The Melbourne Lockdown

Melbourne, in the Australian state of Victoria suffered a strict lock-down for 111 days. There are concerns for the mental health of significant sections of the population, particularly the young, people with substance abuse issues, people vulnerable to domestic violence and those living in crowded circumstances. During the week of September 7, the calls to Lifeline reached their highest peak in their 57 year history. In September and October demand for health services spiked by 31%. An average of 1,200 jobs per day were lost during the lock-down.

The modeling justifying the lock-down was misrepresented by the Victorian government, and the original criteria for releasing the lockdown were flawed. According to a Bloomberg article, the need for the lock-down was caused by 'security failures at quarantine hotels for returning overseas travelers, poor communication of critical information to migrant communities and inadequate contact tracing'.