Australia puts 3,000 people in 9 public housing estates on "hard lockdown" due to spike in cases

[Demovictory9]

https://www.cnn.com/world/live-news/coronavirus-pandemic-07-05-20-intl/h_2ceb0737c72312d02b410a91b0120825

About 3,000 people in nine public housing estates in Melbourne, Australia, were put under what the state premier called a "hard lockdown" on Saturday evening, after a spike of cases in the city.

Residents will not be allowed to leave their homes, after Covid-19 cases were discovered in the densely populated blocks. Police have been stationed outside the tower to enforce the order.

At least 23 people across the 9 towers have reported positive for the virus, according to CNN affiliate Nine News.

Everybody in the towers will be tested except those who have already returned a positive result, said Victorian State Premier Daniel Andrews, adding that those who refuse to be tested would be risking an extension to the lockdown.

The lockdown was imposed on Saturday night, giving residents little notice. Abdirahman Ibrahim, a father-of-five, told CNN affiliate SBS he learned about the lockdown on the evening news, giving him no time to stockpile food for his children.

On Sunday morning local time, Andrews said residents would be provided with free rent and financial support.

He acknowledged that many residents of the public housing units were in "poor health” and that “this is not going to be a pleasant experience."

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The city is putting "stage three" restrictions on 12 suburbs. People there will only be able to leave the house for four reasons: work or education, exercise, medical care or care-giving, and shopping for supplies.

But the nine tower blocks in Flemington and North Melbourne face a "hard lockdown".

According to Victoria's Minister for Housing, Richard Wynn, some of the state's most vulnerable people live in the nine towers, and mental health and drug and alcohol support will be offered.

The towers, he said, were characterised by having common lifts and common walkways, and they presented an "acute challenge going forward".

Mr Andrews said that it should take at least five days to test everyone in the towers.

"We are extremely concerned that there are many hundreds of people in these towers who have already been exposed to the cases that we've found and possibly to cases that exist and that we haven't found," said Deputy Chief Health Officer Annaliese van Diemen.

"This is not just a matter of 23 to 30 odd people this is a matter of many hundreds who have already been exposed and who may already be incubating."

Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said a "new phase of the pandemic" was under way in Australia.

"For the first time in Australia it's an actual complete lockdown," he said, as quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53289616