Nicola Sturgeon has warned Scots not to drop their guard in the battle against Covid-19 as international examples show the virus has not gone away.
Lockdown measures were reimposed in Australia's second biggest city on Tuesday, confining Melbourne residents to their homes unless undertaking essential business for six weeks, as officials scramble to contain a coronavirus outbreak.
The First Minister said the city region - which has a population equivalent to that of Scotland - was a "stark reminder that we must not drop our guard against COVID".
In a series of early morning posts on Twitter, the SNP leader also flagged-up several other examples of virus spikes across Europe.
Two parts of Spain - Galicia and Catalonia - are under lockdown following a spike in cases, while a state of emergency has been declared in the Serbian capital Belgrade.
Meanwhile, Sweden is introducing tougher social distancing rules.
Sturgeon said: "Last few RTs highlight some global COVID developments.
"Some of the media/political debate here just now - ‘why aren’t we opening up more quickly?’ - seems to be blind to that reality. If it gets out of control again, lives will be lost/damaged and the economy will suffer more."
Australia has been among the world's most successful countries in containing its coronavirus outbreak - with the exception of Melbourne.
The south-eastern state of Victoria had some of the nation's toughest pandemic measures and was among the most reluctant to lift its restrictions when the worst of the outbreak seemed to have passed.
But as most of the country emerges from pandemic restrictions, the virus has resumed spreading at an alarming rate in Victoria's capital, and the nation's second-largest city.
Melbourne is buckling down with more extreme and divisive measures that have ignited anger and arguments over who is to blame.
