SYDNEY (REUTERS) – Residents of Australia’s second most populous city Melbourne must wear masks when leaving home from Wednesday (July 22), as tougher border restrictions were put in place with neighbouring New South Wales state to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

Cross-border travel between Victoria and New South Wales (NSW) will now only be permitted for work, education or medical care, after the border was closed earlier this month for the first time in 100 years.

Staff or students travelling from Victoria into NSW to attend boarding schools or universities are now required to self-isolate for two weeks and test negative to coronavirus, while seasonal workers from Victoria are barred.

Melbourne has seen a rapid increase in the number of coronavirus cases in recent weeks, with the virus spreading to many aged and nursing homes and some prisons.

Victoria reported on Wednesday two new deaths from the coronavirus and logged a record daily increase of 484 new cases compared with 374 cases a day earlier. 

Two men in their 90s died overnight from the virus, Premier Daniel Andrews said in a media briefing in Melbourne.

In NSW, of which Sydney is the capital city, 16 new Covid-19 cases were recorded with Premier Gladys Berejiklian saying the state was on “high alert” due to community transmissions and new locations of cases.

She raised concerns over another Black Lives Matter protest planned next week, as a possible vehicle for the spread of the virus.

“Irrespective of the issue, we need to follow the health advice. Large crowds are a huge concern. We cannot allow that march to continue unfortunately,” Berejiklian said.

“It’s just not sensible at this time to expose yourself and others to the spread of the virus. We’re at a critical point in New South Wales and we don’t want to see the virus spread and actions like that are a huge health risk.”

Source: Read Full Article