Australia battles to contain Melbourne coronavirus outbreak

Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Wednesday sought to slow down the return of its citizens from abroad as the country grapples with a fresh coronavirus outbreak that has forced it to isolate its second most populous state.

Red flags have been raised by potential quarantine breaches that the Victorian state government believes led to returnees spreading the virus. Officials have begun an inquiry.

Fears of a broader second wave were underscored on Thursday by an official report of three new COVID-19 cases in the national capital, Canberra. Two of the infected people had returned from Melbourne last week, and the third was their housemate.

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Victoria reported 134 new infections on Wednesday, down from the previous day's record 191 but well over the low single digit daily increases of the country's other seven states and territories.

The border between Victoria and New South Wales, the busiest in the country, was closed overnight and around 4.9 million residents in the Victorian capital of Melbourne will return to partial lockdown at midnight following a spike in COVID-19 cases in the city.

Morrison said he would take a proposal to a national cabinet of state and territory leaders on Friday, seeking to slow down the return of Australian citizens and permanent residents by reducing the number of repatriation flights. The two groups have been the only arrivals allowed since Australia closed its international border in March.

In Sydney, authorities were scrambling to track down 48 passengers who were allowed to disembark a flight from Melbourne overnight without being checked for COVID-19 symptoms.

Victoria's only other internal border, with South Australia, has been closed since mid-March.

Long queues of cars were backed up at Victoria's border Wednesday after neighbouring New South Wales closed the boundary for the first time in the pandemic -- essentially sealing off the state from the rest of Australia.

Police checkpoints have been set up at major road crossings and drones are monitoring large sections of the vast border, with one man arrested Wednesday after allegedly attempting to cross illegally.

In Melbourne, renewed lockdown measures will kick in at midnight for at least six weeks, closing down cafes, bars, restaurants and gyms, and confining residents to their homes except for essential business.

To this end, shoppers in Australia's second-biggest city stripped supermarket shelves. The country's largest supermarket chain, Woolworths, saidit had reimposed buying limits on items including pasta, vegetables and sugar after shoppers rushed to stores across Victoria state.

Experts have warned that people everywhere will have to get used to the "new normal" of on-and-off restrictions as new clusters emerge and subside, while there are also concerns over the economic and mental health impacts the measures will bring.

Australia has recorded almost 9,000 cases of coronavirus and 106 deaths.

(with inputs from agencies)