(Revision with official confirmation)
SYDNEY, February 12 (Reuters) – Australia’s second most populous city is set to enter a rapid five-day shutdown of the coronavirus, authorities said on Friday, excluding spectators from the Australian Open tennis tournament.
A fresh COVID-19 group linked to a quarantine hotel in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, reached 13 cases on Thursday at midnight when authorities stopped the spread of the virus.
Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews has announced the closure to the state, calling it a ‘short-circuit breaker’ banning public gatherings, auctions, weddings and religious gatherings.
“There will be no crowds” at sporting events in the state, Andrews said. The tournament runs until February 21st. The crowd was already limited to 50% of the usual capacity for the Grand Slam event.
“We have to accept that there are more cases in the community than we have positive results for, and that it is moving at a rate that has not been seen anywhere in our country during the last twelve months,” Andrews told reporters.
Victoria endured one of the world’s strictest and longest exclusions last year.
Prior to the announcement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison offered his government full support for Victoria’s decisions to curb the outbreak.
“We’ve been dealing with (outbreaks) in Sydney and Brisbane and Perth over the last few weeks, and a proportionate response … enables trackers to get on top of it and get the same successful result as we’ve seen in others. declared, “Morrison told reporters.
(Reporting by Renju Jose and Swati Pandey; Written by Sam Holmes; Edited by William Mallard)
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