'This is a lockup': Anger as Australian state puts entire tower blocks under police guard
Residents under fresh lockdown restrictions in Australia have expressed their frustrations at being kept indoors under police guard.
More than 3,000 public housing residents in nine Melbourne tower blocks entered a fourth full day of lockdown on Tuesday following a surge in COVID-19 cases.
They were given just one hour's notice at the weekend before being prohibited from leaving their apartments for at least five days.
Authorities in Australia's most stricken city are attempting to halt a further spread of coronavirus over fears it will transmit rapidly in the densely populated buildings.
Australia has been among the world's most successful countries in containing its coronavirus outbreak – with the exception of Melbourne.
The south-eastern state of Victoria had some of the nation's toughest pandemic measures and was among the most reluctant to lift its restrictions when the worst of the outbreak seemed to have passed.
But as most of the country emerges from pandemic restrictions, the virus has resumed spreading at an alarming rate in Victoria's capital, the nation's second-largest city.
Melbourne is buckling down with more extreme and divisive measures that have ignited anger and arguments over who is to blame.
Mother-of-seven Amina Yussuf lives in one of the towers with her family and said she was shocked and traumatised when police prevented her from leaving the building to shop for food for the week on Saturday.
She said: ”I told them I wasn't going far but they wouldn't let me.
“It was really shocking, I was scared and very confused. I don't now how to put it into words."
She said the situation could have been handled better, with more community consultation.
Another resident, Nada Osman, said: ”The amount of police officers makes us feel like we're criminals.
"It's overwhelming. It's scary. It's like we're caged in.”
Police said they have stationed two officers on every floor of each tower, where some windows have hand-written signs saying “jail” facing outwards.
Victoria's premier Daniel Andrews said the entire city and some of its surrounding areas will be locked down again from Wednesday night under tougher restrictions than were imposed during the first shutdown that started in March.
"We are in many respects in a more precarious, challenging and potentially tragic position now than we were some months ago," Andrews said.
Nationwide, Australia has reported around 9,000 COVID-19 cases and 106 deaths from coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins.
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