Melbourne is set to lift its stringent stay-at-home orders on Tuesday night, bringing an end to a lockdown that has lasted more than 110 days and making the city one of the longest-affected in the world. The restrictions, which began in early July, were introduced as a second wave of Covid-19 swept through the Australian state of Victoria.
Health experts have described the outcome as a success, with daily infections dropping from more than 700 in early August to zero on Monday for the first time since June. Professor Raina McIntyre from the University of New South Wales told the BBC that Australia's response had been "light years ahead" of the United States and the United Kingdom. Professor Sharon Lewin, director of the Doherty Institute in Melbourne, said she was "pretty proud" of what had been achieved, though she acknowledged the pain involved.
The lockdown required residents to wear face coverings and observe a night-time curfew. A massive testing effort saw almost 8.5 million tests conducted across Australia, with more than a third in Victoria. The country's geographic isolation also played a key role, with international borders closed to foreign travellers since March.
However, the measures took a heavy toll on families and communities. Adel Salman, vice-president of the Islamic Council of Victoria, said the strain on families and rising domestic violence were concerning. There were also criticisms that Victoria's health service was under-resourced and that contact tracing had been inadequate in the early stages. Hotel quarantine breaches were blamed for allowing the virus to escape into the community.
Professor Michael Toole of the Burnet Institute wrote in The Conversation that only Vietnam and Hong Kong had enjoyed comparable success in quashing a second wave. He added that the sacrifices made by Victorians had left Australia well placed to sustain very low numbers of cases through the coming summer.
