Australia’s Melbourne looks set to lift COVID-19 lockdown after low cases

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s Victoria state reported its lowest rise in new locally acquired COVID-19 cases in more than two weeks on Wednesday as authorities look set to lift a hard lockdown in the state capital Melbourne, as planned on Thursday night.

Victorian officials on Tuesday said plans to ease curbs in Melbourne remained “on track” barring any spike in cases after daily infections remained in single digits on most days and were linked to existing virus clusters.

Victoria, Australia’s second-most populous state, on Wednesday reported one new locally acquired coronavirus case versus two a day earlier.

(Reporting by Renju Jose; Editing by Tom Hogue)