Masks Become Compulsory in Australia's Melbourne as COVID-19 Cases Rise
World
Asharq Al-Awsat
Residents in Australia's Melbourne were ordered Thursday to wear a mask as authorities struggle to contain multiple COVID-19 clusters in the country's southeast. Victoria state, of which Melbourne is the capital, recorded 422 coronavirus cases on Thursday -- a dip from a record peak of 484 on Wednesday, but its 18th consecutive day of triple-digit rises. The mandatory mask order allows police to issue fines of Aus$200 ($140) to anyone who refuses to cover their face in public, although previous lockdown rules have generally been enforced with warnings, AFP reported. The state's leader said the lockdown restrictions had helped stabilize infection numbers, but the next step was driving them down. "Stability is not enough; stability won't get us beyond this," Premier Daniel Andrews told media. "We have to also see compliance in the community at extraordinarily high levels." Locals seemed to have delivered, with those commuting through Melbourne telling AFP they were still adjusting to the mandatory face coverings, which are freely available in city shops. "It's really unusual to see... it's just not normal," Zoie Dicker said. Elsewhere in Australia, masks are rare. But the rising number of cases in Victoria has heightened calls for tighter restrictions as the outbreak dampens hopes of a speedy recovery from the epidemic. "We should go to... whatever is necessary to just eliminate the thing and go back to what's left of our normal lives," Melbourne resident Adam Ozmen said.
from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/2406761/masks-become-compulsory-australias-melbourne-covid-19-cases-rise
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