Australian officials have extended a strict virus lockdown in Melbourne by two weeks, saying new cases had not dropped enough to prevent another spike.
Residents in the country's second largest city were due to exit a harsh six-week lockdown next weekend but now face continued restrictions for months to come.
Victoria state premier Daniel Andrews declared the current lockdown would remain in place until 28 September. "If we open up too fast then we have a very high likelihood that we are not really opening up at all - we are just beginning a third wave," he told a press conference. "And we will be back in and out of restrictions, coming in and out of lockdown, before the end of the year." Just 63 new cases and five deaths were recorded in