New COVID-19 Outbreak Sends Australia’s Victoria State into 4th Lockdown 

VOA NEWS - Australia’s southern state of Victoria will enter into a one-week “circuit breaker” lockdown beginning Thursday as it deals with a new and growing outbreak of COVID-19 cases.  

The lockdown was ordered after health authorities announced 12 new confirmed cases in Melbourne, bringing the total number of infections in the state capital to 26.    Acting state Premier James Merlino told reporters in Melbourne the new outbreak is due to “a highly infectious strain of the virus, a variant of concern, which is running faster than we have ever recorded.” The new cases are linked to an overseas traveler who became infected with a variant first detected in India during his mandatory hotel quarantine phase.  Residents will only be allowed to leave their homes during their new lockdown for essential work, school, shopping, caregiving, exercise and medical reasons, including receiving their scheduled coronavirus vaccinations.