Melbourne returns to lockdown as Coronavirus strikes again

A six week long Coronavirus lockdown is to be imposed in Melbourne, the second largest city in Australia with more than five million residents as COVID-19 cases surged. 

Melbourne, Australia - July , (Daniel Pockett/Getty Images AsiaPac)

Starting from 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, residents in metropolitan Melbourne will no longer be allowed to leave their homes unless it's for essential shopping, caregiving, exercise or work, Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews announced Tuesday, warning the citizens saying "we can't pretend" the epidemic crisis is over.

Border restrictions will also apply to metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, a regional area of Victoria, on Wednesday night to limit the spread of the outbreak across the state, Andrews also said.

These measures were taken after 191 new COVID-19 cases recorded from the southeast city within 24 hours. This was the states highest number of daily confirmed cases recorded since the beginning of the pandemic.

"We know we're on the cusp of something very, very bad if we don't get on top of this," Andrews told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday. "I think a sense of complacency has crept into us as we let our frustrations get the better of us."

Australia recorded about 8,700 COVID-19 confirmed cases so far with more than 7,455 recovered cases and 106 deaths.

-BBC/CNN