The state of Victoria announces a road map to ease restrictions

Australia extends the lockdown in Melbourne ... and new infections for people recovering from "Corona" in Thailand

Tighter restrictions will be eased in Melbourne from September 13th.

A.F.B.

Yesterday, Australian officials extended strict lockdown measures to contain "Covid-19" in the second largest city in the country for an additional two weeks, noting that the number of new infections did not decrease enough to prevent its rise again, while a state of panic prevailed in Thailand after the discovery of cases of infection with the virus. Corona for recovered people.

The six-week lockdown in Melbourne was supposed to be lifted at the end of next week, but will now be extended until September 28, Victorian State Minister Daniel Andrews said.

Andrews said in a press conference that "if we rush to open everything, there will be a high probability that we will not open at all, but rather start a third wave."

He added, "We will re-impose and lift restrictions and enter and exit closures several times before the end of the year."

And 63 new infections and only five deaths were recorded in Victoria yesterday, after the number of injuries reached more than 700 at the height of the epidemic, but health officials are adopting a cautious approach.

The city's residents' hopes of a possible return to normalcy were lost this month, as night curfews, restrictions on visits to other homes, and travel restrictions of more than five kilometers will remain until at least October 26.

Announcing a road map to easing restrictions, Andrews said rushing to take advantage of the sunshine for a short period could cause the number of injuries to spiral out of control.

The tougher restrictions in Melbourne will be eased from September 13th, by delaying the night curfew by an hour to begin at nine in the evening, and increasing the time allocated for exercising daily to two hours within small "social bubbles" set aside for people who live alone.

Under the government's plan, child care centers will reopen, and up to five people will be allowed to congregate outside from late September, provided the infection rate remains below 50 per day.

Restrictions on residents of other parts of Victoria, including the countryside, will be eased faster, given the smaller number of infections currently in these areas.

The announcement comes a day after more than 10 anti-lockdown protesters were arrested in Melbourne during confrontations with police.

Australia has been relatively successful in containing the virus, as it recorded about 26,000 infections and 753 deaths, among its population of 25 million.

Most of the cases were recorded in Melbourne during the past two months, while other regions have eased restrictions after it was able to largely contain the virus.

This comes at a time Thailand confirmed, yesterday, the discovery of six new cases of coronavirus infection for arrivals from abroad, including three Thai men who were previously infected with the virus, but they were proven free of infection with the virus before traveling from Singapore.

Yesterday, Sunday, the Bangkok Post newspaper quoted the Corona Crisis Management Center, saying that the tests showed that the three men (43, 53 and 56 years old) were infected with the virus again after their arrival last Friday.

An official in the center's communication unit said that the three citizens had contracted the virus in Singapore, but they made a full recovery.

They applied for and obtained health certificates from the Thai embassy before boarding the plane, as is required of every person traveling to Thailand.

When the men were examined again upon their arrival, they were discovered to have Corona.

The Bangkok Post reported that it was not immediately clear what the course of events would have been.

It is possible that the final tests in Singapore showed a false negative result, or that the tests upon arrival in Thailand showed a false positive result.

The newspaper pointed out that the reason for sounding the alarm is the remaining scenario - did the men contract the disease, recover, and then contract it again?

This means that they do not have immunity to the disease even after infection, which could make any vaccine ineffective.

The new, asymptomatic cases discovered, brought the total number of infections in the country to 3,444 since the virus began to appear in Thailand.

The Thai government's plan to reopen the Phuket Island resort as a model to welcome foreign visitors again faced an obstacle, after the country witnessed new cases of Coronavirus after three months had passed without new infections.

The Bangkok Post quoted the Governor of the Tourism Promotion Authority in Thailand (TAT), Utasak Subasorn, as saying that the launch of the so-called "Phuket Model", which was scheduled for next month as part of efforts to revive the local economy, is likely to be postponed.

He said that TAT officials are visiting Phuket this long weekend to discuss anti-disease measures with business operators, adding that the proposed model for returning foreign tourists may have to be modified if the country faces a second wave of the Corona outbreak.

Under the Phuket model, launched by the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, about 200 visitors from Australia and New Zealand will be allowed entry.

However, they must first submit negative results for the coronavirus tests in their country of origin, and stay in quarantine for 14 days in designated places in Phuket.

The re-emergence of Coronavirus cases in Thailand postpones the reopening of the Phuket resort.

Ease restrictions on those living in other parts of Victoria, including the countryside.

Thailand has confirmed six new cases of coronavirus infection, arriving from abroad.

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