Australia cuts citizen returns as coronavirus cases rise

Sydney: Australia will slash the number of returning citizens allowed into the country by half as it struggles to contain an outbreak of coronavirus in its second-largest city, officials announced Friday.

From Monday, only 4,000 Australian citizens or permanent residents will be allowed back into the country each day, down from around 8,000 currently, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

The announcement came as officials in the state of Victoria reported a record 288 new Covid-19 cases mainly in the state capital, Melbourne.


Some five million residents of greater Melbourne were ordered into a six-week lockdown this week in an effort to curb the outbreak, which has rattled a nation that had successfully contained the epidemic in most areas weeks ago.

Health authorities said it would take several weeks to know if the Melbourne lockdown has succeeded in stemming the surge.

Morrison said the cap on returning Australians would remain in place until the Melbourne epidemic is contained. AFP