SYDNEY – The border between Australia’s two most populous states will close from Tuesday for an indefinite period, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said yesterday, following an outbreak of the coronavirus in his state.
The decision marks the first time the border with neighboring New South Wales has been shut in 100 years – officials last blocked movement between the two states in 1919 during the Spanish flu pandemic.
The number of COVID-19 cases in Melbourne, Victoria’s capital, has surged in recent days, prompting authorities to enforce strict social-distancing orders in 30 suburbs and put nine public housing towers into complete lockdown.
The state reported 127 new COVID-19 infections overnight, its biggest one-day spike since the pandemic began.
The closure will, however, likely be a blow to Australia’s economic recovery as it heads into its first recession in nearly three decades. (Reuters)
