The Australian state of Victoria reported its lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections in seven weeks on Monday, fuelling optimism that a deadly second wave there is subsiding.
Victoria on Monday reported 116 cases and 15 deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, down from a peak of more than 700 cases early this month.
Australia saw a surge in infections in the past month in Melbourne, Victoria's capital and the country's second-largest city, but cases have been trending downward in recent days helped by a total lockdown.
While the Melbourne lockdown has curtailed the spread of infections, it has wreaked havoc on the economy with Australia's effective unemployment rate expected to climb above 13% by the end of September, according to government estimates.
Nearly half a million people could lose their jobs due to the full lockdown in Melbourne, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Sunday.
Neighbouring New Zealand on Monday will take a decision on whether to ease the current coronavirus restrictions in its biggest city of Auckland.
An abrupt resurgence of COVID-19 about two weeks ago in Auckland prompted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to put the city's 1.7 million residents in a lockdown until Wednesday, forcing businesses to close and schools to shut.
New Zealand, which has a population of 5 million, has so far recorded just over 1,300 confirmed cases of the virus and 22 deaths. Australia has detected nearly 25,000 infections and reported 502 deaths, from a population of 25 million.
New Zealand and Australia have avoided the high fatalities experienced by many other nations due to strict lockdown measures.
(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Stephen Coates)
