Australia’s second populous Victoria state ordered into fifth lockdown

Gulf Today Report

Australia's bid to quash a fast-spreading COVID-19 outbreak will see the country's second most populous state Victoria enter a five-day lockdown.

Premier Daniel Andrews said in a statement that “Melbourne returns to lockdown late on Thursday.”

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“Melbourne — and surrounding Victoria — will join Sydney in locking down, bringing the total number of Australians under stay-at-home orders to around 12 million,” he added.

"You only get one chance to go hard and go fast. If you wait, if you hesitate, if you doubt, then you will always be looking back wishing you had done more earlier," Andrews told a televised news conference.

The state had recorded 18 new infections since an outbreak of the highly-contagious Delta variant began in recent days, Andrews added.