MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – Israel and an Australian state have said they will gradually begin easing some of the world’s toughest locks, but the terms point to a deeper global gap in the need to lock down to combat the Kovid-19 epidemic. Are
The Australian state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, said on Sunday it would ease some of its tougher restrictions, such as barring people from leaving their homes for some reason and keeping offices and retail outlets mostly closed on a daily basis. Only two fell from the top of more than 700 after the infection.
Israel said it would also begin Simplify deep allopathic restrictions After reducing the number of new daily cases from 8,000 to less than 1,500.
From Monday, Melbourne’s five million residents will be able to travel 15 miles from home, and the two-hour time limit for exercising outside will be lifted. By November 1, retail and hospitality stores, including restaurants, cafes and hair salons, will be able to reopen at limited capacity.
From the beginning of Sunday, Israelis will be allowed to travel more than a kilometer from their homes and small gatherings will be allowed, with 10 inside and 20 outside imprisoned. Preschool and day care centers will reopen, restaurants will be allowed to serve tacos, businesses that do not receive customers can reopen and people will be allowed to visit beaches and parks. .
However, lockdowns will be much tougher than in the rest of the world, as countries continue to fight the virus, pointing to different ways.
There are leaders from the United States and Europe Widespread opposition to the lockout As imposed in the spring, it favors more targeted measures in an effort to avoid economic losses and social upheaval. France has taken some drastic measures Among the re-emergence of the virus in Europe, Saying last week that it would declare a state of emergency and curfew. Will apply.
Melbourne Supported for more than 100 days Under one of the toughest lockouts in the world, and many small business owners are already at a breaking point.
The Prime Minister of the State of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, said the November 1 target date could be pushed forward if infection rates, measured by the 14-day average of daily cases, fall faster than expected. But it did not provide updates for industries such as construction, manufacturing and meat processing, many of which are operating under capacity restrictions.
“These locks have come with pain and damage and injury, but the strategy is working,” Mr Andrews said in a televised interview on Sunday. “This means that other parts of the world are going through a stormy winter, in which lockouts and restrictions are heartbreaking,” Victoria said.
Mr Andrews called for a direct comparison to the UK, which had similar infections in August when the number of cases in Victoria was 725 a day.
“Today, as there are two new cases in Victoria, there are 16,171 cases in the UK,” he said. “And as we continue to ease our restrictions, they are being forced to extend them.”
Israel became the first developed country to lock in a second country amid rising cases of Covid-19. As major Jews are forced to close businesses before the festivals, WSJ’s Dove Liber meets restaurant owners who worry they may never reopen. Photo: Rich Cohen / Reuters
Faced with growing protests over the lockout, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would slowly reopen it to prevent a resurgence of the virus that the country had seen after lifting its previous lock more quickly. .
Israel’s Coronavirus Tsar, Ronnie Gamju, said the country was facing a “tough fight” to control the virus. He said Israel needed to look at less than 1,000 cases a day and meet other epidemic milestones before moving on to the next phase of the health ministry’s multi-month evacuation plan in the country. In the next phase, more children will return to school and gym, and beauty salons and restaurants will reopen.
Melbourne’s sanctions came into effect this summer after a breach of hotel quarantine protocols came when the rest of Australia was virtually virus-free. Authorities initially tried a more targeted series of block-by-block restrictions, but locked them down when they failed to stop the spread.
As a result of the outbreak, Victoria now has 816 of Australia’s 904 deaths and about three-quarters of its total cases, according to official figures.
Strict restrictions have reduced Melbourne’s infection rate, but they have also regularly ranked one of the world’s most livable places. Business groups and political opponents have criticized the state’s response, with its vague impact on the economy and social well-being.
“There is no compelling reason to keep business restrictions down, especially with down-to-earth case numbers,” said Jennifer Westcott, chief executive of the Australian Business Council. “If you have a job, money and your business is failing and being allowed to get a haircut or something else is not good enough.”
With Victoria accounting for about a quarter of Australia’s gross domestic product, the sanctions have hit the country’s economy hard. Is in recession for the first time in almost 30 years.
As a result of the lockout, the spectacular final of Australian Rules Football – the local equivalent of a Super Bowl – will be played outside Melbourne for the first time.
Picture:
Michael Dodge / Shutterstock
And a spectacular football final with Australian rules, the local equivalent of a Super Ball, will be played next week outside Melbourne for the first time in its 123-year history.
Prolonged bans have caused public frustration and exhaustion, leading to smaller and smaller public protests and legal challenges over the legitimacy of the lockout by small business owners.
Health experts and medical associations have widely supported the Victorian government’s epidemic-control measures, but have highlighted the need to reduce the serious mental-health effects of long-term lockouts, and the jobs associated with them. Deficits and social connections, especially among young people and the disabled.
Greg Hunt, Australia’s conservative national health minister, said federal figures showed a 31% increase in the need for mental health care in Victoria over the past two months, compared to a 15% increase nationally. In addition to the mental-health support service, the number of calls to Blue was 90% higher in Victoria in August than in the rest of the country.
Australian Treasurer Josh Friedenberg said: “The second wave, which led to the lockout, had a profound effect on the mental health and economic prospects of Victorians.
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Mr Andrews, who heads the Labor government at the center’s left-wing state, has called for tougher measures to stem the potentially “third wave” of crackdowns on hospitals and even more closures. Can force to keep.
She said the infection rate targets were based on supercomputer visual modeling and extensive consultation with public health professionals and were constantly weighed against economic and social suffering. Most restrictions are likely to last for at least several weeks.
“It’s not an easy decision to make, it’s a lot at stake,” Andrews said Sunday. “And if we do too much, too fast, we will be where none of us would want to be again, so we were where we were.”
Write to Philip Wayne at [email protected] and Felicia Schwartz at [email protected]
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