COVID-19 cases in Australia’s Victoria fall as lockdown eases

New coronavirus cases in the Australian state of Victoria fell to single digits for the first time in more than three months on Monday, as officials began winding down some restrictions brought in to control the outbreak. Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, placed nearly five million residents of its capital Melbourne into a hard lockdown in early August as it emerged as the country’s COVID-19 hotspot, but lifted a night curfew on Sunday thanks to a steady fall in new daily case numbers. The southeastern state reported just five new cases and three deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. Daily cases topped 700 in early August. The two-week average of new infections in Melbourne fell below 21. Authorities have flagged that more curbs could be relaxed once average cases hit certain targets. Earlier, Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday said Victoria should do more “in the weeks ahead to safely ease more restrictions,” after state authorities promised an accelerated timetable for returning to normal. The southeastern state said 127,000 workers would be allowed to go back to work on Monday, 30,000 more than in its previous plan. style="width: 100%; height: 100%; position: absolute; top: 0; bottom: 0; right: 0; left: 0;">