be an eerily unfamiliar tournament as a resurgence of the virus means only 1,000 spectators will be allowed into the grounds each day.

For residents of Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year, life is already back to normal.

There have been 50,340 confirmed cases and 3,869 deaths in Wuhan, according to the official figures -- the majority of mainland China's toll -- but no new infections since May.

Families are once again packing amusement parks, and shopping streets were full over the weekend -- although residents remained cautious.

"The people have experienced tragedy and deeply know that a happy life is not easy to come by," said a woman named Wang.&nbsp;

An overnight curfew in Australia's second-largest city will be lifted this week, officials said Sunday, even as the global coronavirus toll inched towards one million dead.

An overnight curfew in Australia's second-largest city will be lifted this week, officials said Sunday, even as the global coronavirus toll inched towards one million dead. Despite the number of infections worldwide passing 32 million -- with the US state of New York reporting a fresh spike -- more than 10,000 anti-lockdown protesters demonstrated in central London ahead of the re-imposition of restrictions there. In more positive news, residents of the Chinese city of Wuhan -- where the virus emerged last year -- reported a hesitant return to normalcy, while the French Open got underway at Roland Garros in Paris. Also read: Google removes street view feature for Australia's Uluru In Australia, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said Melbourne residents would be free from Monday to leave their homes for work, exercise, shop for essentials, or provide care after active cases in the state fell below 400 for the first time since June 30. The relaxation of the curfew, imposed August 2, comes after 16 new infections and two deaths were reported Sunday. People will still be confined to within five kilometres (about three miles) of their homes, and fines for breaching other restrictions will be increased to almost Aus$5,000 ($3,515). Andrews said several other restrictions, including on religious services and childcare centres, will also be lifted. Anti-lockdown protests It was a different story in the UK, now battling to contain a mounting second wave, as thousands marched in London on Saturday against coronavirus restrictions. Also read| 'Further difficult days ahead': Virus-hit Australia goes into recession At least 10 people were arrested as police moved in with batons to disperse more than 10,000 protesters gathered in Trafalgar Square. This week Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government imposed a ban on gatherings of more than six people and ordered pubs and restaurants to close at 10 pm in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, which has claimed 42,000 lives in the country so far -- making it the worst-affected nation in Europe. In New York state -- once the epicentre of the US outbreak -- new infections rose for the first time since June to above 1,000 a day, local officials said. In India, meanwhile, infections closed in on six million on Sunday as Prime Minister Narendra Modi called on people to keep wearing face masks in public. "They are potent tools to save the life of every citizen," he said. Health ministry figures showed that the total number of cases had risen to 5,992,532. India is expected to take over the United States -- which has reported more than seven million cases so far -- as the worst-hit country in the next few weeks. Back to normal? In Paris, a limited number of spectators will watch live tennis for the first time in months as the French Open starts -- four months later than scheduled. It will be an eerily unfamiliar tournament as a resurgence of the virus means only 1,000 spectators will be allowed into the grounds each day. For residents of Wuhan, where the coronavirus first emerged late last year, life is already back to normal. There have been 50,340 confirmed cases and 3,869 deaths in Wuhan, according to the official figures -- the majority of mainland China's toll -- but no new infections since May. Families are once again packing amusement parks, and shopping streets were full over the weekend -- although residents remained cautious. "The people have experienced tragedy and deeply know that a happy life is not easy to come by," said a woman named Wang.

Virus curfew to be lifted in Australia as global deaths near a million

As the Asutralian cities are going in another lockdown, Australia's&nbsp;second-most populous state Victoria, may allow almost 3,000 residents to exit from the isolated buildings, as per the officials.

Amid rising number of positive coronavirus cases in the country, especially in the state of Victoria,&nbsp;state premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday that the state is thinking of relaxing few restrictions and allowing many of the 3,000 people locked down in nine public-housing towers to step outside.

Nearly ten buildings have been on a complete lockdown as new clusters of coronavirus cases were found in the buildings few weeks back.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/photos/a-recurring-nightmare-australia-reimposes-lockdown-amid-fears-of-second-wave-of-coronavirus-311906">Have a look|&nbsp;A recurring nightmare: Australia reimposes lockdown amid fears of second wave of coronavirus</a>

"There are such numbers of positive cases, together with known close contacts, that the assumption has got to be that everybody in that tower is a close contact of someone who is positive," Andrews said of the tower that will remain in lockdown.

The decision of relaxations came after the residents of the said residential towers resorted to putting messages on their windows asking for 'help'. The officials faced criticism for imposing a strict sudden lockdown, and the residents claimed that many of them did not even have access to essentials.

"We must continue to follow those social distancing protocols all around Australia, even in states or territories where the number of cases is effectively zero," Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

"They are making the decision that two weeks and that cost is worth it to get out of Victoria," deputy premier Stephen Miles said in a televised news conference.

As the Asutralian cities are going in another lockdown, Australia's second-most populous state Victoria, may allow almost 3,000 residents to exit from the isolated buildings, as per the officials.

As the Asutralian cities are going in another lockdown, Australia's second-most populous state Victoria, may allow almost 3,000 residents to exit from the isolated buildings, as per the officials. Amid rising number of positive coronavirus cases in the country, especially in the state of Victoria, state premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday that the state is thinking of relaxing few restrictions and allowing many of the 3,000 people locked down in nine public-housing towers to step outside. Nearly ten buildings have been on a complete lockdown as new clusters of coronavirus cases were found in the buildings few weeks back. Have a look| A recurring nightmare: Australia reimposes lockdown amid fears of second wave of coronavirus "There are such numbers of positive cases, together with known close contacts, that the assumption has got to be that everybody in that tower is a close contact of someone who is positive," Andrews said of the tower that will remain in lockdown. The decision of relaxations came after the residents of the said residential towers resorted to putting messages on their windows asking for 'help'. The officials faced criticism for imposing a strict sudden lockdown, and the residents claimed that many of them did not even have access to essentials. "We must continue to follow those social distancing protocols all around Australia, even in states or territories where the number of cases is effectively zero," Prime Minister Scott Morrison. "They are making the decision that two weeks and that cost is worth it to get out of Victoria," deputy premier Stephen Miles said in a televised news conference.

Australia decides to release most from sealed buildings despite surge in COVID-19 cases