Ifah Sakinah
Image credit: Fabian Mardi
Victoria state in Australia is experiencing an alarming increase in COVID-19 cases, triggering fears of a second wave of the epidemic.
It has recorded more than 110 cases in the past week – many of them in Melbourne. A spike in the rate of community transmission – cases where there are no clear sources of origin of the contagion – raises a major concern that it could spiral out of control. 87 out of the 110 new cases are associated with community transmission.
As such, Victoria has extended its state of emergency for four more weeks to 19 July. Changes have also been made to the proposed easing of restrictions in a bid to stop the outbreaks.
Also read: South Korea Reports Second Wave of COVID-19 Infections
Changes to COVID-19 restrictions
- The number of visitors to a home will reduce to 5 visitors as opposed to 20 people in a house initially.
- Maximum patron capacity at restaurants, cafes and pubs will remain at 20.
- Only 10 people can gather in public.
Authorities will be stepping up enforcement efforts to ensure citizens abide by the latest rules. This includes door-to-door spot checks with police to patrol virus hot spot areas.
Besides that, Australians are to avoid travelling to Melbourne, unless it is absolutely essential.
Gladys Berejiklian, the premier of neighbouring New South Wales state, urged anyone intending to visit the city to “reconsider their plans”.
“It can get out of control very quickly,” she forewarned.
The number of cases in Victoria has spiked to levels not seen in more than two months. Victorian Chief Medical Officer Brett Sutton predicted that the high numbers of new cases will persist in the following week. State authorities are monitoring close contacts of the active cases.
At the time of writing, the total number of COVID-19 cases in Australia is 7492. Some regions have already declared themselves virus-free.
Australia has been lauded as a success story in combating the deadly virus. Thanks to its swift response to the outbreak including closing international borders and adopting spatial distancing measures, it has managed to circumvent the worst of the pandemic.
However, will the rise in COVID-19 cases in Victoria cause Australia to slide backwards and confirm a second wave of COVID-19?
