Australia's Victoria state reports lowest rise in Covid-19 cases in seven weeks

The Australian state of Victoria reported its lowest daily rise in new coronavirus infections in seven weeks on Monday, fuelling optimism that a deadly second wave there is subsiding.

Victoria on Monday reported 116 cases and 15 deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, down from a peak of more than 700 cases early this month.

Australia saw a surge in infections in the past month in Melbourne, Victoria's capital and the country's second-largest city, but cases have been trending downward in recent days helped by a total lockdown.

While the Melbourne lockdown has curtailed the spread of infections, it has wreaked havoc on the economy with Australia's effective unemployment rate expected to climb above 13 per cent by the end of September, according to government estimates.

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Nearly half a million people could lose their jobs due to the full lockdown in Melbourne, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said on Sunday.

Neighbouring New Zealand on Monday will take a decision on whether to ease the current coronavirus restrictions in its biggest city of Auckland.

An abrupt resurgence of Covid-19 about two weeks ago in Auckland prompted New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern to put the city's 1.7 million residents in a lockdown until Wednesday, forcing businesses to close and schools to shut.

New Zealand, which has a population of 5 million, has so far recorded just over 1,300 confirmed cases of the virus and 22 deaths. Australia has detected nearly 25,000 infections and reported 502 deaths, from a population of 25 million.

New Zealand and Australia have avoided the high fatalities experienced by many other nations due to strict lockdown measures.