Australia's second-most populous state Victoria reported its lowest rise in new Covid-19 cases in more than a week today, a day after a snap lockdown in state capital Melbourne was extended for another week.
Melbourne is seven days into a hard lockdown, now scheduled to run until 10 June, spurred by the latest outbreak of a virus variant first detected in India, which authorities said is highly contagious and could become uncontrollable.
Though Victoria's daily cases have remained in the single digits for a week now, officials fear even minimal contact could help spread the virus variant.
Lockdown rules in regions outside Melbourne will be eased from tonight due to zero cases, although curbs on house gatherings will remain and masks must be