Coronavirus: Melbourne comes out of lockdown
Australia’s second-largest city emerged on Wednesday from one of the world’s longest and most severe lockdowns, feeling both traumatized and euphoric.
It took 111 days, but Melbourne and the surrounding state of Victoria recorded no new coronavirus infections on Monday, and on Wednesday stores, cafes, restaurants and beauty salons opened their doors for the first time in months. Many of Melbourne’s five million residents said they felt as if they had survived an emotional roller coaster with effects on the economy, education and mental health that they predicted would linger.
“It’s like this tiny little flower that’s just sticking out one petal at a time,” said Ryan Gribble, 37, who celebrated the start of a return to normal life at a bar, shortly after the lockdown lifted at midnight.
The turnaround: Infections in July were spiraling out of control, hitting a peak of more than 700 a day.
The New York Times
